The regression-based discrepancy definition of learning disabilities has been suggested by Rutter and Yule as an improvement of the well-known and much criticized achievement-intelligence discrepancy definition, whereby the examinee's predicted reading attainment is substituted for the intelligence score in the discrepancy expression. Even though…

The author points out two problems with the field of learning disabilities: the term caught on before a satisfactory definition had been determined and the field totally disregards the Law of Parsimony, which requires that one should never give a complicated answer when a simple one will do. (SBH)

The author suggests that, if the purpose of classification is to provide educational services, the category of learning disabilities be used to describe pupils with mild handicaps. She cites the folly of research on sytem-selected students because system-selection decisions are biased by political, practical, and financial influences. (CL)

This response to Stanovich's (EC 607 092) proposal of a new type of learning disability, dysrationalia, looks at implications for the entire learning disabilities field, especially increasing differences between operational and substantive definitions and the ongoing creation of new types of learning disabilities to overcome perceived definitional…

The double-deficit hypothesis of developmental dyslexia proposes that deficits in phonological processing and naming speed represent independent sources of dysfunction in dyslexia. The present article is a review of the evidence for the double-deficit hypothesis, including a discussion of recent findings related to the hypothesis. Studies in this…

The paper on learning disability (LD) definition and subtypes considers the nature of the definition and differentiation problems, the importance of placing and keeping LD in perspective vis a vis other learning problems, and future development of a LD classification schema using dimensions of cause, severity, pervasiveness, and chronicity.…

The article examines the background and current status of attempts to define the term "learning disabilities" (LDs), and concludes that resolution of the problem by continued search for a consummate definition of LD is unrealistic. (Author)

Two classification procedures for identifying children with reading disabilities were compared, differing in their use of intelligence quotient (IQ). Results indicated that abandoning IQ in classification had a very limited impact on the number of children identified as reading disordered, but that use of IQ resulted in more high-IQ children being…

This article discusses research on the traditional use of the IQ-achievement discrepancy to define specific reading disability. It highlights results from a study which found that IQ scores did not differentiate between poor readers who were found to be readily remediated and poor readers who were difficult to remediate. (Contains references.)…

Examined are some generic issues and problems related to the development of operational procedures for identifying learning disabled children, focusing on the formula proposed by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. (DLS)

The field of learning disabilities (LD) needs to focus on four issues concerned with research and practice: (1) differentiation of LD from other problems, (2) identification of LD subgroups, (3) effects of specific interventions with specific subgroups, and (4) recognition of social/cultural influences on LD identification and services. (Author/DB)

This article critically analyzes available definitions of learning disability. The general problem of definition is discussed first, followed by a discussion of individual definitions from the earliest to the latest. It is concluded that the definitions fail to provide substantive insight into the nature of the condition. (Contains extensive…

Discussed are some negative implications of the final federal rules for evaluating specific learning disabilities (Federal Register, December 29, 1977), which conceptually redefined learning disabilities to mean an "underachievement." (DLS)

Past, present, and future concerns regarding the definition of learning disabilities (LD) are documented. Research on efforts to clarify the LD label is discussed, including the questionable utility of the discrepancy model. An approach is presented for operationalizing the definition of LD of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities.…

This current response to a 1968 article by Ray Barsch (EC 602 662) notes lack of progress in defining and classifying learning disabilities and in determining appropriate interventions to help students with learning disabilities. The paper distinguishes among three types of learning problems and notes the need for individualized transdisciplinary…