OSPA Position Statement on the Identification of Specific Learning Disability

With the recent enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), federal and state criteria for Specific Learning Disability (SLD) eligibility are changing. Specifically, IDEA 2004 does not allow states to require local educational agencies (LEAs) “to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability” when determining whether a child has a Specific Learning Disability. Instead, the state, “must permit the use of a process based on the child’s response to scientific, intervention; and may permit the use of other alternative research-based procedures for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.” A research-based approach to instructional intervention for academic and behavior support is commonly referred to as the response-to-intervention (RTI) model.

Inevitably, there is likely to be confusion in the process of adopting such changes in the approach to identifying learning disabilities. School psychologists are uniquely capable of navigating this change, providing context, and giving constructive support to individuals and systems. The evaluation and participation in the identification process for SLD is the role of the school psychologist. The professional practice guidelines for psychology clearly recognize licensed psychologists, including school psychologists as the designated professionals to identify mental function and mental ability.

Definition of Specific Learning Disability: A Specific Learning Disability is indicated by deficiencies in academic performance and academic skill acquisition in one or more skill domains. In addition, as retained in the federal definition, a SLD is “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language” (IDEA, 2004).

Concerns regarding the ability/achievement discrepancy model: The strict application of numerical discrepancy procedures and a misunderstanding of the relationship of cognitive assessment to instructional interventions have been shown to delay identification and appropriate instructional intervention. OSPA does not support the continued use of a discrepancy between broad intellectual ability and achievement to identify learning disabilities. However, OSPA believes that recent improvements in cognitive assessment tools can provide essential measurements as a part of a full and individualized assessment of learning disabilities.

Recommendations for identification of Specific Learning Disability in Oregon:

1. All students should have access to high-quality instruction at the general education level that ensures successful skill acquisition by the majority of students.

2. Instructional intervention effectiveness data and progress monitoring should be a part of a multi-tiered and increasingly targeted intervention process (RTI).

3. A primary goal of evaluation is to inform the best possible instructional practices for an individual student.

4. A full and individualized evaluation of students referred for suspected SLD should include assessments that determine the relative impact of any pertinent cognitive, academic, and behavioral factors. This assessment should be comprehensive enough for teams to determine if the student exhibits relevant characteristics of learning disabilities, if other suspected or related disorders exist, and if environmental, language, or other exclusionary factors can be ruled out as a primary factor for the student’s lack of academic progress.

Central activities of school psychologists in SLD identification:

1. Review effectiveness of a district’s curriculum and targeted interventions based on data collected at the district and building levels. School psychologists can provide reviews and synthesis of scientific literature in support of chosen curricular or intervention methods.

2. Provide systematic quantitative and qualitative observations of students in instructional settings. Through observations, school psychologists can address issues of integrity of instructional interventions, the relative contribution of behavior to learning, and the functional fit of students’ needs with the curriculum.

3. Collaborate with team members involved in data collection and analysis. The synthesis of progress monitoring data with other evaluation information (such as student developmental history, criterion- or norm-referenced assessment, social emotional and behavioral factors) should be considered as part of the process.

4. Play a key role in the full and individual evaluation process, examining whether a student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses relative to age, grade-level standards, or intellectual development. This might involve standardized measures of cognitive ability, such as intelligence tests, and/or direct measures of specific cognitive processes related to targeted academic skills.

School psychologists have expertise in educational psychology, problem solving, team leadership, data collection and analysis, special education law, curriculum-based measurement, social/emotional barriers to learning, consultation with teachers and parents, and identifying and monitoring effective academic and behavioral interventions. School psychologists have been prominent contributors to the development and advocacy of the problem-solving model as described in the literature. Consequently, school psychologists are well prepared for central roles within the SLD identification process.

References

1) Batsche, G., et al. (2005). Response to intervention: Policy considerations and implementation. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

2) Brown-Chidsey, R., & Steege, M. W. (2005). Response to intervention. New York: Guilford.

3) “The Role of the School Psychologist in the RTI Process: NASP Publication, adapted from Problems Solving and RTI: New Roles for School Psychologist, by Andrea Canter, NASP Communique,34, (5), insert, 2006.

* OSPA wishes to thank the Wisconsin Association of School Psychologists.