Toward Defining Discrepancies for Specific Learning Disabilities: An Analysis and Alternatives

1979 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Algozzine ◽  
Charles Forgnone ◽  
Cecil Mercer ◽  
John Trifiletti

According to the United States Office of Education, the only generally accepted manifestation of a specific learning disability is the existence of a significant discrepancy between expected and actual achievement. Within this context methods for determining the significance of any achievement discrepancies in children's performances become important. The research reported here attempted to evaluate the utility of two procedures for determining severe discrepancy levels; the benefits and liabilities of each are discussed.

Author(s):  
Christopher J. Lonigan

Specific learning disability is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting about 5–8% of the school-aged population. A key concept in specific learning disabilities is unexpected low achievement. An individual whose achievement in reading, math, or writing is both low and less than what would be expected based on developmental capacity and opportunity to learn and whose low achievement cannot be explained by a sensory impairment, limited language proficiency, or other impairing medical condition is considered to have a specific learning disability. This chapter provides an overview of issues and challenges involved in the identification and diagnosis of a specific learning disability, and it provides information on prevalence, epidemiology, and interventions for specific learning disabilities. Response-to-instruction models of identification hold promise for the identification of individuals with a specific learning disability, and they provide a means for the identification of false positives while enhancing the instructional context for children at risk.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Vasudha Hande ◽  
Shantala Hegde

BACKGROUND: A specific learning disability comes with a cluster of deficits in the neurocognitive domain. Phonological processing deficits have been the core of different types of specific learning disabilities. In addition to difficulties in phonological processing and cognitive deficits, children with specific learning disability (SLD) are known to also found have deficits in more innate non-language-based skills like musical rhythm processing. OBJECTIVES: This paper reviews studies in the area of musical rhythm perception in children with SLD. An attempt was made to throw light on beneficial effects of music and rhythm-based intervention and their underlying mechanism. METHODS: A hypothesis-driven review of research in the domain of rhythm deficits and rhythm-based intervention in children with SLD was carried out. RESULTS: A summary of the reviewed literature highlights that music and language processing have shared neural underpinnings. Children with SLD in addition to difficulties in language processing and other neurocognitive deficits are known to have deficits in music and rhythm perception. This is explained in the background of deficits in auditory skills, perceptuo-motor skills and timing skills. Attempt has been made in the field to understand the effect of music training on the children’s auditory processing and language development. Music and rhythm-based intervention emerges as a powerful intervention method to target language processing and other neurocognitive functions. Future studies in this direction are highly underscored. CONCLUSIONS: Suggestions for future research on music-based interventions have been discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milton J. Dehn

After defining psychological processing and providing descriptions of 10 interrelated neuropsychological processes, the author proposes an integrated model for identifying an individual's pattern of psychological processing strengths, weaknesses, and deficits when conducting a specific learning disability (SLD) assessment. The model incorporates approaches from other pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) models, while adding three requirements designed to reduce psychometric concerns about the identification procedures. Details for analysing cross-battery data and recommendations for applying processing deficits to SLD determination are included. In support of the model, the article reviews research that links psychological processing deficits with specific learning disabilities. The article concludes with a brief overview of evidence-based interventions for psychological processing deficits.


2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitris Anastasiou ◽  
Stavroula Polychronopoulou

The present study analyzed identification procedures and explored the possibility of dyslexia overidentification in Greece. Data from various institutional sources provided evidence that the prevalence rate of dyslexia in the school population, aged 6–18, was slightly higher than 1%. Compared to the corresponding percentages from the United States (approximately 5.5%) and an arbitrary estimation of 5% of a Greek legal document, the dyslexia rate was much lower, thus excluding the possibility of an overidentification problem on a national scale. Nonetheless, the relevant worries expressed by Greek governments seem to be partly justified by the phenomenon of a disproportionate percentage of students with dyslexia in secondary schools, when compared with that in elementary schools. This seems paradoxical, considering that the inadequacies in supportive special education services are much greater in the secondary-level education system. This finding was analyzed in terms of the legal and social actualities of Greece. Finally, a comparison between the Greek situation and the specific learning disabilities reality in the United States revealed differences regarding the issue of identification as well as similarities in the social factors that lead to distortions of the diagnostic procedures.


1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice E. Jacobs ◽  
Deborah J. Hendricks

The job accommodation needs of adults with a specific learning disability (SLD) are examined through an analysis of cases handled by the consultants at the Job Accommodation Network, an international accommodation information service of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Case examples are included, which provide practical solutions to common situations involving adults with a SLD in the employment environment. The final section lists useful resources available to those involved in making accommodations for people with a SLD.


1970 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 581-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold J. McGrady ◽  
Don A. Olson

The study was intended to describe and compare the psychosensory functioning of normal children and children with specific learning disabilities. Each of these children was given an automated battery of 13 psychosensory tests representing various combinations of auditory and visual intra and intersensory conditions for verbal, nonverbal-nonsocial, and nonverbal-social stimuli. On the psychosensory evaluation the learning disability groups made significantly more errors on the verbal psychosensory functions, regardless of the sensory conditions. The learning disability group also performed these tasks more slowly than normal children in nearly every comparison.


Author(s):  
Tas Adam ◽  
Arthur Tatnall

The term learning disability (LD) refers to any 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 behavioural disturbances (Adam & Tatnall, 2002). It is not the result of mental retardation, sensory deprivation, or cultural and instructional factors (Kirk, 1962). Specific learning disabilities is a chronic condition of presumed neurological origin that selectively interferes with the development, integration, and/or demonstration of verbal and/or nonverbal abilities. Specific learning disability exists as a distinct handicapping condition and varies in its manifestations and degree of severity (Adam & Tatnall, 2003). Throughout life, the condition can affect self-esteem, education, vocation, socialisation, and/or daily living activities (ACLD, 1986, p. 15). Two definitions of LD are well supported: a legislative definition from the United States found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997) and the one proposed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD, 1994), a consortium of representatives from organizations interested in LD.


Psichologija ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
L. Rakickienė ◽  
S. Girdzijauskienė

Straipsnyje aprašomas tyrimas, kuriuo siekta įvertinti Lietuvos pradinio mokyklinio amžiaus vaikų, turinčių hiperkinezinių sutrikimų, intelekto struktūros ypatumus. Tyrime dalyvavo 29 septynerių–dešimties metų vaikai, kuriems diagnozuotas hiperkinezinis sutrikimas. Tyrimo dalyviai atliko lietuviškąją Wechslerio intelekto testo vaikams – trečio leidimo versiją (WISC-III). Patvirtinančioji bei tiriančioji faktorių analizė parodė, kad hiperkinezinių sutrikimų turinčių vaikų intelekto struktūra, nustatyta WISC-III testu, nesiskiria nuo reprezentacinėje vaikų imtyje nustatytos intelekto struktūros. Klinikinės vaikų imties rezultatų vidurkių profilis buvo palygintas su WISC-III Lietuvos standartizacinės imties rezultatais. Nustatyta, kad hiperkinezinių sutrikimų turinčių vaikų WISC-III atlikimui būdinga žemas Atsparumo trukdžiams balas bei AKIS profilis (žemi Aritmetikos, Kodavimo, Informacijos ir Skaičių eilės subtestų balai), atspindintys dėmesio koncentracijos, atminties, nuoseklaus girdimosios informacijos apdorojimo ir žinių kaupimo sunkumus. Santykinai geri Panašumų, Paveikslėlių išdėstymo, Kubelių kompozicijos rezultatai leidžia teigti, kad operavimas sąvokomis, analizės ir sintezės gebėjimai, takusis intelektas yra hiperkinezinių sutrikimų turinčių vaikų galios. Kadangi didelei daliai klinikinės imties vaikų be hiperkinezinio sutrikimo buvo diagnozuotas gretutinis specifinis mokymosi gebėjimų raidos sutrikimas, palyginome vaikų, turinčių vien hiperkinezinį sutrikimą, ir vaikų, turinčių abi minėtas diagnozes, gebėjimų profilius. Pasirodė, kad nors hiperkinezinį sutrikimą bei gretutinį specifinį mokymosi gebėjimų raidos sutrikimą turinčių vaikų intelektiniai gebėjimai menkesni, gretutinis mokymosi gebėjimų raidos sutrikimas beveik neturi įtakos hiperkinezinių sutrikimų turinčių vaikų intelektinių gebėjimų profiliui.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: hiperkineziniai sutrikimai, intelekto struktūra, WISC-III, gretutinis mokymosi gebėjimų raidos sutrikimas. Intelligence Structure in Children with Hyperkinetic DisordersRakickienė L., Girdzijauskienė S. SummaryThe Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third edition (WISC-III) has been widely used to assess the intellectual abilities of children with hyperkinetic disorders by both researchers and practitioners. The characteristic features of the WISC-III profile of this clinical group have been described by several authors (Anastopoulos et al., 1994; Assessmany et al., 2001; Snow and Sapp, 2000; Mayes and Calhoun, 2006; Ek et al., 2007). However, the issue of the WISC-III construct validity in this particular clinical group was scarcely addressed. It remains possible that in hyperkinetic children with poor attention this long and attention-demanding test measures other constructs than in general population. The objective of this study was to examine the structure of intelligence in primary school children diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorders. 29 children (23 boys and 6 girls) aged seven to ten years, participated in the study. All the children were diagnosed with a hyperkinetic disorder, and ten of them had a comorbid diagnosis of specific learning disabilities. The participants of the study completed the Lithuanian version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third edition (WISC-III) (2002). The Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity of WISC-III when used in hyperkinetic children: one factor model (general intelligence) fits the data satisfactorily, while two factor (Verbal IQ, Performance IQ) and four factor (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organisation, Freedom from Distractibility, Processing Speed) models fit the data very well. However, the exploratory factor analysis revealed a different factor structure without the Processing Speed factor, more similar to WISC-R. It also showed that Object Arrangement is a problematic subtest when used with hyperkinetic children as it does not fit with any of the three factors. We suggest that its performance could be determined by emotional variables rather than by cognitive ones. The WISC-III profile of hyperkinetic children as a group was characterized by the low Freedom from Distractibility score and ACID profile (low Arithmetic, Coding, Information and Digit span scores). The mean scores of these subtests and factors were significantly lower than the standardization sample mean, which is 10 for subtest scores and 100 for factor scores: M = 8.4, t = –3.215, p < 0.01 for Information; M = 8.5, t = –5.998, p < 0.01 for Coding; M = 8.4, t = –3.194, p < 0.01 for Arithmetic; M = 6.9, t = –5.998, p < 0.01 for Digit Span; M = 86.17, t = –5.393, p < 0.01 for Freedom from Distractibility. These peculiarities of hyperkinetic children’s WISC-III performance are explained by difficulties in attention, short-term memory, sequential auditory processing and factual knowledge. Satisfactory results of Similarities, Picture Completion and Block Design suggest relative strengths of using concepts, ability to analyse and synthesize information, and fluid intelligence. It has been proposed that comorbid specific learning disabilities may affect the cognitive performance of hyperkinetic children. For this reason, the effect of a comorbid learning disability was also assessed. The results showed that, although the intellectual abilities of hyperkinetic children with a comorbid learning disability are lower, the comorbid learning disability does not change the hyperkinetic children’s intelligence profile.Keywords: hyperkinetic disorders, intelligence structure, WISC-III, specific learning disabilities. 


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