The evolution of language speaks to our values as a society and our understanding of each other as humans making contributions to society. Using people-first language demonstrates a respect for the personhood of people with disabilities, but often professionals are at a loss as to which words to use. This primer shares the ideology behind…

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and its amendments have been in existence for a little more than twenty years. Title One, which pertains to employment, has had a bearing on employment for persons with disabilities, particularly the high incidence category of learning disabilities, who for the most part work in competitive…

The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) affirms that the construct of learning disabilities represents a valid, unique, and heterogeneous group of disorders, and that recognition of this construct is essential for sound policy and practice. An extensive body of scientific research on learning disabilities continues to support…

The legal basis for serving students with learning disabilities at the K-12 level is predominantly derived from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law provides for substantive education support for students with learning disabilities through an Individualized Educational Program (IEP). However, because the IDEA…

The authors encourage caution in the implementation of Response to Intervention and dispel the false hopes that Response to Intervention will solve many of education's challenges. Outlined in this article are the reasons why Response to Intervention cannot be the solution to the identification of students for special education, why it can't…

In recent years, Arts Education in America's secondary schools has been underfunded, undervalued, and underdeveloped. Music, in particular, has been under siege in the "No Child Left Behind" era as teachers increasingly teach students to pass specific written tests, and administrators focus on improving these test scores and struggle with related…

Students with learning disabilities are not receiving "special" education, which is based on the core principles of intensive, relentless, structured, appropriately paced instruction in small groups with frequent monitoring of each student's progress. We believe that the diminution of special education for students with learning…

Daegu University has enjoyed a long and remarkable history of special education. Daegu University is large University located in Daegu, South Korea, a large city in South Korea that is south of Seoul. Since the 1970's, South Korea has achieved unusual and comprehensive growth in its economy, and the field of special education continued to thrive…

Important legal and policy changes in recent years have made postsecondary education an increasingly viable option for students with learning disabilities. These include substantive changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) in the area of transition planning, research examining the importance of a college degree on…

If we truly believe in the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-individualization for children with disabilities, then we cannot align the goals of No Child Left Behind with it. This article addresses why school personnel today are struggling with the impossible task of trying to align IDEA and NCLB. It also addresses the…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) firmly insists that performance analyses use disaggregated scores. Disaggregation, according to NCLB, involves measuring and reporting achievement for separate subgroups of children so that achievement problems in any one subgroup are not disguised when averaged or aggregated with higher achieving children in…

To be taken seriously, proposals for education reform must be grounded in realities. One of these realities is that labels are indispensable in special education. Another is that special education is needed, even if general education is excellent. Most proposals for educational reform will be disastrous even if only one of their assumptions fails…

The reauthorization of IDEA, which is now Public Law 108-446, was signed into law by President Bush on December 3, 2004. This article discusses background issues and some of the consequences of this new law for children with learning disabilities. For the first time in a reauthorization of IDEA, the rights of parents and students have been…

In a recent court case, Andrew H. K. Wong was dismissed from University of California at Davis medical school. He sued the university for discrimination, in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), but lost. Unfortunately, these types of court decisions and the overly mechanistic and rigid interpretations of ADA are threatening the…

This article on the use of community resources by families of young children with special needs discusses the rationale for the use of community resources in federal legislation, strategies for building resources, barriers to the use of community resources, and recommendations for increasing the use of community resources. (CR)