ISSS News and Noteworthy:
What's new in Learning Disabilities?

Scientific advances in our understanding of learning disabilities (LD) have prompted concerns over current identification and assessment procedures that impact the educational practice of ISSS professionals and special educators. During the 2002-03 school year Bob Lichtenstein, educational consultant with the Bureau of Early Childhood and Student Support Services, Donna Merritt, SERC consultant, and Michael Regan, Director of Pupil Personal in Newtown, co-facilitated an Advanced Seminar in Learning Disabilities to examine current LD research relevant to these issues. The impetus for this professional development activity derived from anticipated changes in federal regulations (IDEA ’97 re-authorization) for LD eligibility determination, particularly as they relate to:

• The CT State Department of Education’s Guidelines for Identifying Children with Learning Disabilities (1999), which require documentation of adequate instruction in reading and math, and evidence of a disorder of basic psychological process that impacts educational performance; and

• The State’s Early Reading Success Institute and Connecticut’s Blueprint for Reading Achievement (2000).

Who Was in the Group and What Content Did They Review?

The Advanced Seminar in Learning Disabilities seminar group was composed of 12 professionals representing school psychology, special education, speech-language pathology, administration, and reading. Each participant demonstrated expertise and experience in LD identification and intervention.

Group members read essential resource materials on LD and related topics, including current literature and the text Identification of Learning Disabilities: Research to Policy (2002), edited by Renee Bradley, Louis Danielson, and Daniel P. Hallahan. This book contains the “white papers” presented at the 2001 Learning Disabilities Summit sponsored by the Office of Special Education programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Office of Education.

The group met seven times for afternoon sessions of presentations, discussion, and case study review. During the interim between the sessions individual learning teams, composed of two to three people, completed in-depth study on topics that included:

• Hypothesis Generation and Data Collection
• Alternative LD Assessment Models
• Responsiveness to Intervention, and
• Exclusionary Factors

In addition to the expertise of the group, two guest speakers were invited to share information and perspectives. Joan Axelrod, special educational consultant in private practice in Boston, presented on the Double-Deficit Model, Rapid Automatic Naming, and Phonological Processing. Joan also led a lively case study discussion. Regina Oliver, a school psychologist in New Hartford at the time of her presentation, and recently a new SERC consultant, shared Iowa’s early intervention and problem-solving model, including data from Heartland County. Nancy Stark, educational consultant with the Bureau of Special Education, also joined the group in January. As Nancy was instrumental in developing Connecticut’s Guidelines for Children with Learning Disabilities (1999), her input was invaluable.

What Did Group Members Say About The Advanced Seminar in Learning Disabilities?

Each participant in SERC’s Advanced Seminar in Learning Disabilities offered personal reflections upon completing the year of study. Click to review their feedback in ISSS’ Practice Highlights Section.

How Can I Learn More About Current Issues in Learning Disabilities?

You can review the content of the LD “white papers” by:

1. Reading executive summaries written by nationally recognized experts. Link to the Learning Disabilities Summit web site at www.air.org/ldsummit or

2. Reading the book, which is available in SERC’s library or can be ordered from Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. through their web site, www.erlbaum.com.

A number of leaders in learning disabilities, including Reid Lyon, Jack Fletcher, Sally Shaywitz and Joseph Torgeson, have prepared a paper entitled Rethinking Learning Disabilities (2001), which is part of a volume of reports examining the past, present and future of special education. This work, and others in the series, can be downloaded via the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation website at
http://www.edexcellence.net/library/special_ed/special_ed_ch12.pdf

Learning Disabilities and Families

Important information for families related to learning disabilities is also available on the Web, using www.ldonline.org as a good starting point.

Important definitions of learning disabilities can be accessed by clicking on: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/ld/archive/insert.htm#national

For more information, please contact:
SERC Consultants: Ruth D. Kirsch, LCSW, Ph.D., (860) 632-1485 (ext. 364) or Donna D. Merritt, Ph.D., CCC, ext. (337)