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Approximately ten percent of learners have some sort of learning disability. This means that all English language instructors will encounter students with learning disabilities and could encounter students with learning disabilities in each class. Research has shown that different countries have varying degrees of infrastructure for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities. However, little research on the degree to which English language teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts have received training for learning disabilities has been carried out. This study had three goals: first, to identify whether the participants in the study, all of whom were EFL instructors, had received training for identifying and accommodating students with learning disabilities; second, among the teachers who had received training, to find out specifically the types of training they had received; and finally, to find out whether training had helped these teachers develop competence in assisting students with learning disabilities. The data were collected through a survey of past and current EFL teachers. Overall, the findings revealed that the majority of English language teachers surveyed had little to no training for accommodating learning disabilities, and the majority indicated that they did not feel confident assisting students with learning disabilities. Recommendations from this study include creating greater awareness for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities in EFL contexts among administrators and teachers as well as suggestions for EFL teachers to improve their knowledge of learning disabilities independently.

Many school psychologists spend a large portion of their time conducting evaluations for special education, but school psychologists’ confidence in learning disability (learning disability[ies] [LD]) identification has not been examined experimentally. This study examined differences in 376 school psychologists’ confidence in their identification decisions across LD identification methods, student evaluation data conclusiveness level, school psychologist experience, identification consistency, and identification methods used in practice, preferred identification methods, and identification methods taught in graduate school. The school psychologists reported lower levels of confidence when using response to intervention (RtI) compared with ability-achievement discrepancy, and they reported lower levels of confidence when student data were inconclusive compared with when student data were conclusive that a student did not have LD. Higher levels of experience and training did not increase the likelihood of greater confidence compared with lower levels of experience and training. However, school psychologists who reported “somewhat confident ratings” were more likely to make inconsistent identification decisions than school psychologists who reported “not very confident” ratings. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

With the shift from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), accountability models are being changed. Given the past 15 years of reporting on student subgroups and 10 years using various growth models, accountability systems can now be better informed. In this study, we analyze identification and services of students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs). First, we document the degree to which they are identified and receive special services for three cohorts and then document changes in proficiency and growth on a state test. Next, we use two measures of growth to document progress: a transition matrix and a multilevel model. We found that some students change in their identification as SLDs over three grades with resulting differences in special education supports, but the effect is negligible on growth. Accountability systems, therefore, may not need to be based on complex models using time-varying student characteristics.

There is growing evidence of a camouflaging effect among females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), particularly among those without intellectual disability, which may affect performance on gold-standard diagnostic measures. This study utilized an age- and IQ-matched sample of school-aged youth (n = 228) diagnosed with ASD to assess sex differences on the ADOS and ADI-R, parent-reported autistic traits, and adaptive skills. Although females and males were rated similarly on gold-standard diagnostic measures overall, females with higher IQs were less likely to meet criteria on the ADI-R. Females were also found to be significantly more impaired on parent reported autistic traits and adaptive skills. Overall, the findings suggest that some autistic females may be missed by current diagnostic procedures.

This study examined predictors of access to early support amongst families of 0-6-year-old children with suspected or diagnosed developmental disabilities in the United Kingdom. Using survey data from 673 families, multiple regression models were fitted for three outcomes: intervention access, access to early support sources, and unmet need for early support sources. Developmental disability diagnosis and caregiver educational level were associated with intervention access and early support access. Early support access was also associated with child physical health, adaptive skills, caregiver ethnicity, informal support, and statutory statement of special educational needs. Unmet need for early support was associated with economic deprivation, the number of household caregivers, and informal support. Multiple factors influence access to early support. Key implications include enhancing processes for formal identification of need, addressing socioeconomic disparities (e.g., reducing inequalities, increasing funding for services), and providing more accessible services (e.g., coordinating support across services, flexible service provision).

We estimated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence in 7–9 year-old children in 2015 using data from three nationwide health registry systems (Denmark, Finland, Iceland) and two French population-based regional registries. Prevalence ranged from 0.48% in South-East France to 3.13% in Iceland (South-West France: 0.73%, Finland: 0.77%, Denmark: 1.26%). Male/female ratios ranged from 3.3 in Finland to 5.4 in South-West France. Between 12% (Denmark) and 39% (South-West France) of cases were diagnosed with intellectual disability. The variations in population-based ASD prevalence across four European countries with universal health care practices likely reflect variation in detection, referral and diagnosis practices and autism awareness across these areas. Using established population-based data systems is an efficient approach to monitor ASD prevalence trends over time.

The right of people with disability to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Among its obligations as a signatory to the CRPD, Australia is required to collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to inform development and implementation of policies to give effect to the Convention. In this commentary, we first describe how the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) conceptual model of disability can be operationalised in statistical data collections, with a focus on how this is achieved in key Australian data sources such that people with disability can be identified as a population group. We then review existing statistical data on health and health service use for people with disability in Australia, highlighting data gaps and limitations. Finally, we outline priorities and considerations for improving data on health and access to health services for people with disability. As well as conceptual, practical, and ethical considerations, a key principle that must guide future disability data development is that people with disability and their representative organisations must be involved and participate fully in the development of disability data and statistics, and in their use.

I engage longstanding challenges and risks associated with conducting and using research on complex equity problems. I engage these challenges in the context of research on disability identification disparities, which have been historically intertwined with particular identity markers (e.g., race, social class, gender, language). Some of these tensions revolve around knowledge production, the nuances of representation, and the identities of oppressed groups. I critique traditional research on disability identification disparities and outline guiding principles for the next generation of equity research. First, future research on disability intersections must rely on historical epistemologies to honor the complexities of equity in worlds of difference. Second, the next generation of research must produce alternative interdisciplinary re-presentations of disability intersections.

Earlier autism diagnosis, the importance of early intervention, and development of specific interventions for young children have contributed to the emergence of similar, empirically supported, autism interventions that represent the merging of applied behavioral and developmental sciences. “Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI)” are implemented in natural settings, involve shared control between child and therapist, utilize natural contingencies, and use a variety of behavioral strategies to teach developmentally appropriate and prerequisite skills. We describe the development of NDBIs, their theoretical bases, empirical support, requisite characteristics, common features, and suggest future research needs. We wish to bring parsimony to a field that includes interventions with different names but common features thus improving understanding and choice-making among families, service providers and referring agencies.

We investigated the variability across states in the prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) as reported by the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This expanded upon the work of Hallahan and colleagues on interstate prevalence rate variability of special education disability categories by focusing on a longitudinal analysis. Furthermore, we examined the effect of response to intervention (RTI) on the change in identification of LD more than 12 years from Fall 2000 through Fall 2011 for ages 6 to 17 years. We used the coefficient of variation (CV) to compare variability of prevalence rates and applied a piecewise regression to examine the effect of RTI. The results are consistent with Hallahan and colleagues’ previous findings—LD continues to demonstrate the least prevalence rate variability across states of all disability categories. LD prevalence variability is almost as minimal as that of some naturally occurring and medically diagnosed conditions (e.g., diabetes, asthma). We discuss these results within the context of changing LD identification methods, such as RTI, and decreasing prevalence of LD, suggesting possible reasons for potential changes in both prevalence and its interstate variability in the future.