A Timeline of Learning Disability History

1877

A Professor of Medicine at Strassburg, Adolph Kussmal, is credited with creating the term “word-blindness” to describe individuals who struggled with reading despite being of average or above average intelligence. Pulling from this work, German ophthalmologist and professor Rdolf Berlin created the term “dyslexia.”

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A Brief History of Dyslexia, Oxford University

1902

Ophthalmologist James Hinshelwood publishes “Congenital Word-Blindness with Reports on Two Cases.” The publication concludes that word-blindness seems to impact specific parts of the brain, that the problem with reading is not generalized to all areas of academics, and that early identification of “word blindness” is key.

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Mather, 2024

1946

One of the first public school programs for learning disabilities was established in Syracuse University in New York by Dr. William Cruickshank, a professor of education and psychology who had a strong interest in special education. 

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After World War II, there was a growing awareness for disabilities, as many soldiers returned home with permanent disabilities. The University of Syracuse developed classes and services for those with disabilities, and classes on teaching students with disabilities, and Dr. Willam Cruickshank directed this department.

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William M. Cruickshank Papers, Syracuse University Library

1965

Dr. Barbara Bateman, a colleague of Dr. Kirk, added to his ideas on identifying learning disabilities, and suggested looking for achievement discrepancy when trying to identify a learning disability. An achievement discrepancy occurs when a learner’s low achievement scores don’t align with their expected achievement levels.

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This is the first time ability-achievement discrepancy was associated with specific learning disability identification.

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Mather, 2024

1966

Congress began working on an omnibus special education bill, and there was debate on whether or not the category of specific learning disabilities should be included due to the lack of an agreed-upon definition and identification method. 

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During this time an LD Task Force composed of medical professionals worked to create a definition, and introduced the term ‘minimal brain dysfunction.’ This term was controversial because it was vague.

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Hajovsky et.al, 2024

1968

The Second Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II) included specific learning disabilities for the first time as a preliminary category. There was no diagnostic criteria given for SLD, as it needed further consideration and study. 

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Hajovsky et.al, 2024

1969

The Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act of 1969 was passed, which included a working definition of learning disabilities within the Federal law. With this definition a medical cause was presumed, though the focus was on the mandate for remedial education designed to address the unique needs of children with learning disabilities. 

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Hajovsky et.al, 2024

1973

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a landmark civil rights law, was passed. Section 504 of the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, and requires that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). 

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The Rehabilitation Act is one of the first laws to include disabilities in civil rights. However, regulations to ensure that ‘reasonable accommodations’ were put in place for individuals with disabilities were not yet formed.

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Eveland, 2024

1977

The “Sign 504!” Protests begin. The lack of regulations created for Section 504 meant it was difficult for the law to be enforced. Section 504 was often not followed by organizations that did not want to spend money on accessibility requirements. 

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In April of 1977, 10 protests emerged across the country to pressure the government to sign the regulations for Section 504. These protests took the form of sit-ins in Health, Education, and Welfare offices, and the sit-in in San Francisco lasted 26 days.

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A group of protestors visited Washington DC in an attempt to speak to President Carter, but were avoided. As media coverage increased the pressure of the protests, the regulations to enforce Section 504 were signed.

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Eveland, 2024

1990

The ‘Capitol Crawl’ cemented the passing of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in employment, state and local government, public transportation and accommodations, and telecommunications. 

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The process to turn the ADA into law had been stalled, which led protestors to protest at the Capitol on March 12th, 1990. Several protestors set down their mobility aids to crawl the Capitol steps as a demonstration of the challenges that individuals with disabilities face.

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Zinn Education Project

2001

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed. NCLB aimed to get every child to grade-level in reading and math by 2014. By requiring schools to include students with disabilities in their accountability measures, NCLB resulted in school districts feeling more pressure to supply the interventions and accommodations necessary to allow students with SLD and other disabilities to achieve higher academic standards.

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Turner, 2015

2004

IDEA was reauthorized and included an addition of response to intervention (RTI) that could be used in identification of students with learning disabilities.

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History of the IDEA, U.S. Department of Education

2015

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was reauthorized and renamed to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As Congress moved to reauthorize the ESSA, LDA recommended that students with learning disabilities receive access to the general education curriculum, to maintain “students with disabilities” as a specific subgroup for accountability purposes, to include a definition of “universal design for learning” and incorporate these principles in the law, and to require schools to determine and assure the availability of social/emotional and mental health services for students as part of their school improvement plans.

2023

LDA developed interdisciplinary Principles and Standards to provide a guide for best practices in the evaluation and identification of Specific Learning Disabilities.

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These research-based standards were informed by a collaboration between professional representatives and ambassadors from the fields of school psychology, cognitive psychology, speech and language pathology, special education, literacy, mathematics education, and medicine.