ADHD affects over six million children in the U.S. and despite its prevalence, many clinicians do not accurately diagnose ADHD and do not screen for and identify the numerous conditions that can coexist and even worsen true ADHD or cause ADHD-like presentations when it does not exist. To help clinicians, this book offers three components. Part 1…

This guide was developed by the Louisiana Department of Education to help parents navigate the complex system that oversees special education in Louisiana's public schools. Each school year, local education agencies (LEAs) are required to provide parents a copy of the procedural safeguards. These safeguards are used to inform parents of the…

This resource guide designed for families and educators provides information on how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is identified and treated. The resource includes sections on legal requirements, treatment options educational and medical evaluations, how ADHD affects school performance, and helpful evidence-based hints on how to…

Dyslexia is a term that has been applied since the early part of the 20th Century to many students with reading difficulties. The term comes from medicine, but its broadest application is within education. Many educators, however, remain confused about the term in spite of the fact that major advances in the understanding of dyslexia have been…

This brief paper summarizes what is known about sensory integration and sensory integration dysfunction (DSI). It outlines evaluation of DSI, treatment approaches, and implications for parents and teachers, including compensatory strategies for minimizing the impact of DSI on a child's life. Review of origins of sensory integration theory in the…

This bibliography, intended for families, lists 65 resources on assessing children for the presence of a disability. Resources are intended to ensure that all members of the Individualized Education Program team, including parents, have an appropriate base of information. Resources were published from 1983 through 1994 and are grouped into the…

Before a child receives special education or related services, he or she must have an evaluation. The evaluation will help determine if a child needs special education. A parent or a member of the school staff may make the request for an evaluation. The child's parent must give consent in writing for the first evaluation. The evaluation will…

This briefing paper reviews the special education evaluation process for children with disabilities. It discusses the purpose of an evaluation and who is involved in an evaluation. An explanation of the steps of the process includes: (1) using what is known about a child by looking at a child's school file and recent test scores; (2) collecting…

The 16 chapters of this comprehensive guide to teaching students with learning disabilities cover the following topics: (1) an overview of the field of learning disabilities (characteristics, causes, prevalence, prognosis, and resources); (2) research in the field of learning disabilities (how the brain works, how children learn); (3) relevant…

This briefing paper provides answers to frequently asked questions about special education. It is divided into sections addressing student evaluation, special education eligibility, writing an Individualized Education Program (IEP), re-evaluation, and other special education issues. Specifically, information is provided on: (1) the purpose of…

This guide accompanies a five-part video series on learning disabilities (total length of 40 minutes), designed to help in the identification of children who may have learning disabilities and in the development of appropriate actions on their behalf. The guide introduces three children, whose true stories are told in the videos to illustrate the…

This digest discusses the occurrence of other disabilities which, in combination with diminished hearing, can create additional learning problems for children with hearing impairments. Topics on educational strategies for these children address: (1) the prevalence of other disabilities in children with hearing loss, including learning…

This guide is designed to provide Rhode Island educators and families with information about appropriate interventions, recommended referral procedures, recommended diagnostic procedures, and legal issues regarding students with attention deficit disorders. It begins by answering frequently asked questions about attentional disorders and…

This monograph is designed for New York parents and school personnel charged with administering the screening instruments for incoming kindergarten students to determine possible giftedness. It begins by explaining Article 65 of New York's Compulsory Education and School Census Law, Section 3208, which requires that parents be notified if their…

This guide helps parents understand how schools assess their child's English language ability and suggests ways for them to help schools place their children in the most useful language program. All districts must decide which students to test, and then how to test them. Some schools attempt to find out the English skills of all students, and…