That is a very good question. A learning deficit refers to a relative weakness which could range from very mild to very severe. Many children experience learning deficits of varying degrees but have the ability to earn an appropriate education by increasing their own efforts or through the efforts of parents and/or classroom teacher. But when a child is truly unable to gain an appropriate education without specialized instruction and intervention, then the weakness (or deficit) can be considered a disability. To use a timely metaphor, if you are experiencing a financial deficit it means that you are no longer earning as much money as you would like to earn. Most people experiencing a financial deficit can still support themselves and their families by simply making some lifestyle adjustments. But if your financial deficit is so severe that you can no longer support yourself or your family without outside intervention, then it is really a financial disability. From these examples I hope you can see that a disability can always be considered a deficit while only a severe deficit can be considered a disability. Sometimes parents, teachers, or other professionals use terms such as deficit, weakness, difference, etc. in an effort to avoid the stigma of the term disability. But it is important to understand the difference.