Presenting major advances in understanding learning disabilities (LDs) and describing effective educational practices, this authoritative volume has been significantly revised and expanded with more than 70% new material. Foremost LD experts identify effective principles of assessment and instruction within the framework of multi-tiered systems of…

Interventions in special education are results of advocacy, legislation, litigation, research, and trends. Since interventions come in many forms, they represent multidimensional viewpoints and perspectives and need to be handled with professional care, integrity, fidelity. This book highlights the fact there are skill-sets needed to work with…

A systematic analysis of the references to "scientifically based research" (SBR) and closely related terms, such as "peer-reviewed research" (PRR), in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation, regulations, commentary, and case law reveal that SBR and its primary variants apply largely to state support…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a child's response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices.…

More than 20 years ago, psychologists first described gifted students with learning disabilities (LD). In the past decade, several sets of identification criteria have been proposed for this population. Many of the suggested assessment practices are unsupported by research in psychoeducational assessment, and some have been directly contradicted…

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention.…

Fifteen author-contributed papers focus on the learning disabled adolescent and young adult. The first section provides a general overview while subsequent sections address educational and social techniques, steps to employment, and programs for adolescents. The following titles and authors are included: "Prevention: Primary, Secondary, or…

This article presents a reinterpretation of Gerald Coles's 1987 book "The Learning Mystique," viewing it as making a positive contribution to the learning disabilities field in both practical and theoretical ways, by offering the possibility of different treatment options and expanding the intellectual base for researchers. Potential research…

The article, a rebuttal to a previous article, defends the value of vestibular theories and sensory integration treatments of learning disabilities originally developed by A.J. Ayres. (DB)

This article discusses the current issues involved in the evaluation of children who have both intellectual gifts and a specific learning disability (SLD) in reading. Given recent changes in federal special education law (i.e., the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004), the use of a unified assessment model that…

The instructional model for intervention research in learning disabilities includes three foci: (1) knowledge inculcation (including declarative, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge); (2) students' cognitive processing of their training activities; and (3) students' motivation to learn. Advantages of the model include ease of linking with any…

This study investigated effects of five proofreading conditions on the spelling performance of 12 college students with learning disabilities. Conditions were handwriting with no additional assistance, with a print dictionary, and with a handheld spelling checker; and word processing with no additional assistance and with a spelling checker. All…

This article contends that educational researchers need to realize that the research process itself is an unregarded intervention beyond any intentional treatment effects or secondary effects on the research participants or other stakeholders. Implications are discussed for conducting and reporting experimental and qualitative research to increase…

A survey of intervention articles published in major learning disabilities journals over the past 5 years found only 18.5 percent of these studies measured the integrity with which treatments were implemented, thus casting doubt on treatment effectiveness. This article discusses treatment integrity logic, threats to experimental validity without…

The study investigated short-term effects of a cognitive education program (the Instrumental Enrichment program) on school-related behaviors of 197 mildly retarded, emotionally handicapped, and learning-disabled students, compared to 127 controls. Hypotheses were that Instrumental Enrichment (IE) students would show improvement in cognitive…