Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child shows isolated structural language problems. The diagnosis of pragmatic language impairment (PLI) is given to children who show difficulties with the use of language in context. Unlike children with SLI, these children tend to show relatively intact structural language skills…

Background: The UK government set up a review of provision for children and young people with the full range of speech, language and communication needs led by a Member of Parliament, John Bercow. A research study was commissioned to provide empirical evidence to inform the Bercow Review. Aims: To examine the efficiency and effectiveness of…

Background: Little is known about child disability and dynamic aspects of poverty. Method: Analysis of data collected over a 12-month period for families (a) supporting a child with intellectual disability (n = 370), (b) supporting a child with other disability (n = 1,418), and (c) supporting a child with no disability (n = 7,215). Results: When…

Elementary and special education teachers and school counsellors currently provide support to children presenting learning disabilities and behavioural problems symptomatic of the more hidden diagnosis of complex trauma resulting from abuse or severe attachment disruption. Specific disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)…

This study extends recent findings of a relationship between the relative age of students among their peers and their probability of disability classification. Using three nationally representative surveys spanning 1988-2004 and grades K-10, we find that an additional month of relative age decreases the likelihood of receiving special education…

Educators in the Chula Vista Elementary School District determined what kind of instruction students needed through a "response to intervention" (RTI) process, which provides extra help to struggling students with an aim of reducing the number of referrals to special education. As RTI catches on throughout the country, the district is on…

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between being labelled either as having dyslexia or as having general special educational needs (SEN) and a child's self-esteem. Seventy-five children aged between 8 and 15 years categorised as having dyslexia (N = 26), as having general SEN (N = 26) or as having no learning difficulties (N…

In this article, the authors share five practical teaching activities for introducing disability into the secondary English curriculum that also address NCTE/IRA objectives for the English language arts. They have used these lessons to help students better analyze the language/rhetoric of disability, understand how disability is represented in…

Background: Males with fragile X syndrome and autism (FXS/autism) represent a distinct subgroup of males with FXS at risk for markedly poorer outcomes. Early identification and intervention can improve outcomes for males with autism spectrum disorder. Method: To advance the development of a specialised autism screening tool for young males with…

States and districts have been encouraged to consider responsiveness to scientifically based instruction and intervention (RTI) as one of many markers of eligibility for special education under the category of learning disabilities. In this article, the authors describe variations in determining responsiveness, and cultural and linguistic…

This report has been provided to the Legislature on an annual basis since 2000 when the legislature amended the language of G.L. c. 71B to align Massachusetts special education terminology with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This year reports the context of a major change in the way state systems of special…

Recent literature notes a significant increase in students being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, no uniform testing protocol exists. It is vital for students and educators that a unified testing process be created and established. This study investigated which ASD testing instruments were currently used in Southern California…

Since the inception of special education, researchers have identified higher proportions of minority students with disabilities than expected. Yet, relatively few studies have considered the contributions of the school context on a large scale to the identification of students with mental retardation (MR), emotional disturbance (ED), and learning…

Relations between classroom behavior problems early in the preschool year and elementary school literacy and language outcomes were examined for an entire cohort of four-year-old Head Start children (N=2682). A cross-classified random effects model was used that controlled for the variance in literacy outcomes attributed to: (a) child-level…

Watters questions the universality of mental illness and warns of the harms that accompany the exportation of Western typologies to non-Western cultures. He is particularly concerned that these effects will be exacerbated by the upcoming revisions of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("DSM-V").…