To determine if a student is eligible for special education services under Specific Learning Disability (SLD) evidence is required. Evidence will be used to show the student's academic progress, the learning environment, and skill areas of need.

• At least one skill area must be selected:

  • • Listening Comprehension

    • Oral Expression

    • Basic Reading

    • Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, Written Expression

    • Math Calculation, Math Reasoning

In the area selected:

• • Is the student NOT achieving adequately for his/her age or meeting grade level standards despite having had appropriate instruction?

  • Does the student have a 1.5 standard deviation discrepancy between actual achievement and intellectual ability?

• Types of Intervention provided and the frequency/duration.

• Patterns of Strengths and weaknesses in performance and/or achievement relevant to the identification of SLD using appropriate assessments relative to age, grade-level, standards, or intellectual development.

• An evaluation completed by an interdisciplinary school team which includes types of instruction and intervention, assessments and an observation in the regular classroom setting.

• Observation of student with focus on the area of concern.

  • Observe specific behaviors that are directly connected to the academic performance of the student.

• Presence of a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability.

• Appropriate instruction was provided in the area of concern but continues to perform below peers.

  • Identify the scientific research based core instruction provided in the area of concern.

• Educationally Relevant Medical Findings

  • Review and determine medical information that is directly related to education.

• Cognitive/intellectual functioning

  • Measures of general intellectual abilities and observations demonstrating at least average abilities.

  • Data on information processing that supports findings in the area(s) of concern.

Education practices that are more effective for students with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) begin with specialized instruction in their areas of deficit.

Reading

• intensive, direct instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, and word decoding.

• direct instruction in vocabulary development and reading comprehension strategies.

Math

• instruction using the concrete-semi-concrete-abstract (CSA) instructional sequence.

• use of hands-on materials and math manipulatives.

• explicit instruction in mathematical vocabulary.

• practice with explicit problem-solving strategies to understand and correctly solve word problems.

Writing

• intensive practice in hand writing and letter formation.

• Cover-copy-compare method.

• explicit instruction in sentence formation, sentence combining, and improving sentence complexity.

Students with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) benefit from accommodations that limit the impact of their disability in all settings.

• Allowing students to have questions read aloud. or listen to an audio recording of the text.

• Allowing choices or other ways for students to demonstrate their understanding (oral presentation instead of writing a paper).

• Allowing students extended time to complete assignments or tests.

• Providing instructions and tasks in smaller steps.

• Guided notes or recorded lessons.

• Graphic organizers.

• Preferential Seating.

• Frequent check in for student understanding.

• Provide a calculator.

If a student is suspected of having Specific Learning Disability (SLD), proper documentation should be gathered to help with the decision making process. Classroom teachers and other school personnel should provide information using student work samples, classroom observations, universal screener results, standardized testing results, formative and summative assessments. Communication from parents about the student and school history should also be included in the documentation.

Documentation should

• Use jargon free language.

• Clearly describe the student’s current academic performance (concerns and behaviors associated with the concern MUST be described in observable terms).

• Summarize and describe the relevant behaviors that support the finding that the student cannot meet the instructional demands that apply to all students.

• Summarize and clearly explain the student’s cognitive abilities and learning style.

• Clearly state how ALL data leads to the conclusion of a severe delay in the area of concern such that the student is NOT meeting age or grade level standards.

• Clearly state how all data supports the finding of a significant discrepancy between the student’s actual achievement and intellectual ability in the area of concern.

• Clearly summarize the individualized interventions provided, specific area targeted, intensity of the interventions, and results of the interventions.

Some of the critical questions that a school team should ask/answer when there is a suspicion that a student may have a disability are

• What are the unique difficulties or challenges that the student is experiencing because of the specific learning disability?

• Is oral expression affected?*

• Is listening comprehension affected?*

*If only oral expression and listening comprehension skills are affected without an impact on academics, Speech or Language criteria should be reviewed.

• Are basic reading skills affected?

• Are reading fluency skills affected?

• Is reading comprehension affected?

• Are written expression skills affected?

• Are math calculation skills affected?

• Are math reasoning skills affected?

• In what ways are the defined areas affected? (Must be unique to the student.)

• Does the student need interventions that significantly differ in intensity & duration from what can be provided solely through general education resources and services currently in place?

• What specially designed instruction does the student need?

• Is the need for specially designed instruction connected to the category for which the student was found eligible?

• Adaptive Behavior Scales

• Functional Behavior Assessments

• Speech and/or Language Assessments

• Academic Achievement Test

• Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test

• Observations

• Medical Reports

• Parent Interview