In Study 1, children in grades 4-9 (N = 88, 29 females and 59 males) with persisting reading and/or writing disabilities, despite considerable prior specialized instruction in and out of school, were given an evidence-based comprehensive assessment battery at the university while parents completed questionnaires regarding past and current history…

CAST created "Strategic Reader," a technology-based system blending Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in a digital learning environment to improve reading comprehension instruction. This experimental study evaluates the effectiveness of Strategic Reader using two treatment conditions for measuring…

At-risk students dealing with cognitive, physical, mental health, and environmental challenges often have poor self-regulatory skills. They may struggle with tasks such as planning, goal-setting, and monitoring their own thoughts and actions. This volume describes how teachers, healthcare professionals, and others who work with young people can…

Approximately 3 million adults attend a variety of federally funded adult education and training programs. A noticeable number of these individuals have either diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disabilities (LD). For some, their adult education experience, based on effective instruction and respectful relationships, provides the preparation they…

Many students, with and without learning disabilities, have been found to increase their reading skills through the use of data-informed individualized reading intervention; however, less is known about how to use assessments to individualize spelling intervention. Standardized spelling tests commonly assess spelling by asking students to spell…

Sally Smith's contribution to the world of children with learning disabilities is well documented, particularly by the other contributors to this journal. An area deserving attention, but one usually overlooked, is Smith's understanding of the parent's perspective--the challenges of parenting a child with learning disabilities. It was a priceless…

In this article, the author narrates her application of what she learned from her internship at Sally Smith's Lab School of Washington to her new school and shares the favorable impact it had brought on her teaching career. The author shares her first exposure to the powerful effects of Smith's "Live It, Learn It" methodology as she…

This article shares a story of Ben who as a result of his premature birth, suffered a brain hemorrhage resulting in cerebral palsy, which affected his left side (left hemiparesis) and caused learning disabilities. Despite these challenges, he graduated from college and currently works doing information management for a local biotech start-up…

This article presents an interview with Dr. Thomas Lovitt, one of the "giants" in the field of learning disabilities. Dr. Lovitt was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1930. He received bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from the University of Kansas. In 1956, after a 4-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Lovitt took positions as a musician…

It is often assumed that current disability constructs exist in conceptual isolation from one another. This article explores the tangled historical relationship between "mental retardation" and learning disability in the writings and speeches of special education pioneer Samuel A. Kirk. Beginning in the 1950s, Kirk repeatedly told an educability…

Students diagnosed with learning disabilities experience many challenges that school counselors may address through narrative therapy. Narrative therapy is a postmodern, social constructionist approach based on the theoretical construct that individuals create their notions of truth and meaning of life through interpretive stories. This article…

Organizational ability constitutes one executive function (EF) component essential for common everyday performance. The study aim was to explore the relationship between handwriting performance and organizational ability in school-aged children. Participants were 58 males, aged 7-8 years, 30 with dysgraphia and 28 with proficient handwriting.…

This article examines teacher concerns during the implementation of response to intervention at a small, rural elementary school. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (George, Hall, & Stiegelbauer, 2008) was administered three times over the course of the academic year to 46 teachers and school staff. The hypothesis was that teacher concerns…

Over the last two decades, inclusion has become a critical part of the reform efforts to improve the delivery of services to students with disabilities. As general education teachers are asked to assume greater responsibility for students with diverse learning and behavior needs, it is important to examine factors that influence their teaching…

This action research project explored the use of the iPad 2 in a special education classroom with high school students who were considered struggling readers to determine if an academic gain in reading comprehension, reading fluency, and vocabulary implementing the intervention of an iPad and four specific applications (apps). The high school…