From gaps to action: Possible strategies to address challenges in the assessment of specific learning disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
In India, the rights of persons with disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, aims to ensure dignity, equality, and autonomy for persons with disabilities, and sets out guidelines for the assessment and certification of various disabilities. Among the disabilities covered under the Act, several critical gaps have been consistently noted in the assessment and certification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) and intellectual impairment-related conditions. These include the rigid application of intelligence quotient (IQ) criterion in SLD assessment, as well as the difficulties in evaluating adults who may have SLD but were never formally diagnosed during childhood. In addition, persons with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) are often overlooked, as this condition is not recognized as a benchmark disability. Against this backdrop, the present paper proposes changes needed in the RPwD Act Guidelines for assessing and certifying these conditions. To provide context, it first reviews how current diagnostic systems conceptualize SLD and BIF, and traces the major shifts in these conceptualizations over time that inform current understanding.