Govt amends assessment guidelines for learning disability

New Delhi: The government has amended the disability assessment guidelines and under the changed norms anyone who is assessed positive by the NIMHANS battery would be considered to have "specific learning disability" of more than 40 per cent. In a gazette notification, the government said psychiatrists have also been included in the medical authority for assessment of Specific Learning Disabilities.

NIMHANS battery is a tool which ascertains the degree of the disability. It is the prescribed diagnostic tool to assess learning disabilities.

"National Institute for Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) battery shall be applied for diagnostic test for SLD. Any person having tested positive on NIMHANS Battery shall be considered as a person with benchmark disability i.e. disability of more than 40 per cent," the notification said.


Specific Learning Disability (SLD) is a disorder manifesting as the inability to read, write, process languages or perform calculations in children.