Framing a Ceiling as a Floor: The Changing Definition of Learning Disabilities and the Conflicting Trends in Legislation Affecting Learning Disabled Students
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Authors
Townsend, Nicholas L.
Issue Date
2007
Volume
40
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
FIRST PARAGRAPH(S)|The debate over who should be considered disabled rages fervently in the context of learning disabilities. A learning disabled person is not easy to see like a man in a wheelchair who is unable to walk. Nor is there a simple means of measuring learning disabilities as a hearing test is used to identify deafness. Precisely this difficulty in acquiring reliable evidence makes defining the outer edge of the learning disabled category vexing. Some postmodern critics go so far as to suggest that the entire concept of learning disabilities is merely a subjective social construct that is inherently tied to underlying politics. Medical professionals and lawmakers, however, have relied for years on the discrepancy between a student's ability and achievement to determine the presence of a learning disability. Mental health clinicians also generally accept that even high-functioning individuals can suffer from learning disabilities...
Description
Citation
40 Creighton L. Rev. 229 (2006-2007)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law