This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Chicago, which aims to improve all articles or pages related to Chicago or the Chicago metropolitan area.ChicagoWikipedia:WikiProject ChicagoTemplate:WikiProject ChicagoChicago articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
Samuel Kirk (psychologist) is within the scope of WikiProject Disability. For more information, visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.DisabilityWikipedia:WikiProject DisabilityTemplate:WikiProject DisabilityDisability articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Education, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of education and education-related topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EducationWikipedia:WikiProject EducationTemplate:WikiProject Educationeducation articles
Reports that Sam Kirk "coined the term, 'learning disabilities," and first used it in a speech in Chicago are, at best, misleading. He is justly credited with promoting the concept of LD in the 1960s, but he was not the first to use it nor was his speech in Chicago in 1963 his first use of it.
The term 'learning disabilities' appeared in the literature at least as early as 1958 when it was used in Journal of Pediatrics: Thelander, H. E., Phelps, J. K., & Kirk, E. W. (1958). Learning disabilities associated with lesser brain damage. Journal of Pediatrics, 53, 405-409. (To the best of my knowledge, E. W. Kirk was no relation to S. J. Kirk.)
Kirk had used the term "learning disabilities" in print over a year earlier than the referenced speech: Kirk, S. A., & Bateman, B. (1962). Diagnosis and remediation of learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 29(2), 73-78. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/001440296202900204