INTELLIGENCE:

As commonly used, intelligence refers of the level of intellectual functioning and capacity of an individual – the ability to learn or understand.

Recently some experts have suggested that intelligence is not a single phenomenon, but that there exist “multiple intelligences” – a number of discrete “intelligences” – and that an individual will possess a unique pattern of strengths and abilities across this range of intellectual functions.

In the context of a learning disability, the concept of intelligence is important for two reasons. First, there can often be significant discrepancies between intellectual ability and academic performance. Second, learning disabilities have often been misunderstood as a sign of lower intelligence despite extensive research and the achievement of many notable individuals with leaning disabilities, such as Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Nelson Rockefeller.

Intelligence is measured by intelligence tests, which provide an intelligence quotient (IQ), a measure of intellectual development that is the ratio of a child’s mental age to his chronological age, multiplied by 100.