Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The chapters in this volume offer an authoritative summary and analysis of core issues related to theory and practice in the LD field. The book should be required reading for all advanced students in the field. It is an indispensable graduate text and resource for scholars."--C. Addison Stone, PhD, School of Education, University of Michigan
"A valuable resource for professionals. This comprehensive and timely volume, featuring chapters by notable authors, speaks to the array of issues bearing on the delivery of effective educational services to individuals with learning disabilities. It also offers an accessible guide to the current status of research-based interventions. The critical analysis of the research, the synthesis of what is known, and the evaluation of what we still need to know make this a publication that will influence learning disability research, policy, and practice for years to come."--Dave L. Edyburn, PhD, Department of Exceptional Education, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
"There are several handbook-type volumes on learning disabilities on the market, but none matches this volume for comprehensiveness. The contributors represent an all-star cast of investigators who have built the field in the last two decades, and they address a wide range of problem areas, methodologies, and areas of scholarly and professional focus. The volume's coverage of instructional issues makes it an incredibly useful text for practitioner-oriented courses. At the same time, sections on foundations, causes, and methodology make this 'must' reading for researchers as well. Swanson et al. have done a great service to the field."--Keith E. Stanovich, PhD, Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada
"More than a typical handbook, this volume is a virtual self-contained reference library for even the most erudite researcher or practitioner interested in learning differences and difficulties. Swanson, Harris, and Graham have brought together the best researchers and thinkers in the field, who 'deliver the goods' on the full range of historical, conceptual, methodological, psychological, neurological, sociocultural, and instructional issues associated with the complex and elusive construct known as learning disabilities. A masterpiece."--Edward J. Kame'enui, PhD, Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement, College of Education, University of Oregon
Review
"...this is an invaluable book summarizing many key research programs related to LD."--
Contemporary Psychology"...an excellent reference for researchers or practitioners interested in a sophisticated introduction to learning disabilities....Most of the authors in the text rely on the positivistic research tradition and employ methods such as meta-analysis to summarize and draw conclusions from large bodies of research. These reviews highlight the movement of the field toward methodological rigor. The inclusion of qualitative research in several chapters builds a richness of perspectives. Swanson, Harris, and Graham accomplish an impressive feat with their handbook. They compile chapters by the most preeminent scholars in the field to create a text that is both comprehensive and accessible."--Education Libraries
“This text is a gathering of the great minds on learning disability, and a powerful review of the major theoretical, methodological, and instructional advances of the past decade. It should be present in every university library and will prove a very worthy text for postgraduate courses on learning disability....An excellent text.”--Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities
"This Handbook is a useful resource for both those who are experienced in the field as well as those who are new to it. It is an excellent reference for any practitioner's library since it provides such a thorough overview of the LD field, and it would also serve well as a text for an introductory course in LD in teacher training programs."--Educational Review
"Swanson, Harris, and Graham have compiled a tremendous source book of the latest research and best practices in the field of learning disabilities. The book consists of thirty-two chapters written by well-known authors and researchers in the field....a book with an incredible wealth of information about developments in the field of learning disabilities over the past two decades. Everything presented in the book is research-based and field-tested, not simply theory. For the in-depth lists of references and resources alone this book is worth adding to your personal educational library."--Alternative Network Journal
Review
"[This] is an excellent reference for any practitioner's library since it provides such a thorough overview of the LD field, and it would also serve well as a text for an introductory course in LD in teacher training programs."--Educational Review
Review
"An invaluable book summarizing many key research programs related to LD."--Contemporary Psychology
Review
"An exceptionally solid and comprehensive volume from leading scholars in the field. The second edition presents major research findings characterized by increased scientific rigor and an integrative perspective, bringing together neuroscience, genetics, and behavior. Chapters consistently rely on an operational definition of learning disabilities that does not reflect discrepancy notions. This handbook should be required reading for school psychologists, graduate students, and LD researchers."--James E. Ysseldyke, PhD, Birkmaier Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota
"Swanson, Harris, and Graham offer a comprehensive examination of LD that reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the field. They bring together researchers whose work addresses conceptual, neurological, instructional, and methodological trends and issues. The second edition provides up-to-date coverage of legal aspects of service delivery, as well as notable new chapters on single-case designs, the state of the science in LD, adults with LD, and more. This volume is well suited as a course text or professional reference."--Diane Pedrotty Bryant, PhD, Department of Special Education and Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin
"The chapters in this volume offer an authoritative summary and analysis of core issues related to theory and practice in the LD field. The book should be required reading for all advanced students in the field. It is an indispensable graduate text and resource for scholars."--C. Addison Stone, PhD, School of Education (Emeritus), University of Michigan
"The Handbook has been the go-to source for a reliable, scholarly, in-depth treatment of major topics in the LD field for the past decade. Much has changed during this period, however, and the second edition is timely and welcome. New topics such as RTI and computer-based approaches to instruction are introduced and older topics--such as the preeminence of phonologic processing in successful reading--are revisited. This volume is an essential addition to the reference libraries of advanced students and clinical professionals alike."--Deborah P. Waber, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Review
"Swanson, Harris, and Graham accomplish an impressive feat with their handbook. They compile chapters by the most preeminent scholars in the field to create a text that is both comprehensive and accessible."--Education Libraries
Review
"This volume provides a remarkable articulation of the LD field as both legitimate and worthy of study. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above."--Choice
Review
"This text is a gathering of the great minds on learning disability....It should be present in every university library and will prove a very worthy text for postgraduate courses on learning disability....Excellent."--Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities
Synopsis
This comprehensive handbook reviews the major theoretical, methodological, and instructional advances that have occurred in the field of learning disabilities over the last 20 years. With contributions from leading researchers, the volume synthesizes a vast body of knowledge on the nature of learning disabilities, their relationship to basic psychological and brain processes, and how students with these difficulties can best be identified and treated. Findings are reviewed on ways to support student performance in specific skill areas--including language arts, math, science, and social studies--as well as general principles of effective instruction that cut across academic domains.
Synopsis
Widely regarded as the standard reference in the field, this comprehensive handbook presents state-of-the-art knowledge about the nature and classification of learning disabilities (LD), their causes, and how individuals with these difficulties can be identified and helped to succeed. Best practices are described for supporting student performance in language arts, math, and other content areas. Contributors also identify general principles of effective instruction and review issues in service delivery within response-to-intervention (RTI) frameworks. The book critically examines the concepts and methods that guide LD research and highlights important directions for future investigation.
New to This Edition:
*Incorporates key advances in identifying and remediating LD, with particular attention to the role of RTI.
*Chapters on social cognitive, behavioral genetic, and neurobiological aspects.
*Chapters on adolescents and adults with LD.
*Chapters on spelling instruction, history instruction, and classroom technology applications.
*Chapter synthesizing 21st-century advances in LD research methods, plus chapters on advanced statistical models, single-case designs, and meta-analysis.
About the Author
H. Lee Swanson, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and holds an endowed chair at the University of California, Riverside. He did his doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico and his postdoctoral work at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Swanson was recently awarded a large U.S. Department of Education grant, which provides support for a longitudinal study of working memory in children with and without math disabilities. He served as Editor of Learning Disability Quarterly for 10 years, and has also published over 200 articles, 13 books, and 30 chapters.
Karen R. Harris, PhD, is Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt University. She has taught kindergarten and fourth-grade students, as well as elementary and secondary students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and behavioral/emotional difficulties. Dr. Harris's research focuses on theoretical and intervention issues in the development of academic and self-regulation strategies among students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and other challenges. Author of over 100 scholarly publications, she is Editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology. She is past president of the Division for Research of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Steve Graham, PhD, is Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was Professor of Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas. Following the completion of his doctorate, he was a member of the special education faculties at Auburn University and Purdue University. Dr. Graham's research has focused primarily on identifying the factors that contribute to the development of writing difficulties; the development and validation of effective procedures for teaching planning, revising, and the mechanics of writing to struggling writers; and the use of technology to enhance writing performance and development. One outcome of this focus has been the development of an instructional approach in writing, known as Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), which provides a powerful way to assist students in the development of higher-level cognitive processes involved in written language, the capability to monitor and manage their own writing, and positive attitudes about writing and themselves as writers. Dr. Graham is the author of more than 150 scholarly publications and coauthor of several books.
Table of Contents
I. Foundations and Current Perspectives
1. Overview of Foundations, Causes, Instruction, and Methodology in the Field of Learning Disabilities, H. Lee Swanson, Karen R. Harris, and Steve Graham
2. A Brief History of the Field of Learning Disabilities, Daniel P. Hallahan and Devery R. Mock
3. Classification and Definition of Learning Disabilities: An Integrative Perspective, Jack M. Fletcher, Robin D. Morris, and G. Reid Lyon
4. Learning Disabilities and the Law, Cynthia M. Herr and Barbara D. Bateman
5. Learning Disability as a Discipline, Kenneth A. Kavale and Steven R. Forness
6. English-Language Learners with Learning Disabilities, Russell Gersten and Scott Baker
7. Searching for the Most Effective Service Delivery Model for Students with Learning Disabilities, Naomi Zigmond
II. Causes and Behavioral Manifestations
8. Attention: Relationships between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities, Laurie E. Cutting and Martha Bridge Denckla
9. RAN's Contribution to Understanding Reading Disabilities, Patricia Greig Bowers and Galit Ishaik
10. Basic Cognitive Processes and Reading Disabilities, Linda S. Siegel
11. Memory Difficulties in Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities, H. Lee Swanson and Leilani Sáez
12. Learning Disabilities in Arithmetic: Problem-Solving Differences and Cognitive Deficits, David C. Geary
13. Language Processes: Keys to Reading Disability, Virginia A. Mann
14. Self-Concept and Students with Learning Disabilities, Batya Elbaum and Sharon Vaughn
15. Neurological Correlates of Reading Disabilities, Carlin J. Miller, Juliana Sanchez, and George W. Hynd
16. Genetic Influences on Reading and Writing Disabilities, Jennifer B. Thomson and Wendy H. Raskind
III. Effective Instruction
17. Effective Remediation of Word Identification and Decoding Difficulties in School-Age Children with Reading Disabilities, Maureen W. Lovett, Roderick W. Barron, and Nancy J. Benson
18. Teaching Text Structure to Improve Reading Comprehension, Joanna P. Williams
19. Enhancing the Mathematical Problem Solving of Students with Mathematics Disabilities, Lynn S. Fuchs and Douglas Fuchs
20. Students with Learning Disabilities and the Process of Writing: A Meta-Analysis of SRSD Studies, Steve Graham and Karen R. Harris
21. Preventing Written Expression Disabilities through Early and Continuing Assessment and Intervention for Handwriting and/or Spelling Problems: Research into Practice, Virginia W. Berninger and Dagmar Amtmann
22. Science and Social Studies, Thomas E. Scruggs and Margo A. Mastropieri
IV. Formation of Instructional Models
23. Cognitive Strategies Instruction Research in Learning Disabilities, Bernice Y. L. Wong, Karen R. Harris, Steve Graham, and Deborah L. Butler
24. Direct Instruction, Gary Adams and Douglas Carnine
25. Cooperative Learning for Students with Learning Disabilities: Evidence from Experiments, Observations, and Interviews, Joseph R. Jenkins and Rollanda E. O'Connor
26. Identifying Children at Risk for Reading Failure: Curriculum-Based Measurement and the Dual-Discrepancy Approach, Douglas Fuchs, Lynn S. Fuchs, Kristen N. McMaster, and Stephanie Al Otaiba
27. The Sociocultural Model in Special Education Interventions: Apprenticing Students in Higher-Order Thinking, Carol Sue Englert and Troy Mariage
V. Methodology
28. Exploratory and Confirmatory Methods in Learning Disabilities Research, Robert D. Abbott, Dagmar Amtmann, and Jeff Munson
29. Designs for Applied Educational Research, Jean B. Schumaker and Donald D. Deshler
30. The Methods of Cluster Analysis and the Study of Learning Disabilities, Deborah L. Speece
31. Neurobiological Indices of Dyslexia, Sally E. Shaywitz and Bennett A. Shaywitz
32. What Have We Learned about Learning Disabilities from Qualitative Research?: A Review of Studies, Charles MacArthur