Some Notes on the History of DLD
The Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) was organized in 1983 to promote the education and general welfare of people with Learning Disabilities, and it was recognized by the Board of Governors of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) 1 July 1983. After a two-year charter period, DLD applied for and received status as a Division within CEC.
In 2008 in Boston (MA, US) at the celebration of DLD's 25th anniversary, President Kathleen J. Marshall welcomed hundreds of guest with the message that follows. Listed to the right of President Marshall's remarks are the names of people of have served as president of DLD.
As President of the Division for Learning Disabilities, I am pleased to welcome you to this celebration of the organization's 25th anniversary. The Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) began its formal existence at a meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in 1983 when a group of eminent figures in our discipline—Carrie Brodie, William Cruickshank, and Samuel Kirk—formed an ad hoc committee and petitioned CEC on behalf of themselves and other members of CEC to form DLD.
DLD President Year of
PresidencySister Marie Grant (d) 1983-1985 Carol Weller (d) 1985-1986 Harold McGrady 1986-1987 Sharon Vaughn 1987-1988 Jeannette Fleischner (d) 1988-1989 Robert Abbott (d) 1989-1990 Cathy Barlow 1990-1991 Jean Lokerson 1991-1992 Elise Blankenship 1992-1993 Cynthia Terry 1993-1994 Esther Minskoff 1994-1995 Candace Bos (d) 1995-1996 Cheri Hoy 1996-1997 Donald Deshler 1997-1998 Daniel P. Hallahan 1998-1999 Jean B. Schumaker 1999-2000 Edward Martin 2000-2001 Charles Hughes 2001-2002 Naomi Zigmond 2002-2003 Edwin Ellis 2003-2004 Susan Osborne 2004-2005 John Wills Lloyd 2005-2006 Karen J. Rooney 2006-2007 Kathleen J. Marshall 2007-2008 Rollanda O'Connor 2008-2009 Linda Siegel 2009-2010 Michael Gerber 2010-2011
In the 25 years since those leaders' efforts on behalf of students with Learning Disabilities, DLD has pursued its mission in many ways. In cooperation with Blackwell Publishing, DLD publishes the widely respected Learning Disabilities Research & Practice. It distributes a newsletter, once called the DLD Times and recently re-christened New Times for DLD, to members. In collaboration with the Division for Research, it develops and publishes Current Practice Alerts which are timely and informed reports about professional practices in the field. It provides an extensive Web site, TeachingLD, that is visited by tens of thousands of browsers every month. And these are only a few of DLD's activities.
At the time of DLD's inception, Learning Disabilities was experiencing rapid growth. As a relatively new category of disability, there was substantial emphasis on identifying students who required special education because of Learning Disabilities and extensive interest in research about the nature and treatment of Learning Disabilities. Today, there is renewed concern about prevention of Learning Disabilities and the discipline supports a extensive research base.
I welcome you to join DLD as we pursue the improvement of educational outcomes for students with Learning Disabilities and the general welfare of individuals with LD.
Kathleen J. Marshall
President, 2007-2008