In 2025, the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) will have been the primary law driving the field of special education for 50 years. A contentious area of disagreement has been the relationship between two primary mandates of the law: the obligation of schools to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible students with disabilities and the obligation to place these students

This study focuses on the pervasive issues of cyberbullying and problematic internet use (PIU) among youth, particularly in children with disabilities. To elucidate the role of parents in mitigating these challenges, the study examines the prevalence of three parenting styles (permissive/authoritarian/authoritative), and their correlation with cyberbullying and PIU among children with or without specific

In a multiyear, multisite, randomized control trial, we examined the effects of comprehensive professional development designed to support teachers’ data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive early writing needs. Teachers ( N = 154; primarily special educators or intervention specialists) were assigned randomly to a treatment group ( n = 76), in which they received tools, learning, and

In this article, we introduce the term vulnerability to achievement stressors, which refers to differentially low achievement when shifts in the educational environment “stress” or threaten the capacity of an individual or a group of individuals to make academic progress. We also introduce a methodological framework for assessing vulnerability to achievement stressors. Vulnerability to achievement

We examined whether Phonics + Set for Variability (S fV) reading intervention would lead to better irregular word reading compared to Phonics + Morphology within a cluster randomized control trial (RCT) design with a follow-up measurement. The participants were 273 Grade 2 and 3 students with reading difficulties (139 in the Phonics + S fV and 134 in the Phonics + Morphology) who received intervention

Word problem-solving (WPS) poses a significant challenge for many students, particularly those with mathematics difficulties (MD), hindering their overall mathematical development. To improve WPS proficiency, providing individualized and intensive interventions is critical. This umbrella review examined 11 medium- to high-quality meta-analyses to identify intervention and participant characteristics

Specific learning and attention difficulties are often first identified in childhood, but they can cause lifelong academic and occupational challenges. We explored the prevalence of these difficulties and the representation of sex and ethnicity amongst all first-year students in UK higher education across 12 years—almost 5.7 million students—and compared course preferences and University destinations

The long-term negative consequences of learning difficulties have been acknowledged. Nonetheless, research is still scarce regarding the prediction of adolescent difficulties in reading and arithmetic skills. The present study examines at which age phase and with what kind of constellation of parent- and child-related factors can adolescent difficulties in arithmetic and/or reading fluency be successfully

The purpose of this logistic regression study was to identify predictors of teacher-reported sustained use of data-based instruction (DBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the extent to which the identified predictors explained teachers’ sustained use after completing programmatic support for intensive early writing instruction. We surveyed 58 teachers who participated in a professional development

Although data-based individualization (DBI) has positive effects on learning outcomes for students with learning difficulties, this framework can be difficult for teachers to implement due to its complexity and contextual barriers. The first aim of this synthesis was to investigate the effects of ongoing professional development (PD) support for DBI on teachers’ DBI knowledge, skills, beliefs, and

We created and tested a family-based intervention with families of children in Grades 1 and 2 with reading and behavioral difficulties to investigate its impact on text comprehension. Developed with input from parents, reading experts, and behavior specialists, Family-RISE (Reading Intervention with Supports for Engagement) integrates evidence-based practices for enhancing students’ knowledge of narrative

Schools conduct comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations to identify students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) and determine whether they qualify for special education services. This decision-making process is complex and research has documented many factors influencing SLD identification decisions. One such factor may be decision-makers’ beliefs about the underlying causes of SLD, including

Establishing validated science programs for students with or at risk for learning disabilities requires testing treatment effects and exploring differential response patterns. This study explored whether students’ initial mathematics and reading skills influenced their treatment response to a whole-class, second-grade science program called Scientific Explorers (Sci2). The original Sci2 study employed

The purpose of this invited paper is to show the learning disabilities field what LDbase is, why it’s important for the field, what it offers the field, and examples of how you can leverage LDbase in your own work.

Rate of change (i.e., slope) is a critical mathematics concept for success in everyday life, academics, and professional careers. Students with or at risk of learning disabilities struggle with solving rate-of-change problems, especially word problems. Interventions that incorporate representations and problem-solving strategies are effective for improving the word problem-solving performance of students

Developing both conceptual and procedural knowledge is important for students’ mathematics competence. This study examined whether Grade 9 general education mathematics teachers’ self-reported use of concept-focused instruction (CFI) and procedure-focused instruction (PFI) were associated differently with ninth graders’ algebra achievement after 2.5 years, depending on students’ mathematics difficulty

High-level literacy skills are required for full participation in the democratic process through voting. Consequently, adults with low-level literacy skills are at a disadvantage. This work investigated the disparity between the readability of U.S. ballot propositions for year 2022 state elections and grade level reading estimates (≤eighth grade) for adults. Educational attainment was also examined

The purpose of this analysis was to describe cognitive processes associated with comorbid difficulty between word reading (WR) and mathematics computation (MC) at the start of first grade among children selected for WR and MC delays. A sample of 234 children (mean age 6.50 years, SD = 0.31) was assessed on WR, MC, core cognitive processes (phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, verbal counting

School context can shape relative intervention response in myriad ways due to factors, such as instructional quality, resource allocation, peer effects, and correlations between the school context and characteristics of enrolled students (e.g., higher-poverty students attending higher-poverty schools). In the current study, we used data from 16,000 Grade 3 students in a community-based supplemental

Data-based instruction (DBI) is a process in which teachers use progress data to make ongoing instructional decisions for students with learning disabilities. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a common form of progress monitoring, and CBM data are placed on a graph to guide decision-making. Despite the central role that graph interpretation plays in the successful implementation of DBI, relatively

Children with developmental dyslexia (DD) display partially preserved morphology skills which they rely upon for reading and spelling. Therefore, we conducted explicit and intensive training of derivational morphology in individuals with DD, ages 9 to 14 years, in order to assess its effect on: morphological awareness, reading (speed and accuracy), and spelling. Our pre–posttest design included a group

Handwriting deficits, or dysgraphia, are present in several neurodevelopmental disorders. To investigate whether dysgraphia differs according to the associated disorder, we performed a detailed analysis of handwriting in children with developmental coordination disorders (DCD), reading disorder (RD), or comorbid RD and DCD. Handwriting deficits were investigated at the product (quality of the trace)

Despite decades of research efforts, data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive intervention needs are not being widely used in practice as anticipated, and many educators have difficulties in implementing it. This systematic review aimed to examine what kinds of implementation drivers and strategies have been used to support educators implementing DBI and what kinds of implementation

There is a wide gap between what research evidence identifies as effective reading intervention and what is currently offered in schools. This effectiveness study reports the results of a long-term research/school system partnership that is implementing reading intervention for children with reading difficulties in Canadian community schools. In Study 1, growth-curve analyses revealed significant long-term

Data-based decision-making (DBDM) using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) data has demonstrated effectiveness in improving academic achievement for students with or at risk for learning disability. Despite substantial evidence supporting DBDM, its use is not common practice for many educators, even those who regularly collect CBM data. One explanation for its lack of widespread use is that educators

Response to intervention (RTI) is a method for providing academic support to students and for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLDs). Using interrupted time series and hazard models, we examined if statewide RTI adoption in the U.S. state of Tennessee was associated with changes in rates of SLD and first-time SLD identification in elementary schools, and if these associations varied across

Conceptual replications are part and parcel of education science. Methodologically rigorous conceptual replication studies permit researchers to test and strengthen the generalizability of a study's initial findings. The current conceptual replication sought to replicate the efficacy of a small-group, first-grade mathematics intervention with 240 first-grade students with mathematics difficulties in

More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific instructional interaction practices lead to stronger

This study examined whether there are differences between Israeli students with learning disabilities (LD) and their typically developing peers with regard to their 21st-century skills according to their self-report and whether the differences between the two groups are greater in postsecondary education than in high school-an aim that had not been examined in depth in previous research. Findings suggest

Two hundred ninety-eight primary teachers (88% female) from across all Australian states and territories reported on the frequency with which they implemented instructional adaptations for struggling writers in their classrooms. They also rated their preparation and self-efficacy for teaching writing. The majority of participating teachers indicated they provided additional instruction on spelling

Given that inhibition interacts with visual temporal processing (VTP), the past evidence regarding the influence of VTP on the Chinese character reading of children with dyslexia may not disclose the whole picture without considering inhibition. Thus, the present study is among the first to investigate VTP and cognitive inhibition as well as their relationships to Chinese character reading. We compared

Most students with reading difficulties struggle to read words. We examined intervention effects for students with significant word reading difficulties (SWRD; standard score of 80 on at least one pretest measure of word reading), which includes individuals with or at risk for dyslexia. We investigated: (a) What are the effects of reading interventions for students in Grades 3-12 with SWRD? and (b)

Children with mathematical difficulties need to spend more time than typically achieving children on solving even simple equations. Since these tasks already require a larger share of their cognitive resources, additional demands imposed by the need to switch between tasks may lead to a greater decline of performance in children with mathematical difficulties. We explored differential task switch costs

This study extends the research on the preschool home literacy environment (HLE) in the context of the family risk (FR) of reading disability (RD) by examining a multiple-deficit model of RD. A total of 1,171 six-year-old Norwegian children were assessed at school entry, the onset of formal reading instruction in Norway. Their parents completed a questionnaire regarding their own RD, education, and

This study analyzed performance, process, and survey data of eighth graders with learning disabilities (LDs) who took the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) digital math test. Compared with students with LDs who did not receive extended time accommodations (ETAs), students with LDs who received and used ETA scored significantly higher on the test, whereas students with LDs who

Given the increase in students with learning disabilities entering university, we investigated a broader group-students with a history of reading difficulties (HRD)-who are known to be at risk of academic struggles. We identified the self-reported reading challenges and strategies of university students with HRD (n = 49) and those with no history of reading difficulties (NRD; n = 88) and examined group

Personal disability identity is a predictor of psychosocial functioning among adults with predominantly physical disabilities. In the present study, we examined personal disability identity in adults with learning disabilities (LD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In samples of 541 adults with LD, 475 with ADHD, and 433 with comorbid LD and ADHD, we examined the structural validity

Seventy-five general and 65 special education teachers working in the same 65 elementary schools in 12 different U.S. school districts were surveyed about their mindsets concerning the malleability of writing and intelligence as well as their practices for teaching writing. All teachers taught writing to one or more fourth-grade students receiving special education services, including students with

We examined the efficacy of a Technology-Based Early Language Comprehension Intervention (TeLCI) designed to teach inferencing in a non-reading context. A group of Grades 1 and 2 students from 2 elementary schools in the U.S. Midwest identified as at risk of comprehension difficulties were assigned randomly to a business-as-usual control group or to use TeLCI over an 8-week period. TeLCI comprised

Using U.S. state-level data, we report unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of special education (SPED) trends in Tennessee from 2009 to 2019 for students in Grades 3 to 8 by three language groups: native English speakers (NES), English-proficient bilinguals (EPB), and Current English learners (Current EL). We report trends across all SPED disability categories and across five prevalent disability categories

Analyses were conducted with second graders, drawn from an ongoing multi-cohort randomized controlled trial (RCT), who had been identified for RCT entry based on comorbid reading comprehension and word-problem solving difficulty. To estimate pandemic learning loss, we contrasted fall performance for 3 cohorts: fall of 2019 (pre-pandemic; n = 47), 2020 (early pandemic, when performance was affected

We report a school-based randomized control trial study comparing two morphological interventions with untaught controls: one focusing on direct instruction targeting print morphological decoding (...

Teacher-level factors are theoretically linked to student outcomes in data-based instruction (DBI; Lembke et al., 2018). Professional development and ongoing support can increase teachers’ knowledg...

Musical abilities, both in the pitch and temporal dimension, have been shown to be positively associated with phonological awareness and reading abilities in both children and adults. There is incr...

The identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) remains fraught with controversy and uncertainty about professionals’ capacity to appropriately identify special education eligibility. Fo...

Copying a text quickly and accurately is important both in school and in daily life. However, this skill has never been systematically studied, either in children with typical development (TD) or i...

Understanding the individual qualities sustaining students with and without specific learning disabilities (SLDs) is key to supporting their academic achievement and well-being. In this study, we i...

The present study examined whether learning disabilities (LD) in reading and/or math (i.e., reading disability [RD], math disability [MD], and RD+MD) co-occur with other diagnoses. The data compris...

Experts laud the potential of educational technology (edtech) to promote reading among students with disabilities, but supporting evidence is lacking. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the ...

The purpose of this special issue’s five articles is to highlight issues regarding decoding, comprehension, oral language fluency, and writing for adults with low literacy skills. Our authors’ samp...

As access to higher education increases, it is important to monitor students with special needs to facilitate the provision of appropriate resources and support. Although metrics such as ACT’s (for...

Traditional static tests of reading and reading-related skills offer some ability to predict future reading performance, though such screeners may misclassify children with or at risk of reading di...

Executive function (EF) training has shown promise for remedying general EF deficiencies faced by students with mathematics difficulty (MD) and for improving their performance. However, latest rese...

High-quality Tier 1 instruction is frequently conceptualized as the “foundation” for other tiers of intervention within multitiered systems of support (MTSS) models. However, the vast majority of T...

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) has long been thought to be determined by multiple components. Dyscalculia has high comorbidity with other learning and developmental disabilities, including reading ...

We examined how children (n = 448) with separate or co-occurring developmental language disorder (DLD) and dyslexia performed on school-based measures of academic functioning between second and fou...

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a mathematics learning disorder that affects approximately 5% to 7% of the population. This study aimed to detect the underlying domain-specific and domain-general...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) overdiagnosis and overtreatment unnecessarily exposes children to potential harm and contributes to provider and community skepticism toward those wi...

As digital technology use increases in K–12 education, greater numbers of strategies become available to support students in mathematics. One technology that provides students diverse representations of mathematical concepts is virtual manipulatives. Although instruction featuring representations with physical manipulatives possesses a large body of research, the virtual form lacks comparable study