Eight years ago, the editors of this special issue published another special issue focused on the topic of response to intervention (RtI; Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003). At that time, there was considerable interest in the application of an RtI model for providing services to children at risk for learning disabilities. The potential benefits have led to…

Reynolds and Wheldall reviewed research relating to Reading Recovery (RR) and concluded that "RR has provided an excellent model in demonstrating how to plan, promote, and implement an intervention across an educational system and how to design a professional development programme" (2007, p. 218). They balanced this praise with concerns about the…

More than five years of research offers little evidence that students who attend federally funded remedial and learning disabled reading programs improve their reading skills. The three assumptions underlying these programs are discussed. Ways teachers and schools can evaluate their programs are listed. (MT)

Corrects an error in the authors'"Kappan" article that evaluated three federally funded inclusion programs; 54% (not 61%) of learning-disabled students improved after 1 year of general-classroom instruction. The authors never claimed that one setting is superior for educating individual learning-disabled students. Inclusive education is inadequate…

A recent "Kappan" article by Naomi Zigmond and associates concludes that results from three major, federally funded research projects showed that restructured, inclusive elementary schools produce unacceptable and undesirable outcomes for a significant proportion of learning-disabled students. However, the authors' program-effectiveness standards…

This article critically examines issues of whether children with learning disabilities differentially exhibit concomitant problems in sensory integration (SI) and whether such children are helped by SI therapy. It concludes that research findings indicate that SI therapy is not merely unproven but a demonstrably ineffective remedial treatment for…

Present research on reading failure has not been able to determine whether it results from a single unitary deficit or from multiple causations. Diagnosis of reading failure is not a simple appraisal of a student's reading skills and abilities; rather, it is therapeutic in nature, always seeking to formulate more efficient means of improving…

Guidelines for effectively integrating learning-disabled or behavior problem students into regular classrooms are discussed. They include meetings between regular and special education teachers, class rules, discipline, clear directions, individualized instruction, direct instruction for skill acquisition, peer tutoring, structured activities,…

The label "cognitive" has been used to designate five substantially different approaches to the study of learning disabilities: information processing, metacognition, genetic epistemology, cognitive behavior modification, and the specific abilities model. (Author)

The authors describe the development and use of a structured, data base approach to developing individual education programs for special education students. The components of the "Data-Based Program Modification" (DBPM) approach are described to include five decision areas: problem selection; program selection (least restrictive yet most…

Reviews the origins of the continuum of placement options for learning-disabled students and the recent calls to replace pull-out placements with full inclusion in general education, exploring the efficacy of full inclusion and the features of special education that must be preserved when reinventing services for students with learning…

Since current instructional, environmental, medical, and neuropsychological interventions do not yield predictable benefits for learning disabled children, there is a need for naturalistic research on the prevention and correction of learning disabilities and learner differences. School personnel should focus on program development, evaluation,…

This response to Englert's article (EC 602 935) on sociocultural factors in teaching writing to students with learning disabilities addresses the application of social constructivist theory. It notes that the success of the Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing program may be not only attributable to its holistic social emphasis but also to…

This report of the Legislative Budget Committee of the State of Washington addresses issues regarding students in the learning disabled (LD) category of special education including cost of identifying LD students, means of determining program eligibility, effectiveness of services, and student characteristics. The report is based on literature…

This response to five case studies of inclusive practices for elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) finds that the consistent result was to diminish and subordinate the role of the special education teacher, reduce the potential effectiveness of special education as a specialized instructional effort, and remove the academic press…