To support adolescents with language-based learning disabilities (LLD), speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should adopt a multiliteracies framework that targets critical media literacy skills. Multiliteracies recognize the increasingly digital and collaborative nature of written language that adolescents encounter and promote using online…

For academic success, it is increasingly important that students of all ages can produce and comprehend expository discourse. This article provides guidance to clinicians and educators on using language sample analysis (LSA) to assess the expository language abilities of students across grades. Focusing on microstructural and macrostructural…

One aim of this article is to shift mindsets from the traditional identification of written language abilities that are "missing" in students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) to writing assessment as the discovery of more complex language strengths foundational to success across disciplines. The multiple language-levels (MLL)…

This study investigated literacy learning in students with specific kinds of language challenges at a specific stage of schooling--transition to high school--when the language requirements of the curriculum can be especially challenging. For this exploratory research, a case study approach was adopted that compared 2 adolescent boys both with…

As more students identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) graduate high school and aspire to a college education, the need for intervention and support targeted to their needs has become apparent. Designing effective programs of support rests on comprehensive and appropriate assessment. This article provides a critical review of areas to…

This study investigated micro- and macrostructural text features, and the impact of language-specific skills, on the bilingual, persuasive writing of 41 high school students learning English in Italy. Participants composed persuasive essays on 2 topics, each in Italian and English, and completed spelling and sentence generation tasks in both…

Cross-language effects of Spanish derivational awareness on English vocabulary and reading comprehension were studied in Spanish-speaking English Language Learners (N = 90) in grades four and seven. The role of cognate vocabulary in cross-language transfer of derivational awareness was also examined. Multivariate path analyses controlling for age,…

A growing number of high school students with disabilities are planning to continue their education in postsecondary schools, including vocational and career schools, 2- and 4-year colleges, and universities (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2011). The transition from secondary settings to postsecondary settings presents…

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of the student population. An understanding of the diversity these students bring to contexts of disciplinary learning is critical to determining how best to teach them. At the secondary level, ELLs are required to learn content and build English language proficiency simultaneously.…

Purpose: We examined the effects of a text-processing reading comprehension intervention emphasizing listening comprehension and expressive language practices with middle school students with reading difficulties. Method: A total of 134 struggling readers in grades 6-8 were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 83) and control conditions (n = 51)…

African American English has a rich oral tradition, with identifiable features across all 5 systems of language--phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. This is an investigation of the extent to which pragmatic features of African American oral storytelling traditions are apparent in the written stories of African American…

Students with language impairment often experience serious and far-reaching effects of reading comprehension problems on their academic performance. The complexity of the problems and the characteristics of effective intervention necessitate a collaborative approach among general education teachers, special education teachers, and speech-language…