This means a child is slow to learn, and the extent of the difficulty may be severe, moderate or mild. Some children have trouble learning to do certain tasks, such as maths, reading or drawing, because a particular part of their brain is affected. ‘Specific learning difficulty’ is particularly common in children with cerebral palsy. People who are unable to control their physical movement or who are non-verbal are often assumed to have a mental disability. However some people with cerebral palsy have higher than average intelligence and others have average intelligence.