Learning Disabilities Theory

Abstract

Although theory has played an integral role in shaping prevailing practices in the LD field, broad overviews of paradigms and presentations of theoretical issues have been relatively infrequent and limited in scope. For instance, as has been made clear in preceding articles in this journal, a great deal of the discussion has been limited to and by definitional vagaries. Leaders concerned with the future have stressed the critical importance of an increased emphasis on theory development and the use of an improved theoretical base to guide future research and practice. There is a particular need at this time for greater explication and analysis of major controversies related to theories of cause and correction. For this article in the series, we asked Joe Torgesen to briefly review the status of theory in the LD field, to discuss its relationship to practice and to share his perspective of future directions for theory development. In doing so, he suggests the reasons for the present theoretical disarray, expresses optimism for future progress, and offers four recommendations to aid such progress. Subsequent articles in this series will amplify and extend Torgesen's presentation and aid practice by providing additional perspectives for differentiating learning disabilities from other learning problems, differentiating LD subtypes, and understanding cause and correction

Quality of Life of Children with Learning Disabilities: A Comparison of Self–Reports and Proxy Reports

“…In general, having a diagnosis of LD may lead to underachievement, which may result in feelings of failure and experiences of learned helplessness and loneliness (Korkmazlar, 1999). As reported in other studies (Kavale & Fornes, 2000;Levi et al, 2013;Torgesen & Wong, 1986), parents and teachers in this study showed that they were aware of the difficulties experienced by children with LD.…”

“…LD does not resemble other disabilities such as blindness or deafness; conditions that are readily observable by others (Dyson, 2010). It becomes more apparent in schools when children have difficulty engaging in the acquisition of new information, which is usually acquired through reading, writing, calculating, and reasoning (Mellard & Patterson, 2008;Sideridis, 2007;Torgesen & Wong, 1986). Children with LD in the early years of schooling face tasks that require high perceptual and mental processing.…”

Language comprehension in learning disabled children who perform poorly on memory span tests.

“…The experiments reported in this article are part of a continuing series of studies of learning disabled (LD) children who have special difficulties with verbatim retention of sequences of verbal information (Torgesen, in press; Torgesen & Houck, 1980; Torgesen, Rashotte, Greenstein, Houck, & Portes, 1987). Although these children have general intellectual ability in the average range, they perform in the retarded range on tasks that require the immediate recall of sequences of verbal items (digits, numbers, words, letters) that are presented either visually or orally.…”