A Commentary on “Empirical and Theoretical Support for Direct Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities by Assessment of Intrinsic Processing Weaknesses”

Torgesen’s proposal to diagnose learning disabilities through the direct assessment of intrinsic processing weaknesses is a latter-day attempt to operationalize a long-held premise about learning disabilities. The assumption is that learning disabilities are the result of underlying brain dysfunctions that create deficiencies in certain processing skills that are prerequisite to specific types of learning. The proposed approach has promise, but not necessarily because it operationalizes the stated premise.