ABSTRACT
What is learning disability? Any textbook will tell you. What is its place in the broader picture human beings have of each other? That is another question, and answers are needed. Doctors, psychologists, teachers, social workers, advocates, researchers, students, and last but first the people who currently carry the label, their families and friends: all of us need that bigger picture, and the longer view. We can understand practice, policy and research only in the context of time and place. Knowing where we all stand in that picture, where the idea of learning disability came from and where it may be going, is crucial to improving the lives of all of us. Without such an understanding, we operate in the dark.
