The terms Language Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Language-based learning disabilities, Specific Learning Disorder, and Specific Learning Disability are commonly used to describe children struggling to learn at school. In this position paper, the definitions and distinctions between these terms are discussed, and key overlaps and…

The terms Language Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Language-based learning disabilities, Specific Learning Disorder, and Specific Learning Disability are commonly used to describe children struggling to learn at school. In this position paper, the definitions and distinctions between these terms are discussed, and key overlaps and…

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…

Black, Latinx and other minoritized students have long been overrepresented in the high-incidence disability classifications including Learning Disability, Emotional Disturbance, Intellectual Impairment, and Speech and Language Impairment. Inappropriate special education placement denies students access to the general education curriculum and…

Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a lifelong condition that when impacting educational performance is identified and serviced through U.S. schools as outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A few examples of educational categories that refer to DLD are (a) speech or language impairment (S/LI) and (b) specific…

This brief, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), provides important information about students with dual sensory loss who also have significant cognitive disabilities, as well as recommendations for identification and implications for instruction. The…

Educators, families, and policy actors rely on federal and state special education law to inform many decision-making processes. Vague eligibility criteria within the laws can result in conflict between school districts and parents. Resulting due process hearing decisions can have important implications for future practice. One area of particular…

This brief, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), provides important information about the differences between students with significant cognitive disabilities who have cortical visual impairment (CVI) and those who have other types of visual impairment (VI).…

This study used data from the U.S. state of Michigan schools participating in the "Reading First" program to examine the stability of students' disability status in Grades 1 to 3. Reading First aimed to improve at-risk students' reading comprehension through research-based instruction. We analyzed how changes in students' disability…

We use data from Michigan and an interrupted time series strategy to show how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted special education identifications and discontinuations. We find a substantial decrease in K-5 identifications and discontinuations during the 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 school years. Identifications fell by 19% and 12% in the first two…

The field of specific learning disabilities (SLDs) has faced three kinds of challenges. "Constitutional challenges" arise from classification and definitional complexities, identification issues, comorbidity, and ontological debates. "Internal challenges" include the inherent difficulties of scientific thinking that compete…

Multifactorial models of dyslexia have expanded how we consider heterogeneity within the population of children with dyslexia. These models are predicated on the idea that cognitive/linguistic risk factors are not deterministic but instead probabilistic, with the likelihood of difficulties involving an interaction between risk and protective…

Growing numbers of students are educated in charter schools, including students with disabilities (SWD). Prior research suggests that charter schools educate a smaller percentage of SWD than traditional public schools, leading to a special education gap between sectors. We used data from a large urban district to examine how choice, mobility, and…

Background: Nationally, about 15% of students -- about 7.3 million -- receive special education services. Each of these students is legally entitled to the services specified in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) document, which is co-developed by a child's school team (e.g., teachers, school psychologist), family, and in many cases, the…

The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) safeguards the learning of students with disabilities and protects them from nondiscriminatory assessments that identify their disabilities and align them with the special education support and services required. However, when the IDEA is not adequately followed, students with disabilities…