Presented is a theory of learning handicaps based on psychoeducational and developmental considerations. Identified are five of the author's biases about remediation such as the tendency for teachers to continue remediation beyond the point of usefulness. Proposed is the existence of five task requirements such as attending to the task, attaching labels to the task, and expressing the task activity. Discussed in terms of normal age ranges and remediation are the following developmental functions: sensory orientation (0-3 years), memory (3-7 years), re-cognition with a vocabulary emphasis (8 to 11 years), synthesis (11-13 years), and communication (14 years and up). The author suggests that remediation is most effective when the function disability is diagnosed within the critical age range. Also defined is a term, dyssymbolia, to be used to describe a handicap in dealing with symbols. The condition is defined in terms of four criteria: deviance, the possibility of normal achievement, the presence of the handicap into maturity, and an etiology found within developmental dysfunctions. (DB)