Myths and Realities in Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The concept o f learning disabilities in ctiildhood and youth is based on a confusion of ideas and understandings, and for the newcomer to the problem, it is often difficult to identify myths and unfounded concepts from the realities. The author has attempted to identify a number of misconceptions and to counterbalance these with statements based on historical, research, or theoretical facts. He deals with such matters as the issue of definition of the field, focus of child population included in the concept of learning disability, personnel preparation, and integration of these cliildren into regular grades.The issue of learning disabilities in childhood and youth is one of the more interesting phenomena that have occurred in education. Its history has been well documented on more than one occasion so that no further reference will be made to it here (Hallahan & Cruickshank 1973, Wiederholt 1974. The field is fraught with misconceptions. It is ill-defined in the minds o f most educators and psychologists; certainly it is not understood by physicians,' who have only recently bccome interested in the'problem. Its implications are neither understood nor adequately conceptualized by the majority of school administrators. The hopes of parents are not being realized because of these facts. It is essential that serious thought be given t o this mattcr and that more appropriate directions be initiated.A recent volume indicates that the field of learning disabilities emerged coincident t o the development by Kirk of the Illinois Test o f Psycholinguistic Abilities (Haring 1974). This is the first myth which should be considered. Kirk's work, uniquely important, nonetheless had antecedents which he recognizes. The ITPA itself is based on the earlier conceptual framework of Osgood, but the additional and perhaps still earlier stimulus for whatever Kirk did in the ITPA came, he says, from personal contact with Ruth Monroe in Chicago and later from Strauss, particularly when he and Kirk were both working in Wisconsin. A still earlier stimulation of Kirk's direction undoubtedly came from his direct association with, and exposure to, both Strauss and Werner in Michigan. There is n o effort here to minimize the work of Kirk. The fact of the matter is that he and several others in various institutional and university settings were working simultaneously along somewhat similar lines. With the exception of Monroe and Grace Fernald, t o whom Kirk also gives credit for the stimulation of his thinking, most of these investigators were, directly or indirectly, his colleagues a t an i n s t i t u t i o n a l setting in Michigan: Newell Kephart, Sidney Bijou, Bluma Weiner, William C r u i c k s h a n k , R u t h M e l c h e r Patterson, Charlotte Phileo, and others who followed.The reality of this situation is that Kirk was one among several who moved t o understand the complexities of children who were later t o be called learning disabled. Kirk took the route

Gifted Students with Attention Deficits: Fact and/or Fiction? Or, Can We See the Forest for the Trees?

“…Some students report the need to dance to some music before sitting down to write about some new idea or before finally mastering a complex piece in music. Cruickshank (1963Cruickshank ( , 1967Cruickshank ( , 1977, whose seminal work with hyperactive students is well known, came to assess hyperaetivity and extreme sensitivity to the environment as positive characteristics in bright children rather than as problematic behavior. When such gifted children appear impulsive, it simply may be their extra urge to explore their world (Piechowski, 1991).…”

Criteria for Early Diagnosis of Brain Dysfunction

“…The history through the sixties and seventies shows a growing concern on the part of psychiatrists, neurologists and psychologists for the identification of those symptoms significant for the diagnosis of MBD (l, 3,[6][7][8]23). The paucity of follow-up studies and our own concerns regarding the diagnosis of brain dysfunctioning led to a follow-up study on forty children diagnosed in pre-school years.…”

“…More recently Cruickshank (7,8) reviewed the history and definition for brain dysfunction and learning disabilities.…”

Behavioral Assessment of Occupational Skills of Learning Disabled Adolescents

“…A number of researchers (e.g., Cruickshank, 1977;Hardin, 1978) have noted the importance of developing an epidemiological data base for learning disabilities. Epidemiology, originating in the public health field, is the study of the distribution and determinants of the prevalence of a problem (Bloom, 1977).…”