Despite historical emphasis on "specific" learning disabilities (SLDs), academic skills are strongly correlated across the curriculum. Thus, one can ask how specific SLDs truly are. To answer this question, we used bifactor models to identify variance shared across academic domains (academic "g"), as well as variance unique to…

In this study, we identified child- and family-level characteristics most strongly associated with clinical identification of language disorder for preschool-aged children. We used machine learning to identify variables that best classified children receiving therapy for language disorder among a sample of 483 3- to 5-year-old children (54%…

Recent research suggests that most 4-year college students diagnosed with specific learning disability (SLD) do not meet objective criteria for the disorder, show normative deficits in academic skills, or have childhood histories of SLD. The purpose of this study was to examine the functioning of students diagnosed with SLD attending community…

This article discusses the inclusion of high functioning individuals in the learning disability category. It argues that extending services to individuals without significant academic impairments may deplete resources for others in greater need, distort the normal processes by which individuals select careers, and diminish the credibility of the…

The variety of separate syndromes which present themselves to the clinician are said to belie any unitary statement about the child with minimal brain dysfunction. (Author)

This article discusses research on the traditional use of the IQ-achievement discrepancy to define specific reading disability. It highlights results from a study which found that IQ scores did not differentiate between poor readers who were found to be readily remediated and poor readers who were difficult to remediate. (Contains references.)…

This article critically analyzes available definitions of learning disability. The general problem of definition is discussed first, followed by a discussion of individual definitions from the earliest to the latest. It is concluded that the definitions fail to provide substantive insight into the nature of the condition. (Contains extensive…

A study examined the stability over 19 months of academic subtyping classification of 80 children (ages 9 to 13) representing four subtypes of arithmetic disabilities (AD). Approximately half of the sample retained AD regardless of identification method. Children with deficits in arithmetic, reading, and spelling disabilities exhibited the…

The life stories of 12 adults diagnosed with dyslexia as children were examined. Findings indicate that by school age, all participants noted self-esteem problems when they experienced struggles or failures in school. Testing and diagnosis improved self-esteem when conducted in a relevant manner that led to adaptation. (Contains references.)…

A study that followed 1,008 children from prekindergarten through grade seven or eight for 13 years found that defining reading comprehension disability in terms of a discrepancy between group-administered tests of listening and reading comprehension provided a fairly accurate estimate of the stability, gender ratio, and prevalence of the…