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EXAMINING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PERSPECTIVES ABOUT SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Author(s) -
Cottrell Joseph M.,
Barrett Courtenay A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.21997
Subject(s) - psychology , identification (biology) , learning disability , strengths and weaknesses , school psychology , response to intervention , intervention (counseling) , applied psychology , special education , educational research , medical education , mathematics education , pedagogy , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , botany , psychiatry , biology
Debate regarding the causes of specific learning disabilities (SLDs), precise definitions of SLDs, and the most effective identification methods has persisted for over 50 years. Two prominent schools of thought regarding SLDs exist: (1) biological perspectives and (2) environmental perspectives. Three identification methods are outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act of 2004 (IDEA, 2004) and align themselves to the different perspectives: (1) the IQ‐Achievement discrepancy method, (2) the response‐to‐intervention method, and (3) alternative research based procedures (e.g., evaluation of a student's pattern of strengths and weaknesses; PSW). This study used survey methodology ( N = 471) and found that school psychologists’ perspectives about SLDs were significantly correlated with preferred identification methods. Preferred identification methods impacted practice even after controlling for individual‐ and school‐level variables. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.