Criticized are existing methods of identifying learning disabled children, and suggested are three objective conditions thought to be more appropriate. (DB)

A study of articles appearing in the "Journal of Learning Disabilities," from 1971 through 1980, yielded results such as 87 percent of definitions of dyslexia were in terms of a selective reading or spelling deficiency on a standardized test and only one of 45 studies classified dyslexics. (Author/MC)

After initial efforts to maintain the traditional posture toward learning disabilities in the rewriting of the Rehabilitation Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 95-602), the Rehabilitation Services Administration yielded to a new conceptualization which will now allow the severely LD access to…

The article emphasizes the need for a uniform format for defining the populations selected for research, particularly with learning disabled individuals. The population descriptions from three studies dealing with some aspect of reading are presented and scrutinized in terms of the four categories. (Author/DLS)

In response to S. A. Cohen's paper on research problems in learning disabilities (LD), the author agrees that much research has shown inconsistent and inconclusive results, points out conceptual inadequacies in LD research, stresses the need to define the research population, and differentiates between constructs and behaviors. (DB)

This article takes issue with the diagnosis of a group of students as learning disabled as presented in a previous article that focused at learning disabilities in the context of second-language learning. (JL)

This response to Stanovich (EC 607 092) considers the relationship between rationality and intelligence. It sees rationality as a relatively minor part of intelligence and proposes the concept of practical intelligence (or the lack thereof) as an alternative to Stanovich's concept of dysrationalia. (DB)

This paper responds to reactions to the proposal of a new learning disability, dysrationalia, by suggesting that alternative ideas of "practical intelligence" are equally inexact, that rationality must be defined broadly, and that epistemological relativism can be carried too far. (DB)

Argues that ideology is a primary basis for definition in public discourse. Presents a case study of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act to illustrate this. Examines and discusses three potential explanations for this ideology and its implications. (SC)

This article discusses issues of classification and identification, while evaluating some of the continuing controversies about learning disabilities (LD) related to those topics. The author suggests that many problems have to do with confusion between the two. Despite years of effort and an extraordinary increase in the number of individuals…

A recent overview of the field of learning disabilities (Torgesen, 2004) laid out several issues that will likely consume the field for the foreseeable future, including problems of definition and etiology, differentiation of learning disabilities from other disabilities, and issues in identification and service delivery. It has been approximately…

Two studies were conducted to examine the extent to which the category "learning disabilities" (LD) meets the major criterion for classification systems, specifically that the category demonstrates at least one universal and one specific characteristic. Analyses were conducted on psychometric data for 248 students in regular 3rd, 5th,…

Three types of definitions of learning disabilities (LD) (ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter) were examined to determine the extent of common variance within 48 school-identified LD children and 96 nonLD children (all elementary students). Both samples had previously been administered a battery of psychoeducational…

A study involving 48 school-identified learning disabled (LD) and 96 nonLD elementary students investigated the numbers of students identified by three kinds of LD definitions: ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter. Relationships between each definition and actual school classification were also examined. Data from a…

The author defines learning disabilities (LD); notes controversies and confusion over the meaning of LD and associated terms (such as perceptual handicaps) from P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act; and suggests an approach to explain LD to students and parents in clear and nonthreatening language. A filmstrip,…