Specific learning disability and its newest definition: which is comprehensive? And which is insufficient?

The American Psychiatric Association's proposed definition of specific learning disability ("specific learning disorder") for the DSM-5 reflects current thinking and best practice in learning disabilities. It continues the core conceptualization of learning disability (LD) as well as proposes identification criteria to supplant the discredited aptitude-achievement discrepancy formula. Improvements can be found along with long-standing and new controversies about the nature of LD. The proposed definition both provides a model of a currently acceptable definition and reflects critical issues in the operationalization of LD that the field continues to neglect.