“By some estimates, about one in seven Americans has a learning disability, a neurological disorder that can make a basic task like reading, writing or organizing information more difficult than usual. Disabilities cannot be cured, but if identified early they can often be ameliorated. Parents, teachers and specialists can help children develop strategies for dealing with them.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/health/20patient.html?pagewanted=1
Learning disabilities are not simply an American phenomenon. It is possible to discover while acquiring English as a second language that a learning disability is interfering with the acquisition of the second language. Differentiating normal language acquisition from abnormal can be difficult, but a trained professional can help assess and teach strategies that ameliorates the disability.