The construct of emotional intelligence provides a framework for understanding emotional processes in students with reading disabilities. The components of emotional intelligence include the perception of emotions, emotional facilitation of thinking, emotional knowledge, and emotional regulation. This article examines underlying affective processes as they relate to cognition, motivation, and social functioning. Ecological and individual interventions for influencing learning and social adjustment are described. Consideration is given to the emotional factors in the school environment, the interpersonal interactions of peer groups, opportunities for facilitating emotional learning, and dynamic affective-aesthetic responses of the individual during the reading process.