Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate how teachers in the United States understand and perceive developmental language disorder (DLD). This study used a survey to examine teachers' understanding of DLD and the impact of DLD at school to inform advocacy efforts within the discipline of communication sciences and…

According to Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), state parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. In this paper we focus on access to higher education for persons with intellectual disabilities and the recognition or non-recognition of these persons as students…

This research study presents the Scale of Dis/ability Apparentness in Education Settings (SDAES) to explore the complex and dynamic nature of dis/abled apparentness among college students. The study combines qualitative and quantitative data to examine five key domains: Environment, Ableism, Identity, Taking Action, and Embodied Dis/ability,…

My research topic is the diagnosis of learning disabilities (LD) in elementary school children. The poorly defined criteria and methods of LD determinations leads to a large number of students labeled with the disability category of LD (Graves et al, 2011; Hutchison, 2021), even though the process is inconsistent and subjective (Graves et al,…

This qualitative study investigates teachers' perspectives on anxiety among autistic learners with intellectual disabilities (ID) in special school settings. Research in this area remains limited, with existing studies often overlooking the distinct ways anxiety manifests and interacts with ID in this population. Semi-structured interviews with…

Schools conduct comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations to identify students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) and determine whether they qualify for special education services. This decision-making process is complex and research has documented many factors influencing SLD identification decisions. One such factor may be…

Aims: People with a learning disability are at increased risk of becoming homeless, but little is known about how learning disability is viewed by people accessing homeless services. This study aimed to obtain the views of people experiencing homelessness about learning disability, in the context of a project that was exploring how to increase…

Dyslexia is biological in origin, but environmental factors also play a role. It affects people differently, but typical difficulties include reading, writing, and spelling, limited working memory capacity, and difficulties with organization, sequencing, and concentration. Early identification is crucial so that learners can receive the support…

Although specific learning disabilities (SLD) represent the largest category for which school-age children receive special education services, the science and practice of SLD identification continues to evade consensus. Our goal is to bring together trainers and researchers with different perspectives on SLD identification to help spur a move…

In studies that assess perceptions of autistic people by non-autistic people, researchers often ask participants to review vignettes depicting fictional autistic characters. However, few studies have investigated whether non-autistic peers accurately identify these hypothetical individuals as being on the autism spectrum. Accurately ascribing…

Purpose: We aimed to create a comprehensive understanding of the dilemmas involved in the diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) and to highlight the potential of a multidimensional spectral account of DLD for addressing these dilemmas. Method: We conducted an integrative literature review. Conclusions: Considerable gains in…

General labels tend to obscure objective realities upon which disability rights are based and can deny individuals with disabilities their educational and civil rights. Undoubtedly, stigma can come from labels unnecessarily categorizing people into separate groups. However, stigma does not reside primarily in disability categories/terms but in…

The numerous stressors and strains of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to growing numbers of college students experiencing disabilities and needing support. This practice brief explores the challenges faced by disability resource professionals (DRPs) during the pandemic in reaching and supporting students potentially needing accommodations, but…

Community mental health centers (CMHCs) offer invaluable, publicly-funded treatment for serious mental illness (SMI). Unfortunately, evidence-based psychological treatments are often not delivered at CMHCs, in part due to implementation barriers, such as limited time, high caseloads, and complex clinical presentations. Transdiagnostic treatments…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) allows alternate pathways for school districts to identify and classify students with a specific learning disability (SLD). Response to Intervention (RtI) is one of the frameworks schools can use when eliminating the use of the discrepancy model. The premise of RtI posits that…