The future for LDQ.

Over the years the Learning Disability Quarterly has published a number of seminal papers and timely special issues. With the current issue we present both. In the not quite 45 years since the formalization of both the concept and the field of learning disabilities (LD), much has happened. We seem to be at a time of great change for LD--change in research, policy and practice, and in knowledge and beliefs. Some of these changes stem from the larger social and scientific contexts of which learning disabilities are part, others represent the field's progress on many fronts. This is not the first time of significant change for LD, and it most likely will not be the last. Nonetheless, its consequences will be as important to our development as were early constructions of the field. They will set direction, and this issue of the LDQ is dedicated to envisaging that direction.

We who share a concern for learning disabilities have an obligation to be informed and proactive about the future. Going forward most wisely includes looking back. As a benefit of the relative youth of the field of learning disabilities, many who have made the most significant contributions to our field are still active contributors. A number of the individuals who made early important contributions have been asked to comment on the current time of change from their various disciplines and perspectives. By commenting on the past and speculating on the future in this special issue, they provide another vital contribution as we all strive to set directions for the future.

Commentaries from all of the professionals who should advise us about the past and the future of our field would fill more than an entire volume of the LDQ. Decisions on perspectives to represent, who to leave out and who to invite, were not perfect. Every contributor to this special issue has something important to share. Many traditions and perspectives are represented. (Eight anonymous consulting editors are appreciated for their input on planning this issue.)

This issue marks a change in editors for the Learning Disability Quarterly. Not much else about the LDQ will change. It will continue to be an outlet for research and ideas that have implications for practice concerning learning disabilities. In the spirit of communication, the LDQ will continue its traditional practices but encourage even greater conversation among professionals. Authors are invited to incorporate brief discussions of guiding theories and their methodology, analysis, and interpretation decisions. Judicious use of footnotes will allow authors to converse with the readership about related information that can lend insight into perspectives and allow elaboration on the significance of the published piece. Also, a new occasional feature of the LDQ, Commentaries, will be launched in the next issue. For this new column, contributors are invited to provide short scholarly commentaries on topics of the day relevant to the field of learning disabilities, similar to letters to the editor. (Please visit www.cldinternational.org for complete author guidelines.)

THE EDITORSHIP, PAST AND FUTURE

Credit for the Learning Disability Quarterly's history of informing the field with important articles belongs to the roster of insightful editors who have directed the LDQ over the 28 years of its existence. As a longtime reader and now editor, I humbly thank them. You may think it merely good manners for the new editor to thank the outgoing editor, but I have well deserved thanks for the immediate past editor, Dave Eclyburn. Not only did Dave continue the tradition of producing one of the most respected journals in our field, he provided a model of transition support so that I might at least attempt to do the same. Dave took what may be the slowest leave in the history of journal editing. He told me everything he knew, trained me in all of his systems, and then stayed on to mentor me while I learned the ropes. While I can only promise that I will try my best to uphold the traditions of the LDQ, I can assure the field that Dave Edyburn did all in his power so that I might eventually leave the Quarterly as good as I found it. With the continued skilled help of the consulting editors and excellent contributions from the field, we will preserve the voice of the LDQ as a leader for the future of learning disabilities.

--David Scanlon, Editor, Boston College