Many children do not make this connection and characterize math as a collection of unconnected facts which must be memorized. They don't look for patterns or meaning and can feel puzzled by classmates who seem to learn with so much less effort. In other cases, adults move in prematurely with children who are eager and excited to memorize, teaching them procedures which they can imitate but not understand. While this informal/formal gap is not, strictly speaking, a learning disability, it probably is a factor in a majority of math learning difficulties.