The growth of interest in the field of learning disability has been unequaled by that in almost any other field in education. While characteristics of the “disorder” are detailed in the professional literature as well as state and federal guidelines, an investigation of the research bearing on the diagnosis of learning disability indicates that the existence of the “disorder” is questionable at best. Diagnosing a child as learning disabled appears to benefit mainly the school system and the child's teachers. The label is used to explain the youngster's learning difficulty and the education system is given a mythical scapegoat for its failure to educate a segment of the school population.
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