The brain of a learning-disabled individual

Abstract

The concept of learning disability is less absolute than is usually realized. In a nonliterate society only the advantages of many dyslexics may be evident without the disadvantages. By contrast markedly unmusical individuals can go through modern educational systems with little difficulty, although in some particular social conditions they could correctly be regarded as severely learning disabled. These considerations lead to a fresh look at the evolutionary significance of brain changes found in learning disorders, and their relationship not only to disability, but also to giftedness. This paper considers many of these issues in the context of the life of an individual who is not at all dyslexic but suffers from a severe form of another neglected learning disability, i.e., dysmusia.