Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as…

The identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) remains fraught with controversy and uncertainty about professionals' capacity to appropriately identify special education eligibility. For students from linguistically minoritized backgrounds, the "exclusionary clause" prohibits the identification of learning difficulties…

Autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed more in males than females, this difference is even more prevalent if the female is of at least average intelligence. The problem addressed by this qualitative exploratory case study was the under-identification of females with autism due to their masking behavior. This problem directly impacts females who…

The rate of children being diagnosed with autism is growing rapidly. Currently, 1 in every 36 children born will go on to have an autism diagnosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Teachers and early educators working with young children do not have the training required to identify children at risk for this developmental…

The processes used in identifying/diagnosing specific learning disabilities (SLDs) vary across settings and classification systems. Moreover, the theoretically and mathematically derived identification models (i.e., discrepancy model) have thus far not demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. The present study explores the utility of…

Few instruments screen for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among kindergarteners and older children. The Autism Screen for Kids and Youth (ASKY) is a 30-item parental questionnaire for 4- to 18-year-old children and adolescents available in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and temporal stability of the Hebrew…

Purpose: To identify how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States are screening for and identifying dysphagia. To do this, we examined the approaches most often used to screen for dysphagia and the influence of contextual factors such as setting, continuing education and means of staying up to date with the most current literature…

In 2017-18, the number of learners ages 3-21 who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.0 million, or 14% of all public-school learners. Of that 7.0 million, 13% were Hispanic learners (NCES, 2019). Among ELLs with disabilities, nearly 50% had specific learning disability, and 21%…

The timing of autism spectrum disorder detection in research and clinical practice is characterised by substantial heterogeneity ranging from infancy to school age. In this study, we examined the age of diagnosis and its associated individual and socio-familial factors in Chinese children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A sample of 1235…

The issue of disproportionality, or the over-representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in special education, has long been a challenge for school districts. This issue predates the implementation of PL 94-192. School building administrators are seen as agents of change, responsible for setting expectations…

Disproportionality in special education is a complex issue adversely impacting African-American students. African-American students experience disproportionality in referral to special education and identification with a disability, removing them from the general education setting and resulting in denial of access and socialization with their…

Purpose: Several studies have demonstrated that dynamic assessment can be a less biased, valid approach for the identification of language disorder among diverse school-age children. However, all prior studies have included a relatively small number of participants, which is generally not adequate for psychometric research. This is the first…

This study investigated the utility of four WAIS-IV Digit Span (DS) indices (traditional Reliable Digit Span [RDS], RDS-Working Memory [RDS-WM], RDS-Revised [RDS-R], and DS Age-Corrected Scaled Score [ACSS]) as embedded performance validity tests (PVTs) among a sample of 342 consecutive adults referred for neuropsychological evaluation of ADHD.…

Childhood trauma is a significant public health issue in the United States. The experiencing of traumatic events can result in deficiencies in developmental, social, emotional, and behavioral self-regulation, impairing academic progress. The functional core aspects or primary domains of impairment (academics, relationships, self-regulation, and…

Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has…