Currently 15 percent of U.S. students receive special education services, a widespread intensive intervention with variable effects on students. Spurred by changes in federal policy, many states and districts have begun adopting the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to identifying students to receive special education services. RTI seeks to…

The current paper describes the process used for developing the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Assessment of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Learning Disabilities-Consensus Statement and Supporting Documents, and the rationale for some of the decisions. The guidelines were developed by a cross-sectoral working group of psychologists who…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Early Numeracy Screener. The Early Numeracy Screener is a teacher-administered, paper-and-pencil test measuring counting skills, numerical relational skills, and basic arithmetic skills. Three hundred and sixty-six first graders took the Early Numeracy Screener at the beginning of the…

Efforts to diagnose students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have increased in recent years in Turkey. However, the limited number of assessment tools used to identify students with SLD is one of the most important concerns in this area, since 8 out of 10 students with SLD have difficulty in reading, which affects other academic areas.…

Although research supports the effectiveness of the multitiered system of supports (MTSS) on academic and behavioral outcomes, districts aim to engage in data-based decision making and examine the effectiveness of their own MTSS implementation. This case study describes how one regional education service agency (RESA) in the Midwest implemented…

Tools for assessing decoding skill in students attending elementary grades are of fundamental importance for guaranteeing an early identification of reading disabled students and reducing both the primary negative effects (on learning) and the secondary negative effects (on the development of the personality) of this disability. This article…

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Ireland are required to have a formal psycho-educational assessment from an educational psychologist to register with Disability Services in HEIs, to be eligible for support through the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD). Such…

Much has been written about gifted students with learning disabilities, but there have been few large-scale empirical investigations, and the concept has proven controversial. The authors reviewed the available empirical literature on these students, focusing on (a) the criteria by which the students were identified and (b) the students'…

The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and subsequent regulations published in 2006 have significantly changed the identification process for students suspected of having specific learning disabilities. Rather than using a discrepancy model contrasting intellectual and achievement test results, assessment…

While the literature on learning disabilities and on second-language acquisition is relatively extensive within the field of education, less is known about the specific characteristics and representation of English learner students with learning disabilities. Because there are no definitive resources and processes for identifying and determining…

DSM-5, the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," was published in May 2013, amidst a storm of controversy. This article focuses on changes made to the diagnostic criteria for Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). Primary criticisms of the changes in the SLD concern…

For identifying children with four major kinds of verbal learning disabilities viz. reading disability, speech and language comprehension disability, writing disability and mathematics disability, the present task was undertaken to construct and standardize verbal learning disabilities checklist. This checklist was developed by keeping in view the…

English language learners (ELLs) who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language for academic purposes, are often misidentified as having Language Learning Disabilities (LLDs). Policies regarding the assessment of ELLs have undergone many changes through the years, such as the introduction of a Response to Intervention (RTI)…

The Office of Special Education Services (OSES) in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) supports students with disabilities in gaining college, career readiness, and independent living skills through active engagement in grade-level curriculum. The purpose of special education is to minimize the impact of the students' disability, while…

In Canadian public primary schools, newcomer West African refugees like other ethnic immigrant students are a visible minority group, often referred as Linguistic and Culturally Different (LCD) students. In the province of British Columbia, newcomer immigrant students are subjected to a battery of tests, as soon as they enroll in the primary…