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…

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…

This study examined intervention fidelity (IF) and the extent to which this essential feature of response to intervention (RtI) was included within artifacts (laws and guidance documents) for states requiring RtI for specific learning disability (SLD) identification. Intervention fidelity is defined as the degree to which an intervention is…

Handwriting difficulties may signal dysgraphia or other writing difficulties that can affect literacy performance. Existing instruments measure different handwriting features to identify students for interventions but can take extra testing time and restrict potential indicators appropriate for evaluating adolescents. This exploratory study aimed…

Background: People with a learning disability from ethnic minorities experience barriers in their access to healthcare services and poorer health outcomes. This study aimed to explore the factors that contribute to these barriers and to better understand how they can be reduced. Methods: Twenty 'experts by experience' took part in experience-based…

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…

According to the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015), cognition and learning difficulties encompass a wide range of needs, including general and specific learning difficulties. These difficulties affect various areas of learning including literacy, numeracy, and the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge and skills and may be linked to underlying…

Background/purpose. Students with learning disabilities (SLDs), bilingual learners (BLs), and English language learners (ELLs) represent heterogeneous groups. With the rising number of SLDs and the expansion of English as a second language instruction in Saudi elementary schools, a critical challenge emerges: How can learning disabilities (LDs) be…

Students who receive special education services are identified as having one of the 13 disabilities categories recognized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This identification allows for services such as educational, social-emotional, and/or behavioral supports. However, labeling students with a disability can also have…

This article describes the historical evolution of U.S. federal education policy as it pertains to the constructs of disability and giftedness, which were originally treated as distinct domains. However, policy shifts and research initiatives revealed the intersection of the two domains, which led to recognition of twice-exceptional individuals as…