Learning Disabilities

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.

1. Introduction
2. History of the Field
3. Classification, Definition, and Identification of Learning Disabilities
4. Assessment of Learning Disabilities
5. Reading Disabilities: Word Recognition
6. Reading Disabilities: Fluency
7. Reading Disabilities: Comprehension
8. Mathematics Disabilities
9. Written Expression Disabilities
10. Conclusions and Future Directions