The relevance of the new National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities definition of learning disabilities (LD) is discussed in relation to the infant population (birth to age 3). The new LD definition assumes that difficulty in acquisition and use of knowledge is intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction. The interactive nature of early development is discussed in relation to the intrinsic aspect of the LD definition. A normal development program model is recommended for suspect LD infants.
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