The diagnosis of specific learning disorders is a complex undertaking that requires the examination of a number of psychological dimensions. The “learning disabilities” label has often been abused and is frequently used to explain a wide range of school and behavior problems with little understanding of the criteria necessary for differential diagnosis. A complete evaluation for learning disabilities must assess cultural, structural, and emotional variables as well as intellectual functioning and academic achievement. Examination of the functional integrity of the various perceptual processes, including visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities, is necessary, The clinician must establish that a delay in achievement does actually exist and that poor school performance is not a result of poor motivation or an unwillingness to demonstrate acquired skills. If a significant delay is found in the acquisition of secondary language symbol skills, then the examiner is pressed to determine which specific psychological, perceptual-associational, memory, or motor deficits are responsible for the learning disorder.