READING DIFFICULTIES: ERADICATION OF CAUSES OR TREATMENT OF SYMPTOMS?

In the literary treatment of causes and symptoms pertaining to reading disability, it is obvious to this writer that a rather consequential shift has occurred over the past two decades or so. This perceived change has not been one of semantics involving “cause ” and ”symptom ” but, seemingly, has reflected some modulation in expectations articulated about the two. For all practical purposes in reading diagnosis and for clarification here, ”symptom ” is regarded as an indicator of probable causation of a problem; and ”cause, ” a factor actually responsible for some difficulty. Before proceeding, however, two questions must be addressed: (1) Concerning symptoms and causes of reading disability, what basic recommendations were ofttimes given classroom teachers in the 1960’s and 1970’s? and (2) How consistent was the advice of noted reading experts during this period