Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention [Hardcover]

Jack M. Fletcher Phd (Author), G. Reid Lyon PhD (Author), PhD Lynn S. Fuchs (Author), PhD Marcia A. Barnes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 159385370X | ISBN-13: 978-1593853709 | Publication Date: November 15, 2006 | Edition: 1

Evidence based and comprehensive, this important work offers a new approach to understanding and intervening with students with learning disabilities. The authors--leading experts in neuropsychology and special education--present a unique model of learning disabilities that integrates the cognitive, neural, genetic, and contextual factors associated with these disorders. The volume addresses classification, assessment, and intervention for a range of disabilities involved in reading, mathematics, and written expression. With a focus on exploring the evolving scientific base of the field, as well as establishing effective educational practices, this book will serve as an essential text and an indispensable resource for school psychologists, neuropsychologists, special educators, and others who work with struggling learners.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book provides a sophisticated and up-to-date analysis of current research findings on major forms of learning disability. The book is unique in that it reviews the research within a consistent framework. It provides systematic coverage of different types of disability, while also giving the reader an understanding of the varying levels of knowledge on each type. Another strong contribution of the book is the way it links research on the basic nature of learning disabilities with research on interventions. The 10 recommendations for research and practice in the final chapter are among the best summaries of their kind I have ever seen. Overall, the book is a direct reflection of the authors' broad and deep experience in the field. These are individuals who have grappled with the most fundamental issues about learning disabilities throughout their careers, and whose clarity of writing and understanding is unsurpassed. As a text, this book will provide an excellent starting point for advanced graduate courses in learning disabilities, particularly for students with an interest in research."--Joseph K. Torgesen, PhD, Department of Psychology and Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University

 

"Integrating science, practice, and policy related to learning disabilities, this up-to-date book will make a key contribution to graduate training and professional practice. As a text, it will be extremely useful for courses on learning disabilities and on academic skills assessment and intervention, particularly those that address response-to-intervention approaches."--Thomas R. Kratochwill, PhD, School Psychology Program, Educational and Psychological Training Center, and Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

"This book brings the field of learning disabilities thoroughly up to date, providing an excellent discussion of what we know. It delineates the importance of using scientific evidence as a basis for conceptualizing the construct of LDs, guiding the development of interventions, and informing federal educational legislation. The authors also offer an agenda for future research that will further the important integration of research, practice, and policy. This book will be essential reading for researchers, educators, and policymakers. I recommend it highly as a text for graduate-level courses in special education, instruction, and educational policy."--Joanna P. Williams, PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University

 

"This is simply the best and most comprehensive and systematic overview of the field of learning disabilities to date. It is easily accessible to educators, psychologists, and medical practitioners serving or trying to understand children with learning disabilities. The authors take complex concepts that are not yet fully formed or articulated by the field, such as response to intervention, and do a remarkable job explaining them and evaluating their research evidence. Moreover, the authors summarize years of research and thinking about various learning disabilities in a concise, comprehensive manner characterized by both depth of understanding and elegance of communication. The book is authoritative but not authoritarian, inquiring but not admonishing: It represents the field of learning disabilities research and practice in its attempt to change and improve itself. If you are looking for an accurate, informed, and cohesive interpretation of the field today, this is it!"--Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD, Child Study Center, Yale University

About the Author

Jack M. Fletcher, PhD, is a Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the University of Houston. His research interests focus on learning disabilities and brain injury in children, including definition and classification, neurobiological correlates, and intervention. He currently is Principal Investigator of a Learning Disability Research Center grant funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). He was the 2003 recipient of the Samuel T. Orton Award from the International Dyslexia Association.
 
G. Reid Lyon, PhD, is the Executive Vice President for Research and Evaluation at Best Associates and Whitney International University, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Prior to joining Best Associates, Dr. Lyon served as a research psychologist and the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the NICHD, where he was responsible for the direction of research programs in developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral pediatrics, reading, and learning disorders. His research focuses on evidence-based education and learning differences and disabilities in children.
 
Lynn S. Fuchs, PhD, is Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, where she also codirects the Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. Her research focuses on classroom-based assessment as well as instructional methods for students with reading disabilities and math disabilities.
 
Marcia A. Barnes, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology and University Research Chair at the University of Guelph and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include the study of math and reading comprehension disabilities in children with and without brain injuries.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (November 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159385370X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593853709
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rethinking Learning Disabilities, December 11, 2006

By 

Dr. Joseph M. Byrne - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention (Hardcover)

Excellent read. This book is informative, balanced, and will be uniquely valuable to health and education professionals, and the public in general. Fletcher and his colleagues offer an expert analysis as to where the field of Learning Disabilities has been, and where it must go, if we are to help the many children who struggle each day, trying to learn. Fletcher and his colleagues are clear; the IQ-Achievement Discrepancy Model is invalid and should be laid to rest once and for all, before more children are excluded from the educational intervention they need. They offer instead a thoroughly 'common sense' model of 'Response to Intervention (RTI), a model that, if adopted, will substantially increase the number of children getting help, sooner, and at a lower cost. The authors clearly understand the complex dynamic of science, clinical practice, educational instruction, and public policy. All must be aligned to move the field of LD ahead, and Fletcher and his colleagues are positioned to foster that needed change with this impressive contribution.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative, informative, up to date review of the field, April 1, 2007

By 

William Nelson "Dr. Bill" (Redlands, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book for the professional, researcher or serious student of learning disabilities. It is chock full of relevant research and gives divergent views fully and fairly. It nevertheless takes a stand on the assessment of and treatment for learning disabilities that differs markedly from the traditional approach commonly found in school districts and private clinician's offices. It provides a very good way to understand this perplexing and challenging field with up to date research. Most importantly, this book provides a refreshing willingness to challenge dogma and to give specific guidelines for future research and, most importantly, to guide remediation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A logical-minded, information-packed compendium., April 11, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention (Hardcover)

Written by the expert team of Jack M. Fletcher, G. Reid Lyon, Lynn S. Fuchs & Marcia A. Barnes, Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention is an evidence-based presentation of cutting-edge information about assessing and dealing with learning disabilities, with especial focus upon reading disabilities (word recognition, fluency, or comprehension-related), mathematics disabilities, and written expression disabilites. Though more of a scholarly assessment and description of the latest findings than a "how-to" manual per se, Learning Disabilities is sure to prove an invaluable, up-to-date resource especially for educators with responsibility for learning disabled-children, as well as anyone recognizing the "unexpected underachievement" that often signifies LDs and staging an appropriate intervention. A logical-minded, information-packed compendium.