Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification

Vincent C. Alfonso, Dawn P. Flanagan

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781119313847
• eBook ISBN: 9781119313861
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Research & Methodology in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Practical, up-to-date guidance on identifying Specific Learning Disability

Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification provides accessible, authoritative guidance on specific learning disability (SLD), with the most up-to-date information on assessment, identification, interventions, and more. Contributions by leading experts examine multiple theoretical orientations and various identification approaches for dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and other common SLDs. Emphasizing real-world utility, this book provides important information for professionals who work with children and youth at risk; many of the SLD identification practices can be put to work immediately, and the expert coverage offers many strategies and interventions for student support in the classroom. This new second edition has been updated to align with the most current understanding of SLD manifestations, diagnostic assessment, and evidence-based interventions, and includes new material covering nonverbal learning disability, speech-language impairment, general learning difficulties, and differentially diagnosing SLD from other conditions.

Early SLD identification and the right kind of help can raise the trajectory of a child's life. This book provides in-depth information to facilitate accurate identification and appropriate intervention to help you help the children in your care.

• Understand how SLD manifests in academic performance
• Learn theory- and research-based approaches to SLD identification
• Examine the latest information about new aspects of SLD determination
• Utilize appropriate and effective intervention strategies for student support

If a child's learning disability is caught early, and the correct type of support is provided, that child gets the chance to develop the skills that lead to achievement in school and beyond. As a high-incidence disorder, SLD affects 10-15 percent of the general population, making successful identification an essential skill for those who work with children. Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification provides authoritative guidance and practical methods that can help you start changing children's lives today.

Part One
Definitions and Manifestations of Specific Learning Disabilities

One
Overview of Specific Learning Disabilities

Marlene Sotelo-Dynega
Dawn P. Flanagan
Vincent C. Alfonso

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the definitions and classification systems of and methods for identification of specific learning disabilities (SLDs). Historically, children who did not perform as expected academically were evaluated and often identified as having a learning disability (LD) (Kavale & Forness, 2006). The number of children in the United States identified as having LD has “increased by more than 300 percent” since the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-142; Cortiella & Horowitz, 2014). This landmark legislation included criteria for the identification of exceptional learners, including children with LD, and mandated that they receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Each reauthorization of P.L. 94-142 maintained its original intent, including the most recent reauthorization, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-446; hereafter referred to as IDEA 2004). Rapid Reference 1.1 highlights the most salient changes to this legislation through the present day.

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Rapid Reference 1.1

Salient Changes in Special Education Law from 1975 to 2004

1975	Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) P.L. 94-142	Guaranteed school-age (5–21 years) children with disabilities the right to a FAPE.
1986	EHA P.L. 99-457	Extended the purpose of EHA to include children from birth to 5 years: FAPE was mandated for children ages 3–21 years. States were encouraged to develop early-intervention programs for children with disabilities from birth to 2 years.
1990	EHA renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) P.L. 101-476	The term handicapped child was replaced with child with a disability. Autism and traumatic brain injury classifications were added. Transition services for children with disabilities were mandated by age 16 years. It defined assistive technology devices and services. It required that the child with a disability be included in the general education environment to the maximum extent possible.
1997	IDEA P.L. 105-17	Extended the least-restrictive environment (LRE) to ensure that all students would have access to the general curriculum. Schools are required to consider the inclusion of assistive technology devices and services in the individualized education plans of all students. Orientation and mobility services were added to the list of related services for children who need instruction in navigating within and to and from their school environment.
2004	IDEA renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA)^1 P.L. 108-446	Statute is aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Focus of statute is on doing what works and increasing achievement expectations for children with disabilities. Changes are made to the evaluation procedures used to identify specific LDs.
^1 IDEA (rather than IDEIA) is used most often to refer to the 2004 reauthorization and, therefore, will be used throughout this book.

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The US Department of Education (USDOE) has collected data on students who have qualified for special education services since 1975. The most current data show that over 2.3 million school-age children are classified as SLD. This figure represents nearly 5% of the approximate 50 million students currently enrolled in the nation's schools (Kena et al., 2015). Furthermore, of all school-age students who have been classified with an educationally disabling condition, 39% are classified as SLD (USDOE, 2016a). Rapid Reference 1.2 shows that none of the other 12 IDEA 2004 disability categories approximates the prevalence rate of SLD in the population, a trend that has been consistent since 1980 (USDOE, 2016b).

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Rapid Reference 1.2

Students Ages 6–21 Years Served Under IDEA 2004

IDEA Disability Category	Percentage of All Disabilities^1	Percentage of Total School Enrollment^2
Specific Learning Disability	38.82	3.50
Speech or Language Impairment	17.26	1.56
Other Health Impairments	14.99	1.35
Autism	9.10	.82
Intellectual Disability	6.92	0.62
Emotional Disturbance	5.73	0.52
Developmental Delay (Ages 3–9 years only)	2.47	0.22
Multiple Disabilities	2.07	0.19
Hearing Impairments	1.11	0.10
Orthopedic Impairments	.68	0.06
Traumatic Brain Injury	0.42	0.04
Visual Impairments	0.41	0.04
Deaf-Blindness	0.02	0.00
^1 US Department of Education (2016a). ^2 US Department of Education (2016b).

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A Brief History of the Definition of Learning Disability

Definitions of LD date back to the mid- to late 1800s within the fields of neurology, psychology, and education (Mather & Goldstein, 2008). The earliest recorded definitions of LD were developed by clinicians based on their observations of individuals who experienced considerable difficulties with the acquisition of basic academic skills, despite their average or above-average general intelligence, or those who lost their ability to perform specific tasks after a brain injury that resulted from either a head trauma or stroke (Kaufman, 2008). Given that clinicians at that time did not have the necessary technology or psychometrically defensible instrumentation to test their hypotheses about brain-based LD, the medically focused study of LD stagnated, leading to the development of socially constructed, educationally focused definitions that presumed an underlying neurological etiology (Hale & Fiorello, 2004; Kaufman, 2008; Lyon et al., 2001).

In 1963, Samuel Kirk addressed a group of educators and parents at the Exploration Into the Problems of the Perceptually Handicapped Child conference in Chicago, Illinois. The purposes of the conference were to (1) gather information from leading professionals from diverse fields about the problems of children who had perceptually based learning difficulties and (2) develop a national organization that would lobby to secure services for these children. At this conference, Kirk presented a paper entitled “Learning Disabilities” that was based on his recently published book, Educating Exceptional Children (Kirk, 1962). In this paper, Kirk defined LD as

a retardation, disorder, or delayed development in one or more of the processes of speech, language, reading, writing, arithmetic, or other school subjects resulting from a psychological handicap caused by a possible cerebral dysfunction and/or emotional or behavioral disturbances. It is not the result of mental retardation, sensory deprivation, or cultural and instructional factors. (p. 263)

Not only did the conference participants accept Kirk's term LD and corresponding definition but also they formed an organization that is now known as the Learning Disabilities Association of Amer...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Series Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: Definitions and Manifestations of Specific Learning Disabilities
• Part Two: Methods and Models of Specific Learning Disability Identification
• Part Three: Special Considerations in Specific Learning Disability Identification
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• End User License Agreement