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Special Education

Notes hearing impairment, motor handicap, mental retardation environmental or economic disadvantages,
but due to a disorder in the psychological process involved in understanding or in using language.
Kirk (1962) has defined : “Learning disability refers to a retardation disorder, or delayed development
in one or more of the process of speech, language, reading, spelling, writing or arithmetic resulting
from a possible cerebral dysfunction and/or emotional or behavioural disturbance and not from
mental retardation, sensory deprivation, cultural or instructional factors.”

16.1 Meaning of Learning Disabled Children

The concept of learning disability has brief and turbulent history. Some children are quite normal
and yet at all times display learning problems. They write ‘deb’ for ‘bed’, was’ for’ ‘saw’ and cannot
concentrate if there is background noise. The National Advisory Committee on Handicapped Children
(USA) defined learning disability as follows (1986) :
“LD children exhibit disorder in one or more basic psychological process involved in understanding
and in using spoken or written languages. The disorders are manifested in listening, thinking, talking,
reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. They include conditions which are referred to as perceptual
problems, brain injury, minimal brain dynfunction, dyslexia, developmental aphasia etc. They do
not include learning problems which are primarily due to visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, mental
retardation, emotional disturbance, or the environmental disadvantage.”
There are a large number of children who have problems in learning specific subjects. Usually learning
problems may occur due to any one or a combination of the following factors :
(1) Low level of intelligence (2) Mental retardation
(3) Visual impairment (4) Motor handicaps
(5) Economic difficulties (6) Cultural disadvantage
(7) Poor instruction.
Learning problems caused by the above mentioned factors are not considered to be learning disability.
For example, a mentally retarded child has learning problems in all the school subjects. The learning
problems of a mentally retarded child are not caused by learning disability but low level of intelligence.
Similarly learning problems of a blind child are due to his visual impairment and this is not learning
disability.
16.2 Definitions of Learning Disability

The definition of learning disability adopted by National Advisory Committee on Handicapped
Children (USA, 1968) is given as under;
“Children with specific learning disabilities exhibit a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language. These may be manifested
in disorders of listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, spelling or arithmetic. They include
conditions which have been referred to as perceptual handicaps, dyslexia, development ashasia, etc.
They do not include learning problems which are due primarily to visual, learning, motor handicaps,
mental retardation, emotional disturbances, or environmental disadvantages.”
The National Joint Committee of Learning Disabilities gave the following definition of learning
disability which is unanimously accepted at international level :
“Learning disability is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by
significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning
or mathematical abilities.
These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system
dysfunction. Even though learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping
conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance) or
environmental influences (e.g., cultural,differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction,
psychogenic factors) it is not the direct result of these condition or influences.”

112 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY