SLDs and Reading Interventions

How can differentiated reading instruction be used in general education settings to support students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs)?

An Independent Study by Devyn Casey.

Boston College, Lynch School of Education and Human Development

Welcome to my website!

On this site, you will find information on Specific Learning Disabilities in beginning reading and how differentiated instruction can be used to best support students with these disabilities.

Disclaimer:

Though all findings on this website are backed by research, they do not tell the entire story of an individual with a Specific Learning Disability in reading. When teaching students with SLDs, we must remember that one size does NOT fit all. In other words, what may be helpful for one student with an SLD in reading may not be helpful for another.

The basics: definitions necessary for navigating the website

What is differentiated instruction?

Differentiated instruction is the practice of tailoring lessons to meet the learning needs of all students. Tomlinson (2023), a leading authority on differentiated instruction, breaks differentiated instruction into four categories: content, process, products, and the learning environment. These categories are explained in more detail on each page of this website. To create an effective classroom for students with SLDs, the material (or content) students learn must be tailored to areas they need support in, and taught through a method (or process) that is effective for their learning. Additionally, students must have the opportunity to showcase their learning through means (or products) that allow them to demonstrate their knowledge accurately, in a place, (or a learning environment) that supports their needs.

Navigating the website

Reference information:

All references used for textual information can be found under the "references" page. All image references can be found by clicking on an image.

What is an SLD? ( NJCLD definition)

Specific Learning Disability "refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the lifespan. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other disabilities (for example, sensory impairment, intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural or linguistic differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences" (NJCLD, 2016).

Why the NJCLD definition?

The NJCLD definition was chosen to define SLDs for this project because experts agree that the federal definition of SLD has some limitations, such as the excluding adults, including spelling distinct from writing, and using obsolete terms (e.g. perception impairments).

What is beginning reading?

Beginning reading includes the following skills: “phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, phonics (including decoding and encoding, or spelling), and word recognition" (Al Otaiba et al., 2022, p.830). Often, difficulties in one or more of these areas are described as "dyslexia." Throughout this website, we will be referring to difficulties in these areas as a "SLD in beginning reading" which in literature frequently has the same meaning as "dyslexia."

Why is it important?

When a student struggles with beginning reading, secondary consequences are likely to occur, including limited reading comprehension and poor vocabulary knowledge (Stevens et al., 2021). If word-level difficulties are not addressed, "more pervasive challenges related to language development" may occur (Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014, p.578).

A Thank You to Dr. Scanlon!

This project would not have been possible without the constant help and support of Dr. Scanlon. Dr. Scanlon is an Associate Professor and the Program Director of Moderate Support Needs at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Dr. Scanlon has expertise in the area of Specific Learning Disabilities and has helped make much of the research I found comprehensible.