The History of Learning Disabilities

The History of Learning Disabilities

By: Sarah Ingalls

...1960s continued

2000 to Present Day

1887

1930s-1940s

2001 - Elementary and Secondary Education Act becomes No Child Left Behind Act

2002 - fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) shows that the brain of a dyslexic child is different than the brain of a typical peer.

2004 - IDEA reauthorized again

2013 - The DMS broadens its definition of Specific Learning Disabilities

(Morin, 2014)

1964 - Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD) was created by "a group driven by parents and adults with learning disabilities, and the bylaws and structure of the organization — now known as the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA)" (Crawford, n.d.).

Legislation

1969 -

* The Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act of 1969 passed.

* the Elementary and Secondary Amendments of 1969

Alfred Strauss and Heinz Werner

Strauss and Werner believed there were two types of "educable mentally retarded students" (The Right to Read, n.d.).

- Endogenous Type - consisted of children who had a family history of mental deficiency

- Exogenous Type – no family history of mental deficiency

"Later researchers found extreme cases of poor practice in their work, especially in the criteria by which students were assigned to "brain damaged" and "non-brain damaged" groups" (Neurological Basis For Learning Disabilities: Implications for Educational Practice).

Rudolf Berlin, a German Ophthalmologist first uses the word "dyslexia" which replaces the use of "word-blindness".

Interesting Fact: Dyslexia is Greek for "difficulty with words"

(History of Dyslexia, n.d.).

2000

2005

1900

2010

1870

1963

1970s, 1980s, and 1990s

1917-1937

1973 - Section 504 passed by Congress

1975 - Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)

1990- Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed

1990 - EAHCA revises and becomes Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

(Morin, 2014)

James Hinshelwood wrote the book Congenital Word Blindness.

" According to him, the defect involved the acquisition and storage in the brain of the visual memories of letters and words" (Guardiola, 2001).

- Credited this to 'damage' to specific areas of the brain that stored visual memories for words and letters (Cote & Glaeser).

Samuel Orton

-Developed an explanation for reading disabilities.

- "a failure of the brain to establish cerebral dominance" (Sleeter, 2010).

-Coined the term "strephosymbolia" or twisted symbols.

- The convention Exploration into the Problems of the Perceptually Handicapped Child met in Chicago.

- The field of Learning Disabilities was created.

- The term Learning Disabilities was proposed by Samuel Kirk and defined it as describing children with disorders in the development of language, speech reading or communication skills not explained by blindness, deafness, or some other physical disability" (Neurological Basis For Learning Disabilities: Implications for Educational Practice).

What is a Learning Disability (LD)?

"Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have trouble

learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are: reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math".

(MedicineNet.com, 2014)