The neurological basis of learning disabilities (LD), and other handicapping conditions commonly found in school-age children, makes the integration of neuropsychology and school psychology plausible. However, there has been longstanding debate over the required level of education, training, supervision, and credentialing needed for the practice…

In this article, the authors consider the power and limitations of responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) for reducing the need for ongoing and intensive services for the segment of the school population traditionally identified as having a learning disability in mathematics. To assess the robustness of RTI, the authors describe four studies with…

Several key components are essential to successfully implementing an RTI model in schools. RTI is an evolving practice; a school-based collaborative consultation RTI model offers a process that enables a school to apply RTI principles to its unique setting and concerns. Three schools in the Western United States implemented this RTI model with…

In more districts than ever, Response-to-Intervention programs are gaining ground, nipping learning problems in the bud and keeping more students out of unnecessary special education classes, which is the goal. RTI, a multi-tier intervention used to diagnose and address potential learning or behavioral problem early, is also increasing in…

School psychologists in this country are fed up. The authors are both fortunate enough to consult with school districts all over the country about implementing response to intervention (RTI), and they consistently hear frustration resulting from using the "wait to fail" discrepancy model for learning disability identification. Many school…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 (IDEIA 2004), local educational agencies (LEA) were permitted to use a Response-to-Intervention (RtI) approach for identifying children with possible learning disabilities for special education. Furthermore, IDEIA 2004 no longer required LEAs to establish an…

Response to Intervention (RtI) came into the national forefront in the late 1990s as an alternate approach for identifying students with specific learning disabilities. In brief, RtI assumes that a broad system of early intervention and support is in place, one possible component of which is evaluating a student for suspected learning…

The performance of 60 learning disabled and normally achieving children (ages 9-12), either given minimal instruction to use organizing strategies or engaged only in practice with a free recall task, were compared. Factors underlying the unexpected finding that strategy use did not account for learning disabled students' poor recall are discussed.…

The personal perspectives and reflections of individuals with learning disabilities are presented, showing how these individuals were affected by educational and community systems and subsequently helped and/or hindered in their development. The observations provide insight into childhood influences, individual characteristics, and coping…

This article reviews the varied components of written language, suggest informal means for written language assessment, and summarizes the cognitive and linguistic factors that influence varied aspects of writing performance. Two informal evaluation scales are presented that stress the interconnection between oral and written language processes.…

A case study of an Australian gifted youth with a learning disability is reported. Aspects of his schooling, his family support and encouragement, and his own task commitment are discussed as factors related to his being able to transcend his disability to a large extent. (Author/JDD)

The project DEVISE case study shows how diversity modeling can be used as a powerful design tool. Designers used performance-centered design techniques to create a virtual learning environment in which students with learning disabilities would be more fully supported with an interface that meets their needs. (AEF)

Special education research has undergone one of the most significant developments in the history of education during the past two decades (Gersten, Vaughn, Deshler, & Schiller, 1997). These developments can be related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 and the resulting knowledge about teaching individuals with…

This article describes the results of a series of focus group interviews conducted with postsecondary students with disabilities about the importance of self-determination in their success in those settings. Approximately 40% of the student participants identified a learning disability or attention deficit disorder as their primary disability. The…

The paper presents observations of families having adult members with learning disabilities and describes a residential program to facilitate the transition to independent living of lower functioning learning disabled young adults. The program, called Independence Center, involves placing participants in apartments with roommates and helping them…