14 - Cultural-historical neuropsychological perspective on learning disability

Summary

This chapter begins by providing a theoretical foundation for conceptualizing learning disabilities and the methodology of remediation, based on the Vygotsky-Luria cultural-historical theory of development of the higher mental functions and its applications. It then reviews certain important aspects of the Vygotsky-Luria neuropsychological approach and its applications in the diagnosis and remediation of learning disabilities. The chapter stresses the usefulness of Vygotsky's theory of dynamic and systemic localization of higher psychological functions to the science-based advancement of the practice of developmental clinical neuropsychology and school neuropsychology. The chapter describes three important types of learning disabilities and discusses the conditions for optimal strategy of remediation, and the use of numerical sequences in the remediation of executive functions. The uneven development of higher mental functions can be seen in the widely used assessment of mental functioning by psychologists all over the world namely, Wechsler intelligence tests.