Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification

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.

VINCENT C. ALFONSO, PHD, is Dean of the School of Education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and a certified school psychologist and licensed psychologist in New York State. He is co-editor of Essentials of Planning, Selecting, and Tailoring Interventions for Unique Learners and co-author of Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, Third Edition and The Achievement Test Desk Reference: A Guide to Learning Disability Identification, Second Edition.

DAWN P. FLANAGAN, PHD, is Professor of Psychology at St. John's University in Queens, NY. She is also an Affiliate Clinical Professor at Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT. She serves as an expert witness, SLD consultant, and test/measurement consultant and trainer for organizations both nationally and internationally. She is a co-developer of Cross-Battery Assessment and its corresponding software system (X-BASS). Her most recent books include Essentials of WISC-V Assessment; Clinical Use and Interpretation of the WJ IV: Scientist-Practitioner Perspectives; Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification, 2e; and Essentials of Planning, Selecting and Tailoring Interventions for Unique Learners. Her forthcoming book is Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues, 4e.

Foreword ix

Series Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Part One Definitions and Manifestations of Specific Learning Disabilities 1

One Overview of Specific Learning Disabilities 3
Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Dawn P. Flanagan, and Vincent C. Alfonso

Two The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders: How SLD Manifests in Reading 29
Steven G. Feifer

Three How SLD Manifests in Mathematics 59
Michèle M. M. Mazzocco and Rose Vukovic

Four How SLD Manifests in Writing 103
Nancy Mather and Barbara J. Wendling

Five How SLD Manifests in Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension 145
Nickola Wolf Nelson and Elisabeth H. Wiig

Six Nonverbal Learning Disabilities 195
Margaret Semrud-Clikeman

Part Two Methods and Models of Specific

Learning Disability Identification 219

Seven A Response to Intervention (RTI) Approach to SLD Identification 221
Jack M. Fletcher and Jeremy Miciak

Eight Using Student Response to Intervention to Identify SLD: Requirements, Recommendations, and Future Research 257
Matthew K. Burns, Kathrin E. Maki, Kristy Warmbold-Brann, and June L. Preast

Nine Cognitive Neuroscientific Contributions to Theoretical Understanding of SLD 285
Scott L. Decker, Rachel M. Bridges, and Tayllor Vetter

Ten Integrating Instructionally Relevant SLD Diagnoses, Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses, and Positive Home-School Partnerships: Free and Appropriate Public Education for All 307
Nicole Lynn Alston-Abel and Virginia Berninger

Eleven Dual Discrepancy/Consistency Operational Definition of SLD: Integrating Multiple Data Sources and Multiple Data-Gathering Methods 329
Dawn P. Flanagan, Vincent C. Alfonso, Megan C. Sy, Jennifer T. Mascolo, Erin M. McDonough, and Samuel O. Ortiz

Twelve Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses Made Easy: The Discrepancy/Consistency Method 431
Jack A. Naglieri and Steven G. Feifer

Thirteen Core Selective Evaluation Process (C-SEP) and Dual Discrepancy/Consistency (DD/C) Models for SLD Identification: A Case Study Approach 475
Gail M. Cheramie, G. Thomas Schanding Jr., and Kristin Streich

Part Three Special Considerations in Specific Learning Disability Identification 503

Fourteen Difference or Disorder: Assessment of SLD with an English Learner 505
Samuel O. Ortiz, Kristan E. Melo, and Meghan A. Terzulli

Fifteen Differential Diagnosis of SLD Versus Other Difficulties 549
Benjamin J. Lovett and David A. Kilpatrick

About the Editors 573

About the Contributors 575

Author Index 577

Subject Index 597

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.