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Can ASD people also have a learning disability?

Tony Ramirez

Single forever. Friends?
V.I.P Member
I never did well in school. I use to study for hours and still fail tests. This was even with tutoring. I did poorly in reading comprehension and math tests.

I was told by teachers that I had a learning disability in middle school and High School but never got the help.

I did pass high school with mostly C average with a few D in math, English. What made me get a C in classes like Science was failing most of the tests but doing much extra credit. I even cheated on my midterms my junior year which was easy taking the make up tests by myself using my notes, textbooks and felt no guilt.

In college with D's, F's. Even in an world music class which I loved, took again in the summer, teacher had pity on my and gave me a D. I also had a bunch of incompletes I was told again I had a learning disability and was recommended by the dean to drop out After dropping out that was the end of my higher education.

Many years now with not working I still have much difficulty comprehension. I can read something and forget most of it minutes later.

I am asking because I have ASD traits even told I have highly functioning Autism but I found nothing relating to a learning disability.
 
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I can only speak for myself, but I barely graduated high school. I managed to finish college, but it took me a very long time. I was undiagnosed until later in life, (actually probably diagnosed as a small child, I remember being in the hospital with psychiatrists, but my parents never told me) but yes I think my trouble was learning disability if you will. In algebra for example I would get exponents, and variables mixed up in my mind, and miss seeing certain things. However in geometry, and trigonometry I got A's in those classes without really even trying. I also have some trouble rememberiing some things I read even after just a few minutes, mostly if they are not interesting to me.
 
Learning disability is not one of the main criteria that define autism. Learning disability is separate. However, it can happen that people with ASD have learning disabilities as well.
In other words, someone might have a learning disability without autism or with autism, or have only autism without learning disabilities.


Haven’t you ever sought help from a specialist?
 
I got D's and F's in all math classes it did not matter once we started with multiplication and division in 3rd grade a did bad. Before that I did good in math.
 
Learning disability is not one of the main criteria that define autism. Learning disability is separate. However, it can happen that people with ASD have learning disabilities as well.
In other words, someone might have a learning disability without autism or with autism, or have only autism without learning disabilities.


Haven’t you ever sought help from a specialist?
So your saying that you can have autism and a learning disability. As for help back then in the 90s while I was in school they gave me no help except for special classes I took outside the school in a van twice a week.

Back then in the dark ages 80's and 90's I call it they did not know what highly functional autism was and they just said I had a learning disability.
 
I also believe that yes, people can have learning disabilities regardless of autism, it happens to anyone. As you say I too grew up in the dark ages, the 1970's, and early 1980's. I guess they just didn't recognize us back then. For me I guess i was just persistent enough and found that I really had a talent for chemistry so I was able to make it. I hope you find your talent, or thing that you really like, you can do it if you persist.
 
I never did well in school. I use to study for hours and still fail tests. This was even with tutoring. I did poorly in reading comprehension and math tests.

I was told by teachers that I had a learning disability in middle school and High School but never got the help.

I did pass high school with mostly C average with a few D in math, English. What made me get a C in classes like Science was failing most of the tests but doing much extra credit. I even cheated on my midterms my junior year which was easy taking the make up tests by myself using my notes and felt no guilt.

In college with D's, F's. Even in an world music class which I loved, took again in the summer, teacher had pity on my and gave me a D. I also had a bunch of incompletes I was told again I had a learning disability and was recommended by the dean to drop out After dropping out that was the end of my higher education.

Many years now with not working I still have much difficulty comprehension. I can read something and forget most of it minutes later.

I am asking because I have ASD traits even told I have highly functioning Autism but I found nothing relating to a learning disability.

Why wouldn't it be possible for someone with an ASD to also have a specific learning disability? I don't know whether or not you have a specific learning disability, but it seems like you had an assessment before already (perhaps it didn't test for specific learning disabilities)?

I'm diagnosed with Autistic Disorder. I'm also not diagnosed with a specific learning disability. However, my reading speed was assessed as borderline (that means between 2nd and 9th percentile (better than 2 to 9 out of 100 people) and my overall handwriting speed was assessed as below 1st percentile. I think my reading speed may be why I'm allowed 50% extra time in exams in the university I attend (in secondary school based on reading speed alone it was 25% extra time) and I'm pretty sure my handwriting speed is probably why I'm allowed to type answers to tests. I understand though that some people with ASD may actually read very quickly and/or handwrite very quickly (I'm saying that reading and handwriting speeds are probably quite variable among people with ASD and are not part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD). However, while not included in the diagnostic criteria for ASD, I did read that handwriting difficulties are common in people with ASD.

However, who told you that you have a learning disability (I'm asking because if in the U.S.A. or a place with similar laws regarding disability confidentiality in higher education the professors or any staff outside the disability office shouldn't know what disability you have without you telling them, unless you signed a waiver giving that permission)?

If you are able to contact the person who assessed you, you could ask him or her for clarification.
 
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I think it’s possible.I struggled at school and struggled badly with subjects like math and also was behind my peers.I was also behind in learning how to read but I did catch up eventually, though math was and still is the one I struggle with the most.

While I was diagnosed with Aspergers as an adult I do have strong suspicions that I have other comorbids that I am not diagnosed with and the ones that stand out to me are Dyscalculia,Dyspraxia and possible inattentive ADHD.

From what I heard it is not uncommon for those on the spectrum to have other things like learning difficulties so it is not impossible.
 
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I never did well in school. I use to study for hours and still fail tests. This was even with tutoring. I did poorly in reading comprehension and math tests.

I was told by teachers that I had a learning disability in middle school and High School but never got the help.

I did pass high school with mostly C average with a few D in math, English. What made me get a C in classes like Science was failing most of the tests but doing much extra credit. I even cheated on my midterms my junior year which was easy taking the make up tests by myself using my notes, textbooks and felt no guilt.

In college with D's, F's. Even in an world music class which I loved, took again in the summer, teacher had pity on my and gave me a D. I also had a bunch of incompletes I was told again I had a learning disability and was recommended by the dean to drop out After dropping out that was the end of my higher education.

Many years now with not working I still have much difficulty comprehension. I can read something and forget most of it minutes later.

I am asking because I have ASD traits even told I have highly functioning Autism but I found nothing relating to a learning disability.
As others here have said, any person can have any learning disability. The question here is whether learning disabilities are more common in ASD than the population at large. My gut feeling is yes, although I can only speak for myself, and it is rather difficult to do a statistical analysis with a sample of 1.

Since ASD is a brain miswiring, it seems to make sense. In my own case, I am incapable of learning a foreign language, despite many attempts. And don't say I was being taught wrong because I have tried just about every system there is. In Math, I cannot derive or simplify equations, but I can use them without any problem. I have said plenty in the past about my social abilities (or lack thereof). I was always in the slow classes in school, despite having a high tested IQ.

It seems as though my brain has a concentration of connections in some areas and few (if any) in some other areas.
 
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I had trouble speaking when I was a kid. My grandmother helped me speak. When I entered school I was doing great until 3rd grade when I started to fall behind. I was never put in slow classes. I was always in regular classes through High School.

What I could say is that I could learn things that are interesting. Like every local radio station call letters and frequency. Back then when we only had 80 cable stations I could remember every one even when they kept moving around. Songs word for word. Movie trailers word for word.

As for school work I could remember art and photography the only classes in high school I got a 100%. I also did good in computer class which I loved computers but back then they were primitive machines running Windows 3.1 with no internet but I still learned how to type fast and figured out on my own how to use Windows.
 
Interesting range of comments, i left school having not taken exams due to my first serious period of depression, this was in the late 70's so no knowledge of Aspergers, people with Aspergers often have a spiky learning profile, my strengths are English and art and i struggle with the science lessons and Maths.
 
I love history, English, some math. I suffered telling time on analog clocks. I struggled with learning multiplication tables because l was bored. Boredom was my enemy and l struggled with this as a learning disability but eventually l outgrew it.
I was very easily distracted in class, especially math and was sad that l didn't get it. Had to redo geometry one year. However my English and Art teachers were very impressed with me. My history teacher told me she knew l could do better. My art teacher told me he would expect me to be a commercial artist out of the entire class. And my drama teacher was very supportive. If it wasn't for these great teachers, l am not sure what would have happened. That's why it's important to encourage younger kids and to be supportive because it's something alot don't get from parents, teachers, peers.
 
I must have done better than I think I studied a lot and did extra credit, and I did graduate high school. I never got left back or had to do a course again.

That fell apart however in college. I failed college hard. At least in high school I had acquaintances but in college I was completely alone which affected me so bad I started to go to therapy and I still to this day go to the same place. I wish Drone Zone Radio station existed back then. So because of this I got many failed classes, many incompletes and the dean which I used for consulting told me to leave.

I then attended a computer course for people with disabilities the first time I heard about Aspergers. The class was so easy to me I was bored I use to mess up the computers by changing the wallpaper, and order of the desktop which made me get in trouble with the teacher. Of course there I had no friends either.

After the course looked for work found nothing.
Then in 1999 I considered going back to college for computers. I was accepted but I decided not to go for two reasons that you will both agree on. The first was I was already on probation which meant useless remedial courses that I could not pass last time and second every student I was around when I was thinking about registering were nasty mean people cussed insulted others. I did not want to be in an environment like that so I just did not register.

I got a job in 2000 had it for about 6 months but got bored messed around and lost my only job. It also did not help that they did not trust me even just to type letters that they wrote because I did not have college.

After which I almost got a job in 2002 but at the end I did not qualify because I did not have college. After that I could not find a job to save my life after my job counselor gave up looking. I then applied for SSA but I was rejected.

I then in 2003 went to a trade type school for computers but it earned no credits, it was easy, and I was bored so I left since it lead no where academically.

After that I gave up on life then applying for disability after an second application I was approved in 2005 and I been collecting ever since.
 
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Sounds like you never had anybody trying to guide and motivate you. I homeschooled my daughter. She got to spend time on things like writing and some math. She enjoyed our science experiments. I was able to help make it interesting and she learned quickly. By the time she went to public school - she was way pass them so she went to private online school. But she later attended performing arts high school and l feel they saved my daughter's life because they provided badly needed counseling that she needed.
I enjoyed college. And have been to a few.l am 2.5 semesters from a degree.
 
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Both Learning disabilities (i have most of them ) as well as (in my case also) MILD ID (Interlectuall disability) is actually well known Comorbid diagnosis to ASD as well as also ADHD (and a certain % actually have this as well as also The most common Mild - but some also get Moderate ID
  • 60-70% of people who have an autistic spectrum condition will also have a learning disability.
  • The prevalence of autism increases with greater severity of learning disability or lower verbal IQ.
Learning disability statistics: autism

Needles to say with all my diagnosis my entire school time was down the drain and i had problems in school from 1 grade (bullied and ridiculed before kindergarten but thats another story )
 
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Sounds like you never had anybody trying to guide and motivate you. I homeschooled my daughter. She got to spend time on things like writing and some math. She enjoyed our science experiments. I was able to help make it interesting and she learned quickly. By the time she went to public school - she was way pass them so she went to private online school. But she later attended performing arts high school and l feel they saved my daughter's life because they provided badly needed counseling that she needed.
I enjoyed college. And have been to a few.l am 2.5 semesters from a degree.
I had my Grandmother she modivated me and use to study and tutor me but it was not enough to pass some of the tests. Also no amount of tutoring made me pass college tests.
 

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