s age group and culture (Wodrich & Joy, 1986, p. 4).
It was not until the late 19th century that learning disabilities were recognized as separate from and different from mental retardation. Mental retardation indicated differences between and among individuals, but learning disabilities was a term for people who had uneven development of abilities within themselves. In 1896 Morgan recognized a difficulty he called "word blindness" in one of his patients, a condition that today would probably be termed dyslexia.
According to Wodrich and Joy, the need to label and categorize such individuals arises from the inability for schools to provide for them. Especially in the case of learning disabilities, one could say that the school has failed to teach and provide for the child, so a label is constructed to make the school look innocent. Cohen says that such labels as dyslexia should be replaced with labels that place the responsibility back on the accountability of the school to teach all children--"dyspedogogia" instead of dyslexia (Wodrich & Joy, 1986, p. 15).
It is important to note that the disease concept has been applied to developmental disabilities in a way that indicates that there is a common etiology, when in fact that is not the case. Chicken pox, for instance, is caused by a specific virus, and the physical signs follow a predictable course. However, mental retardation and learning disabilities may be caused by a variety of factors, and the outcome may be influenced by a number of variables.
Probably in past generations, many such individuals were left to die or were absorbed into communities and extended families with no special designation or provision. However, as life spans lengthen and the medical profession becomes sophisticated, life is preserved for a larger number of individuals who might not have survived in the past. This trend, valuing life for itself, even if the individual has quite demandin...