Learning disabilities are most often classified according to the specific type of disability and are labeled according to whether they involve oral or written language, comprehension or production of speech, or particular problems in spelling or arithmetic. By far the most frequently diagnosed learning disabilities are those that have to do with language, and more specifically with reading.
A common learning disability manifested in reading problems is developmental reading disorder, also called dyslexia, or specific reading disability. Its main feature is impairment in recognizing words and in understanding what is read. These difficulties are not related to mental retardation, physical problems such as deafness, or inadequate schooling. Other reading-related learning disabilities are sometimes evidence in any of the following problems: attention difficulty, perceptual problems, poor motivation or attitude, poor sound-symbol association, memory problems, language deficits, and transfer difficulties.
Linking decoding instruction, decodable text, and metacognitive instruction to effect strong reading outcomes for children with disabilities--U.S. Department of Education (2001-2004)
Donald Compton, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D.
Curriculum-based measurement with diagnostic analysis to improve reading outcomes for students with disabilities (CBM)--U.S. Department of Education (2000-2004)
Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D., and Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., Principal Investigators
Center on Accelerating Student Learning (CASL)--U.S. Department of Education (1999-2004)
Individualizing and monitoring programs to accelerate children's trajectories (IMPACT) --U.S. Department of Education (2000-2004)
Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D., and Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., Principal Investigators
Providing a solid foundation for preschoolers with disabilities to learn to read (Preschool PALS)--U.S. Department of Education (2001-2004)
Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D., and Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., Principal Investigators
Role of visual expertise in letter perception--National Eye Institute (2001-2006)
Isabel Gauthier, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Donald Compton, Ph.D.
International Dyslexia Association
Dyslexia Family Village Library
National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators
Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) generates & disseminates theoretical, empirical, and practical solutions to persistent problems in the learning and teaching of beginning reading.