International Approaches to Learning Disabilities: More Alike or More Different?

Abstract

This special issue deals with the identification and remediation criteria/practices employed in several countries regarding learning disabilities (LD). An analysis of the identification criteria suggests that most countries follow early law mandates of the United States (e.g., PL 94-142) regarding the definition of the disorder and use the classical discrepancy between potential and achievement model for identification purposes (with few exceptions). Several countries reported the absence of standardized assessments and experts who can deal with the disorder, a fact that is more prominent in countries that have to deal with the education of minority/immigrant groups. Multicultural, political, linguistic, and economic factors seemed to influence both the identification practices and also the remediation services (quality and availability). By closely examining the factors deemed important for students with LD, it was obvious that most authors pointed to the importance of socio-emotional variables. I concluded that these latter factors may be accountable, to a large extent, for the experience of students with LD at school and close attention needs to be paid to them.

Reading Achievement, Mastery, and Performance Goal Structures Among Students With Learning Disabilities

“…The relationship between word and pseudoword decoding was selected because it is a well-established linear relationship that is not expected to change under any circumstances; that is, we selected a relationship between two reading terms that would highlight the importance of motivation on "disturbing" reading, despite evidence that both skills are highly correlated. This proposition goes along with recommendations that motivation is a salient determinant of LD (e.g., Sideridis, 2007b;Sideridis, Morgan, Botsas, Padeliadu, & Fuchs, 2006). Thus, one purpose of the cusp model we employed was to highlight the salient role of the classroom's motivational discourse on predicting uncertainly in reading acquisition.…”

Cognitive Diversity in the Global Academy: Why the Voices of Persons with Cognitive Disabilities are Vital to Intellectual Diversity

“…Defining LD as such employs what disability theorists call a medical model or within-child model of disability-a model that attributes disabilities to internal/biological capacities. International definitions of LD are modelled on the (American) LD research definition; the meaning of LD in Norway, Taiwan, Botswana, Israel, and Guatemala (Sideridis 2007), in Canada (Wong and Hutchinson 2001), in Japan (Tsuge 2001), in the Netherlands (Stevens and Höien 2001), and in Australia (Elkins 2007) is much the same as it is in the United States.…”

Taiwanese families' perspectives on learning disabilities: an exploratory study in three middle schools

“…Therefore, it is important for educators to know about and understand parents' perspectives on education and disabilities. Sideridis (2007) reviewed studies on LD identification and implementation in several countries, and pointed out that the LD identification rate in Taiwan is significantly lower than that of other countries. For example, 8% of the school population in Botswana is identified with LD, 1-5% in South Korea, 17% in Guatemala and 5% in Spain.…”