October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, a time to pay attention to children and adults with learning disabilities. During this month, I Can! asks that you teach one person something new about learning disabilities.

Here are some facts from the National Centre for Learning Disabilities:

The most common type of LD is dyslexia (reading problems). Other types of LD include dysgraphia (writing problems) and dyscalculia (math problems). Other conditions such as dyspraxia (motor skills) and ADHD (trouble regulating attention) often co-occur with LD.

Although the exact causes of LD are not clear, it is known that LD sometimes runs in families and that events during fetal development can also play a role. Despite many misconceptions, there is no evidence that vaccinations, diet or watching too much television cause LD.

Learning disabilities are life long and cannot be cured or outgrown.  Dyslexia is not a vision problem that can be corrected with eyewear; it is a problem of language processing in the brain.

With intervention and support, people with LD can succeed in school, work and life. There is no correlation between LD and low IQ. In fact, by definition, people with LD  can have average or above average intelligence. Accomplished individuals with LD include TV and movie star Whoopi Goldberg,  Virgin Airline and Virgin Records owner Richard Branson and South African contemporary artist Ian Marley.