ABSTRACT
Since 1874, when Carl Wernicke published ten case studies of “brain-injured” patients with language disorders (Wernicke, 1874), scientists have been intrigued with the phenomenon experienced by now more than 4.4 million children in the United States who are of at least average intellect, have no sensory disorders that would cause academic difficulty (e.g., blindness, deafness), but still struggle in learning and in life’s daily demands. Samuel Kirk coined the term “learning disability” (LD) in his 1962 textbook, Educating Exceptional Children. He defined LD as follows:
A retardation, disorder, or delayed development in one or more of the processes of speech, language, reading, writing, arithmetic, or other school subject resulting from a psychological handicap caused by a possible cerebral dysfunction and/or emotional or behavioral disturbances. It is not the result of mental retardation, sensory deprivation, or cultural and instructional factors (Kirk, 1962, p. 34).
A focus on specialized instruction for students with LD, begun in the 1920s, continued and was implemented in public schools beginning in 1975 (for a review of this history, see Hallahan, Pullen, & Ward, 2013). Diagnosticians have relied on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) to identify students with LD so that these individuals may access the services entitled to them in public schools. The newest DSM, the 5th edition, coupled with high quality research into intervention effects, now makes it possible to identify with a high degree of precision children, young adults, and adults who have LD and to subsequently manage the symptoms of LD with highly effective and proven treatments (Shaywitz, 2004). However, treatment 30almost exclusively involves academic interventions and rarely includes mental health services in spite of the fact that students with LD experience higher levels of anxiety and depression than their non-LD peers (Nelson & Harwood, 2011a; 2011b). In this chapter, we briefly review the DSM-5 LD diagnostic criteria, describe academic, social/emotional, and mental health difficulties students with LD often encounter, and propose ways in which taking the academic and mental health status of students with LD into account can influence practice and student outcomes.