The University of Oviedo and the International Learning Disabilities Worldwide association organise the 21st Learning Disabilities Worldwide Conference, which will take place in the Conference and Exhibition Centre Ciudad de Oviedo from 5 to 7 September. The encounter will bring together 300 experts in the field of learning disabilities from around twenty countries and 50 universitities around the world.

The conference, which is held out of USA for the second time, is organised by the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Education of the University of Oviedo.

The researchers will discuss and analyse the latests advances and conclusions reached in this discipline focusing on the influence factors that hinder the three basic learning skills: reading, writing and calculation.

The learning disabilities are a daily problem in most education centres. In Spain, it is estimated that around 100,000 students in pre-school, elementary and secondary education have some kind of difficulty in the learning process considered as a special educational need. In countries such as USA this figure reaches 3 million students.

The experts make a clear distinction between the learning problems arising in students and the concept of school failure, which usually comes hand by hand with individual performance.

The conference program includes a total of 17 topics which will cover some of the most common disabilities such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, speech and language problems, classroom management, adult learning disabilities or the role of new technologies as a tool for special educational needs.

The University of Oviedo has organised this prestigious international encounter in collaboration with the Learning Disabilities Worldwide Association, an organisation that works around the world to improve the educational, professional and personal results of people with learning difficulties and other related disorders.