Mathematical learning disability (MLD) research often conflates low achievement with disabilities and focuses exclusively on deficits of students with MLDs. In this study, the author adopts an alternative approach using a response-to-intervention MLD classification model to identify the resources students draw on rather than the skills they lack.…

Models of Response to Intervention (RTI) include parameters of assessment and instruction. This study focuses on assessment with the purpose of developing a screening battery that validly and efficiently identifies first-grade children at risk for reading problems. In an RTI model, these children would be candidates for early intervention. We…

This study examined the consequences of classifying postsecondary students as learning disabled (LD) using five objective sets of criteria: IQ-achievement discrepancies (1.0 to 1.49 SD, 1.5 to 1.99 SD, and greater than or equal to 2.0 SD), DSM-IV criteria, and chronic educational impairment beginning in childhood. The participants were 378…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is an instructional framework through which schools can provide early intervention for students experiencing academic and behavioral difficulties. It is also promoted as an alternative to the IQ-discrepancy model for identifying students with learning disabilities. Most states have developed, or are developing,…

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…

An alternative approach to the traditional diagnostic-prescrptive or medical model for classifying behavior disorders is proposed which considers topography of deviant behaviors, degree of exceptionality, nature of deviance, and events influencing the deviancy in the context of developing and monitoring education/treatment programs. (Author/CB)

As a school leader, what do you need to know about Response to Intervention (RTI) and your role in leading instruction for struggling learners? In this article the authors offer guidance about the content of the RTI initiative based on policy, research, and practice. They provide a brief history of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

Pragmatic language skills are important for developing relationships with others, and for communicating with a range of interlocutors in a variety of contexts, including preschool and elementary school classrooms. Pragmatic language difficulties frequently are a primary area of disability for children diagnosed with autism, Asperger's syndrome,…

Overreliance on test-based assessment of learning disabilities can produce diagnostic results of questionable validity and prove stigmatizing for the child. An instructional-based model focuses on evaluation of the child's response to teaching. Observation and analysis of the student's reaction yeilds results that are more readily translatable…

The Neurological Key method emphasizes a systematic deductive procedure for reaching clinical decisions about learning disabled children. The rationale for the diagnostic and remedial decisions reached at every node of the Key is explained and is supported by data from clinical and experimental studies in psychology and neurology. (Author/SJL)

This annotated bibliography was prepared as a resource to help institutions of higher education create an institutional climate conducive to the academic success of students with learning disabilities (LD) on their campuses. The entries were compiled from searches of three computerized databases as well as a manual library search. The selected…

Principles of comprehensive assessment of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are examined in relation to legal compliance, special considerations for cultural diversity, medical diagnosis versus educational identification, and the problem-solving assessment model. Strengths and weakness of specific strategies are identified as…

A framework is presented to help teachers become aware of classroom modifications possible in the regular classroom and to determine whether to refer IndoChinese students to special education when their needs cannot be met through modifications. Services that can be provided both before and after the child becomes a participant in a regular…

This manual and accompanying videotape are intended to be used as a continuing education program to enhance the skills of special and general educators in serving children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The video can also be used alone to provide a general overview of issues related to children with attention deficit…

Considerable variation exists across response-to-intervention (RTI) approaches. There is currently insufficient research on outcomes associated with these different RTI approaches to inform decision-making. However, school psychologists who are asked to work within an RTI model need guidance to select an approach that has a high likelihood of…