Learning disabilities have been recognized as a medical problem for a long time. As early as 1891, medical researchers noted the association between neurological mechanisms and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. Scientific opinion began to shift as it was recognized that some reading and learning problems in children was a result of biology and not poor upbringing. As knowledge of learning disabilities increased through research and experience, the definition of what learning disabilities are also evolved to encompass this new knowledge.
The Canadian Association of Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities (the former name of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada – LDAC) http://www.ldac-taac.ca established a definition of learning disabilities in 1981. This definition was developed over several years and was the result of several conferences and study groups, as well as work done in the United States.
In the late 1990s, LDAC decided a new definition was needed to take into account new research, the experience gained in dealing with learning disabilities and to respond to the growing, Canada-wide issue of "delabelling". First initiated in 1996 by Gordon Bullivant, LDAC Vice President-West and subsequently LDAC President, this project came to be known as the Think Tank.
The formal Think Tank project saw light in 1997 and brought together a number of Canadian leaders including Bernice Wong, PhD, Gordon Bullivant, Christina Fiedorowicz, PhD, Barbara McElgunn, Esther Benezra, PhD, Wayne MacDonald, PhD, Alexander M. Wilson, PhD and Bonnie Kaplan, PhD. Two research assistants, Stephanie Greenham and Ruth Sullivan gathered published research from a wide range of sources including journals, reference and text books, etc. With a focus on research conducted in 1990s, Think Tank members analyzed, discussed and debated recent findings in neuropsychology, genetics, brain development, neuroanatomy, imaging techniques, electrophysiology, as well as a range of other related fields. The work of the Think Tank, presented in the article The Neurobiological Basis of Learning Disabilities – An Update, was published in Vol. 11, No.2 of Learning Disabilities, A Multidisciplinary Journal in 2001. The paper covered many areas, but the main message was that learning disabilities are biological in nature and affect one or more of the processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning.
In addition to writing The Neurobiological Basis of Learning Disabilities – An Update the Think Tank group used its findings to draft a science-based definition of learning disabilities. Over the course of several years, the Think Tank group sought input from provincial/territorial Learning Disabilities Associations, the LDAC Professional Advisory Committee, National Legal Advisory Committee, as well as from experts and practitioners throughout North America. First officially published in 2002, this new definition had several new elements, but the most notable differences from previous versions are that learning disabilities are:
neurobiological
genetic
lifelong
and affect all areas of life not just education.
While the work of the Think Tank was underway, the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario was involved in its own research and consultations which led to the development of its own definition. It should be noted that the work conducted by LDAO as well as the work of the LDAC Think Tank drew from the same bodies of research. As such, both definitions were very similar.
The 2002, science based, national definition of learning disabilities has proved very useful as it confirms the neubiological genesis of learning disabilities and explains the wide spectrum of learning disabilities and how they affect people.
Official Definition of Learning Disabilities (adopted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada on January 30, 2002)
Understanding Learning Disabilities By Elizabeth Walcot-Gayda, Ph. D.
Previous LD Definition (1981)
