Ethical Issues Related to Translating Research in Learning Disabilities into Practice

Abstract

As the field of learning disabilities (LD) emerged as a formal entity through the assistance of legislative initiatives in the late 1960s and early 1970s, expectations, especially by parents, were that the majority of any available resources be used to provide direct services to individuals with LD. Evidence of this was first seen following the passage in 1969 of Public Law 91–230, Title VI, Education of the Handicapped Act which included Part G, Special Programs for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities. This legislation made possible the expenditure of federal monies for, among other things, the following activities: funding of demonstration service centers for children and adolescents with LD; funding of teacher-training activities to prepare professionals to work with youth with LD; and funding to support research activities on issues related to populations with LD. Because parents and practitioners believed that students with LD had been denied services for such a long period of time, these groups strongly argued that service delivery programs be established at the federal level to assist this population. Consequently, a series of federally funded entitlement programs were established in response to these demands.