In October 2011, Council for Learning Disabilities' (CLD's) research committee members (i.e., authors of this article) presented their "Must Reads" at the organization's 33rd Annual International Conference on Learning Disabilities. In this article, the presenters summarize a few of their selected articles and state why each article is a "Must…

The author reports on few schools that offer extra services to those with learning disabilities. Although a growing number of children are being diagnosed with mental and emotional disorders that prevent them from succeeding in college, such as autism, ADD and ADHD, few colleges have created programs that provide them the help they need to make it…

The stated mission of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) includes ''supporting the professional development and enhancing the expertise of those who work on behalf of children with challenging behavior and their families'' (http:// www.ccbd.net/About/OurMission). The stated goal of CCBD's journal "Behavioral…

Self-prompted communication books were used in combination with conversational peer orientation to increase conversational interactions of verbal high school students with autism or autistic-like behavior with their peers without disabilities. Previous investigators have used communication books only with students with autism or intellectual…

Students served in alternative and segregated settings tend to receive educational services that are not on par with their public school peers. To develop a better understanding of the problem, the authors conducted a national study of secondary psychiatric schools in the United States. Specifically, the authors administered a survey to…

Disciplinary exclusion practices are on the rise nationally, as are concerns about their disproportionate use and lack of effectiveness. This study used data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study to examine patterns and predictors of disciplinary exclusion over time. Students with emotional/behavioral disorders were most likely…

It is well established that children and adolescents with learning disabilities are more likely to experience depressed mood than are their peers. Many scholars explain this relationship as resulting from low self-esteem, stress, or social isolation. However, little work has explored whether this relationship continues to exist into young…

The purpose of this mixed methods research is to examine teachers' perspectives on the response to intervention (RTI) framework and its implementation in Michigan and Texas schools. Both states have been leaders in literacy, increasing preservice and in-service teacher certification standards and developing similar batteries for assessing literacy…

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has emerged as a powerful new tool to identify genomic abnormalities associated with a wide range of developmental disabilities including congenital malformations, cognitive impairment, and behavioral abnormalities. CMA includes array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism…

A current trend in public schools involves the implementation of research-based interventions to address the needs of students who are at-risk for failure. Federal legislation mandates educators to implement interventions with integrity. This study has relevance and presumed importance to educational stakeholders seeking to provide appropriate…

The problems addressed by this study are (a) the significant rise in specific learning disabilities referrals and identification and (b) the inability to identify effective strategies for reducing the number of referrals and identification using Rtl models in fifth and sixth grades. A review of the literature indicated a compelling need to study…

The Individual with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) 2007, a federal special education law, states that students with disabilities requiring special education services can use accommodations or adaptations of the curriculum to access the general education curriculum. A shortened assignment, as an accommodation, can help learning disabled…

Many students with cognitive impairments are not afforded the opportunity to develop their potential as readers. A review of the literature reveals that few researchers have evaluated the effects of phonics instruction on the reading skills of students with cognitive impairments. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a…

Individuals with special educational needs may face difficulties in acquiring basic skills needed for learning such as reading, spelling, writing, speaking, understanding, listening, thinking or arithmetic. The difficulties they face in the learning process have begun to attract serious attention throughout the globe. They suffer from severe…

This study arose from an interest in the possible presence of mathematics disabilities among students enrolled in the developmental math program at a large university in the Mid-Atlantic region. Research in mathematics learning disabilities (MLD) has included a focus on the construct of working memory and number sense. A component of number sense…