ABSTRACT
This chapter criticizes the field of learning disabilities, and specifically of reading disability (RD) by considering the story of Kim, an undergraduate student in nursing. Kim's experience provides a good example of how the traditional concept of RD frames the problem of reading failure in the wrong way and actually may worsen rather than ameliorate the problems of poor readers. The chapter explores the role of biological, as well as environmental, factors in causing RD. It discusses some of the reasons for which research findings on RD have tended to have a limited impact on educational practice. The chapter describes the concept of Matthew effects and deals with an intrinsic perspective which address the overlabeling problem in the schools, along with a variety of research considerations, by attempting to ferret out the "real" cases of RD. This chapter also presents an overview of this book.
