Timeline of Learning Disabilities

'Learning disabilities' hasn't always been a household term. We only began to discover the
reasons for learning problems a little over a century ago, and many people still have to fight for
rights to equal opportunities and appropriate education. This timeline tracks the history of
learning disabilities, from their discovery in 1877 to our most recent laws and scientific findings.
It is important for children and parents to recognize the timeline that tracks history of learning
disabilities so they can have a clearer understanding of how rules and regulations today came
about. Depending on how the teacher prefers sharing this information with students and families
varies. This information can be relayed through technology, through informational packets, or
books sent home with their children.

1877 The term "word blindness"; is coined by German neurologist Adolf Kussamaul to
describe "complete text blindnessalthough the power of sight, the intellect and the powers of
speech are intact.

1887 German physician Rudolf Berlin refines our definition of reading problems, using the
term "dyslexia"; to describe a "very great difficulty in interpreting written or printed symbols.

1895 Ophthalmologist James Hinshelwood describes in medical journal, The Lancet, the case
of acquired word blindness, where a 58 year old man awoke one morning to discover that he
could no longer read. Hinshelwood continued to study word blindness in children, and
recognized the need for early identification of these children by teachers.

1896 After reading Dr. Hinshelwood's report, Dr. W. Pringle Morgan writes in the British
Medical Journal of a 14 year old who seemed to have word blindness from birth. He was
described as bright, intelligent and quick, but had great difficulty reading and spelling despite the
efforts of his teachers. Morgan wrote: "The schoolmaster who has taught him for some years
says that he would be the smartest lad in the school if the instruction were entirely oral.

1905 The first U.S. report of childhood reading difficulties is published by Cleveland
ophthalmologist Dr. W.E. Bruner.

1963 Samuel A. Kirk is the first person to use the term "learning disability"; at a conference in
Chicago.

1969 Congress passes the Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act, which is included
in the Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970 (PL 91-230). This is the first time federal law
mandates support services for students with learning disabilities.

1975 The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142), which mandates a free,
appropriate public education for all students. (This law is renamed IDEA in 1990.)

1987 A report released by the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities calls for the
establishment of Centers for the Study of Learning and Attention, whose sole purpose is to
expand research and understanding of this issue.

1990 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) renames and changes PL 94-142.
The term 'disability' replaces 'handicap,' and the new law requires transition services for students.
Autism and traumatic brain injury are added to the eligibility list.

1996 Dr. Guinevere Eden and her research team at the National Institute of Mental Health used
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) a process that allows us to look at the activity
in living brains to identify the regions of the brain that behave differently in dyslexics.

LD Online offers the first web resource for parents and teachers looking for ways to help
students with learning disabilities.

1997 IDEA is reauthorized. Regular education teachers are included in the IEP process,
students have more access to the general curriculum and are included in state-wide assessments,
and ADHD is added to the list of conditions that could make a child eligible for services under
the category "other health impairment.

2004 IDEA is reauthorized again. School personnel now have more authority in special
education placement decisions and the new law is better aligned with the No Child Left Behind
Act.

2005 Dr. Jeffrey Gruen and his research team at Yale University identified a gene that had
patterns and variations that were strongly associated with dyslexia.

2006 - In United States v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the protection of the
Americans with Disabilities Act extends to persons held in a state prison and protects prison
inmates from discrimination on the basis of disability by prison personnel.

2008 - The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 became law,
and it broadened the scope of who is considered disabled under the law, and when considering
whether a person is disabled, the law required that people ignore the beneficial effects of any
mitigating measures (except ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses) the person uses;
furthermore, when considering whether a person is substantially limited in a major life activity,
which would make them disabled under the law, the law required the consideration of bodily
functions as well as other major life activities, and having one major life activity substantially
limited is enough; when considering whether a person whose condition is episodic or in
remission is substantially limited in a major life activity, the law required the consideration of the
person's limitations as they are when the condition is in an active state; furthermore, determining
someone is disabled under the law does not require individuals to meet the substantially-limitedin-a-major-life-activity standard, but does not include impairments that are transitory and minor.
2008 - The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
became law in the U.S., and it required that if a group health plan includes medical/surgical
benefits and MH/SUD (mental health/substance abuse) benefits, the financial requirements (e.g.,
deductibles and co-payments) and treatment limitations (e.g., number of visits or days of
coverage) that apply to MH/SUD benefits must be no more restrictive than the predominant
financial requirements or treatment limitations that apply to substantially all medical/surgical
benefits; MH/SUD benefits may not be subject to any separate cost-sharing requirements or
treatment limitations that only apply to such benefits; if a group health plan includes
medical/surgical benefits and MH/SUD benefits, and the plan provides for out-of-network
medical/surgical benefits, it must provide for out-of-network MH/SUD benefits; and standards
for medical necessity determinations and reasons for any denial of benefits relating to MH/SUD
benefits must be disclosed upon request. However, this law does not apply to small group health
plans.
2009 - The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became law in the
U.S., and it expanded the definition of federal hate crime to include those violent crimes in
which the victim is selected due to their actual or perceived disability; previously federal hate
crimes were defined as only those violent crimes where the victim is selected due to their race,
color, religion, or national origin.
2009 - The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act became law in the U.S. It was the first
piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with
paralysis; it created new coordinated research activities through the National Institutes of Health
to search for a cure for paralysis, and promotes enhanced rehabilitation services for Americans
living with paralysis.
2009 - In Forest Grove v. T.A., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents of a child
with a disability. The Court held that even though their son had never received special education

services from the school district they were entitled to pursue tuition reimbursement for the
private educational program they secured for their son, T.A.
2010 - The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, known as CVAA, was
signed into law. It requires that unedited, full-length programs shown on TV with captions must
also be captioned when they are made available online, with more requirements to be phased in
at later dates.
2010: Rosa's Law, which changed references in many federal statutes that referred to "mental
retardation" to make them refer, instead, to "intellectual disability", became law in the U.S.
2010 - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law. Due to this law, since 2012
companies cannot drop a person's coverage when they get sick due to a mistake the person made
on their application, or put a lifetime cap on how much care they will pay for if a person gets
sick, and since 2014 companies cannot deny coverage based on preexisting conditions, or put an
annual cap on how much care they will pay for if a person gets sick.
2011 - On March 15, 2011, new Americans with Disabilities Act rules came into effect. These
rules expanded accessibility requirements for recreational facilities such as swimming pools, golf
courses, exercise clubs, and boating facilities. They also set standards for the use of wheelchairs
and other mobility devices like Segways in public spaces, and changed the standards for things
such as selling tickets to events and reserving accessible hotel rooms. The new rules also clearly
defined service animal as ...any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks
for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric,
intellectual, or other mental disability. This portion of the law also states that the services the
service animal provides must be directly related to the handlers disability and dogs that
provide only emotional support or crime deterrence cannot be defined as service animals.
2011 - In Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that Virginia cannot invoke its sovereign immunity to prevent the Virginia Office for Protection
and Advocacy (an independent state agency and member of the National Disability Rights
Network) from suing state officials for a court order. In other words, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled Ex Parte Young allows a federal court to hear a lawsuit for prospective relief against state
officials brought by another agency of the same state.
2011 - The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, also known as the FAIR
Education Act (Senate Bill 48), which states that California schools must include the
contributions of people with disabilities in their textbooks and in teaching of history and social
studies classes, became law.
2011 - Facilities licensed by the DDS (Department of Developmental Services) in
Massachusetts, including but not limited to the Judge Rotenberg Center, were banned from
subjecting new admissions to severe behavioral interventions including electric shock, long-term
restraint, or aversive that pose risk for psychological harm.
2012 - A lawsuit settlement provided that the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New
York would add wheelchair seating and accessible parking and renovate restrooms to make them
more accessible.

2012 - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn issued an executive order to increase state oversight of
investigations into the deaths of adults with disabilities, because a recent Belleville NewsDemocrat investigation revealed that, since 2003, the inspector general of the Department of
Human Services did not investigate 53 cases called into the agency's hotline about disabled
adults living at home who were allegedly abused or neglected and later died.
2012 - Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders reached a deal to create a new state agency,
the Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs, to police abuse and neglect
of more than one million New Yorkers with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses and
other conditions that put them at risk. Lawmakers also agreed to expand the states public
disclosure law, requiring thousands of nonprofit groups that provide services to disabled and
mentally ill people to make records of abuse and neglect public. The reforms were based on a
report by Clarence J. Sundram, Special Advisor to the Governor on Vulnerable Persons, entitled
"The Measure of a Society: Protection of Vulnerable Persons in Residential Facilities Against
Abuse and Neglect." Some disability activists supported this reform, but others disapproved
because they thought investigations should be referred to outside police agencies, not the state.
An independent nonprofit group is also being set up to lobby for policy changes for people with
disabilities. The group will get powers to conduct its own investigations after complaints and to
review documents connected to particular allegations, and that authority is detailed in state law.
It will also be given access to group homes and state institutions.
2012 - It was announced that Netflix will offer closed captions on all TV and movie content from
September 2014 as part of a settlement with a deaf viewer from Massachusetts (Lee Nettles) who
sued the company. In 2012, a federal judge in Springfield, Massachusetts ruled in that lawsuit
that Netflix and other online providers that serve the public are subject to the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act, the first ruling in the country to recognize that Internet-based businesses
are covered by the act.
2012 - The Idaho Fish and Game Commission declared that a companion without a tag or permit
is allowed to assist a disabled hunter.
2012 - A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed that school
districts should reimburse parents for independent educational evaluations of students with
disabilities, at least in some cases. Though the U.S. Department of Education had long indicated
that parents have the right to an independent opinion at public expense under certain
circumstance, the Jefferson County Board of Education in Alabama had challenged the rule.
2013 - As of January 31, 2013, all existing pools located at public accommodations must meet
Americans with Disabilities Act standards. This requires the installation of a fixed lift for the
pool areas.
2013 - The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that a girl's tree nut allergy was a protected disability
under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, as well as an episodic impairment under the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
2013 - The U.S. Justice Department said in a settlement with Lesley University in Massachusetts
that severe food allergies can be considered disabilities under federal law.

2013 - The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Massachusetts found that companies
can be required to pay long-term disability benefits to a recovering drug addict if the person
would face a significant risk of relapse by returning to work. This is believed to be the first time
a circuit court said that a risk of relapse into substance abuse can constitute a disability, entitling
an employee to long-term benefits, according to the attorney for the plaintiff.
2013 - The U.S. Department of Education issued a mandate requiring schools to provide sports
for children with disabilities. Specifically, students with disabilities who want to compete in
sports for their school can join traditional teams if officials can make reasonable modifications
to accommodate them. If those adjustments would fundamentally alter a sport or give the student
an advantage, the department says schools must create parallel athletic programs that have
comparable standing to traditional programs.
2013 - Persons with intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, and psychiatric
disabilities who opt to apply for a job with the federal government through Schedule A - a hiring
authority allowing agencies to appoint a qualified, disabled applicant to a position without
competing with the general public - stopped being required to supply a certification of job
readiness from a medical professional or rehabilitation specialist stating they could perform the
job. Under the revised policies, agencies became able to hire after determining that the person is
likely to succeed in performing the duties of the position, a decision that can be based on any
relevant work, educational, or other experience. The new rules also dropped the term mental
retardation and replaced it with intellectual disability.
2013 - The U.S. Supreme Court blocked North Carolina from trying to take more than $900,000
from a legal settlement won by the family of a 13-year-old girl, identified only as E.M.A, who
suffered serious injuries during her birth that left her severely disabled. Writing for the court,
Justice Anthony Kennedy said the state cannot claim a share of the settlement as reimbursement
for medical care without determining how much of the settlement is attributable to the care.
2013 - Effective July 1, 2013, California Civil Code Section 1938 requires every commercial
property owner or lessor in California to include on the lease whether the property has been
inspected by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp), and if so, whether the CASp did or did not
determine whether the property met all applicable construction-related accessibility standards
pursuant to Section 55.53.
2013 - The U.S. Justice Department said on its website April 22 that it was issuing a new
nationwide policy for unrepresented detainees with serious mental disabilities. The Executive
Office for Immigration Review will make available a qualified representative to detainees
deemed mentally incompetent to represent themselves in immigration proceedings.
2013 - North Carolina announced that it would spend $10 million beginning in June 2015 to
compensate men and women who were sterilized in the state's eugenics program; North Carolina
sterilized 7,600 people from 1929 to 1974 who were deemed socially or mentally unfit.