LD Blog

Portugal, where I am visiting, does not have a formal category of special education for students with Learning Disabilities. However, there are people here who are very concerned about these students. They asked that I talk with classes here about LD as well as present a discussion of identification issues during an up-coming conference.

Here’s a simplified outline of my comments in a class 21 April:

1. Historical perspective on identification
2. Reasons for identifying students who need help.
3. Identification is affected by definition
4. Identification can be based on on exclusion of other problems, discrepancy (conceptual or psychometric), or results of teaching
5. Assessment data are critical in making identifications
   1. Types of assessment data include those used for identification, program planning, and progress monitoring
   2. Assessment data must be trustworthy (reliability and validity)
6. Assessment for identification
   1. Fundamental Question: Whether individuals are different enough to merit special treatment?
   2. Predicated on “norms”
      1. Raises questions about what counts as normal, where we establish cut points.
      2. Examples include visual impairment and mental retardation
7. Methods of identifing LD
   1. ID by exclusion (what LD is not)
   2. ID by discrepancy (conceptual versus psychometric)
   3. ID by teaching
8. RtI and LD
   1. Early years approach
   2. Problem-solving model
   3. Common elements are
      1. Evidence-based practice
      2. Monitoring of progress.
9. What are agreed-upon aspects of LD for identification
   1. Low achievement
   2. Not explained by MR, sensory problems, or EBD
   3. Not corrected by providing adequate instruction