Many people have various "learning disabilities", and a high percentage
of them who've reached adulthood, know and understand what they are and
what works best for them so they can "work" through the problem.
You might ask this woman if there is a particular way that you could
show/explain things that she has found helps her to grasp the concept.
It also may be as simple as she's never been seriously involved with any
kind of mechanical process and even the basic function of knots and
rigging is new to her