The Reductionistic Fallacy in Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Theoretical and empirical debates and political schisms have characterized the movement of the field of learning disabilities from its early medical and psychological process model orientations through the more recent behavioral and cognitive strategy phases. These debates have elucidated, perhaps even exaggerated, the differences between these models. It is proposed here that the four models are far more similar than they are different and that the similarities are grounded in the fact that each defines, assesses, and instructs students with learning disabilities in a reductionistic manner. It is the author's contention that the reductionistic fallacy undergirds the efficacy problems that have plagued the field since its inception.