This article begins with a brief overview of the psychological research on the pedagogical efficacy of questions and describes how recent research has led to a reevaluation of the role of questions within the framework of a theoretical model of discourse comprehension processes and knowledge representation. A computer-based tutor for reading…

A dialogue about responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is being conducted by experts in the field of special education and more particularly in learning disabilities (IIX). RTI is proposed at once as a method of prevention and as an alternative to IQ-achievement discrepancy for diagnosing LD, depending on the author's perspective or the vintage of…

This article addresses ways in which speech-language pathologists can play a proactive and substantive part in schoolwide reading disability prevention and intervention efforts within the responsiveness to intervention framework. First, the driving forces that led Congress to alter how schools may operationalize learning disabilities are…

To date, research, development, and implementation efforts in responsiveness to intervention (RTI) approaches have focused on prevention and often identification of learning disabilities. In this article, the authors extend the conversation to considering an RTI-type approach as being useful in changing the way prevention and identification of…

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) initiatives have promise for meeting the literacy needs of all students, thereby preventing learning difficulties and school failure. In the authors' school districts in Michigan and Florida, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are participating in RTI initiatives at every level. In some respects, RTI…

Prereferral intervention is a modification of instruction before referral to accommodate underachieving students and reduce the number of inappropriate special education placements. This article reports on evaluation of a Tier 3 responsiveness to intervention (RTI) program in an urban school district with 96% minority (mostly Hispanic) students.…

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in the schools have been responsible for the evaluation and treatment of students with language disabilities. Treatment has been primarily provided outside of the classroom in small groups. Regular educators and SLPs have not generally collaborated about students who have not already been identified as…

This article discusses 4 types of phonological knowledge: knowledge of the acoustic and perceptual characteristics of speech sounds (perceptual knowledge), knowledge of the articulatory characteristics of speech sounds (articulatory knowledge), higher level knowledge of the ways that words can be divided into sounds and related phonotactic…

This article addresses 2 questions of importance to the treatment of speech sound disorders: (1) When selecting treatment targets, is it best to begin with the most or the least stimulable potential phoneme targets? (2) When treating unstimulable phonemes, which treatment procedures will result in the best outcome? A summary of the findings from 3…

Dynamic assessment is applied to phonological disorders with the Scaffolding Scale of Stimulability (SSS). The SSS comprises a 21-point hierarchical scale of cues and linguistic environments. With the SSS, clinicians assess stimulability as a diagnostic indicator and use the measure to monitor progress across treatment. Unlike other phonological…

There are a number of clinical options available for speech-language pathologists to choose from to analyze a child's phonological system, select treatment targets, and design intervention. Frequently, each of these areas of clinical options is viewed independently of one another or approached within an eclectic framework. In this article, an…

This article explores selected phonological measures, their relationships to one another, and how groups differentiated by such measures change over time during intervention. Relationships among global quantitative measures of severity (percent consonants correct), measures of variability/consistency, and measures of whole-word complexity and…

The differentiation of childhood apraxia of speech from severe phonological disorder is a common clinical problem. This article reports on an attempt to describe speech errors in children with childhood apraxia of speech on the basis of gesture use and acoustic analyses of articulatory gestures. The focus was on the movement of articulators and…

Linguistic theory has made important contributions to the clinical assessment and treatment of children with functional phonological disorders. In this article, Optimality Theory (OT) is introduced as a new linguistic model of grammar. Basic assumptions of the model are described and extended to clinical assessment and treatment. The aim is (1) to…

The author reflects upon some of the similarities and differences that exist across 25 years of research and practice in language learning disabilities and provides examples of how definitions of and perceptions about language, learning, and reading disabilities are still evolving. The author also evaluates language intervention approaches then…