In the early 1960s, four special education categories (slow learners, mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and culturally deprived) were used to explain the failure of lower class and minority children, while the less stigmatizing category of learning disabilities explained the failures of white middle class children. Later events changed the…

This article, originally published in 1968, examines learning disabilities from the perspectives of history, disciplines (calling for interdisciplinary convergence), education (viewing learning disabilities as a concept rather than a category), teacher preparation, province (evaluating the appropriateness of various delivery systems), and time…