Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975, children with learning disabilities have been identified and defined based on "unexpectedly" low achievement. The table below answers frequently asked questions on identifying and assessing individuals with learning disabililties, in order to provide a more consistent framework for intervention.
| Who are they? | • Students with learning disabilities have an intelligence level in the normal range (i.e., above the cutoff for intellectual disabilities) and unexpectedly low achievement in one or more academic areas, most often in reading. |
| • Students with learning disabilities have also been labeled with terms such as dyslexia (reading disability), dysgraphia (handwriting or written expression disability), dyscalculia (math disability). | |
| What are typical characteristics? | • Low achievement |
| • Inattention/distractibility | |
| • Information-processing deficits | |
| • Social-skills deficits | |
| • Poor motivation | |
| • A heterogeneous category | |
| What are the demographics? | • 5.24% of students ages 6 to 17 (approximately 2.58 million) have been identified with learning disabilities. |
| • Approximately 45% of all school-age students with disabilities have a learning disability. | |
| • The percentage of the school-age population identified with learning disabilities increased by approximately 14% between 1990 and 2004. | |
| • 90% of students identified with learning disabilities have reading problems. | |
| • Approximately 75% are male. | |
| Where are students educated? | • 51% of students identified with learning disabilities spend most of the school day in general education classrooms. |
| • The proportion of students with learning disabilities who are educated in highly segregated separate settings declined by approximately 42% between 1990 and 2003. | |
| How are students identified and assessed for intervention? | • Primary criteria for identification are a severe discrepancy between expected and actual achievement levels and exclusion of students who have other disabilities and those who have not had adequate opportunities to learn. |
| • A test of intelligence is used to determine expected achievement level, while a standardized achievement test is used to determine actual achievement level. These tests are compared to determine if a severe discrepancy exists between expected and actual achievement levels. | |
| • Curriculum-based measures are used to determine current academic level in classroom curriculum as well as to monitor student progress. | |
| What are the outcomes? | • Reading problems tend to become more severe as students with learning disabilities move through school. |
| • Learning disabilities tend to persist into adulthood. | |
| • Many adults with learning disabilities have difficulty finding good employment, living independently, and finding satisfaction in life. |
Excerpt from Special Education for Today's Teachers: An Introduction, by M.S. Rosenberg, D.L. Westling, J. McLeskey, 2008 edition, p. 142.
© ______ 2008, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The reproduction, duplication, or distribution of this material by any means including but not limited to email and blogs is strictly prohibited without the explicit permission of the publisher.
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