Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has…

This study examined the extent to which cognitive ability index scores predicted multidisciplinary teams' (MDT) SLD identification within a response-to-intervention (RtI) method after accounting for RtI slope and norm-referenced achievement scores. Results showed that four achievement composite scores (i.e., basic reading, reading comprehension,…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research is largely based on males, and females with ASD are at risk for under-identification. Research recommends listening to parent concerns since these are often predictive of a child's eventual diagnosis. This study examined how patterns of parent concerns predicted sex differences and eventual child diagnosis…

The demands on mathematical problem-solving have increased in almost all school systems internationally and may constitute a barrier for children with special educational needs (SEN). This study explored the role of fluid reasoning (FR), working memory (WM) and complex executive function of planning (EF) in children (N = 62) referred for…

A better understanding of the basic mechanisms of the Problem-solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) framework will help educators address students' diverse learning and behavioral needs. It will also help educators who may view PS/RtI as a compliance matter rather than an informative educational process that helps children reach their goals.…

Response to intervention (RTI) emerged from the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but the roots of RTI are found embedded within the history of the field of learning disabilities (LD) as well as other sources of influence. In what follows, we provide a brief history of LD and highlight the connection between…

The purpose of the current study was to examine academic and cognitive profiles of first graders who responded adequately and inadequately to intensive small-group reading intervention (Tier 2), as well as assess how these profiles differ based on the criteria used for classification of unresponsiveness. Nonresponders were identified using two…

The majority of the literature on universal screening in education is devoted to academic screeners. However, research clearly indicates that other aspects of student functioning are closely associated with outcomes inside and outside of school. As a result, there are gaps in the current literature that call for additional research extending…

Three times a year, all students at one elementary school are universally screened using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM). This process allows school-based reading intervention and data teams to determine how students are responding to core reading instruction and which students would benefit from additional instructional support. This type of…

This article describes how actuarial methods can supplant discrepancy models and augment problem solving and Response to Intervention (RTI) efforts by guiding the process of identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD). Actuarial methods use routinized selection and execution of formulas derived from empirically established relationships to…

The summer before the 2003-2004 year, the author was contacted by a district director of exceptional student education (ESE) about participating in a new program. She described it as a problem-solving method that would help them identify and provide interventions for K-2 students who were not making adequate progress in reading. The district would…

Some young children show signs that they may not be learning in an expected manner, even during the prekindergarten (PreK) years. These children may exhibit learning challenges in areas such as developing language, counting objects, hearing differences in letter sounds, paying attention during story time, or learning how to write. Teachers,…

Within the Response-to-Intervention framework, students who fail to profit from high-quality general education instruction, accommodations, and supplemental instruction progress to a more intensive intervention program, sometimes referred to as "Tier III." This article describes a problem-solving approach to designing such intensive, data-based,…

Reading Recovery (RR) is a widely used first grade intervention program for students who are struggling with literacy skills. With its component strategies, teacher training, high degree of fidelity of treatment, specified timeline, and cut-off score defining which students have succeeded, RR fits the problem-solving approach of the…

Response to intervention (RTI), the controversial three-tiered, triangular instructional model is getting stretched in new directions by educators who favor holistic, proactive support strategies over formal remediation. A senior scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia Buysse…