Special education programs and support services for individuals with learning disabilities must be part of an education agency's total instructional program and must not be regarded as a separate and parallel system. Recommendations regarding program and service planning and implementation and service options are presented. (CB)

An elementary school principal and mother of a son with learning disabilities (LD) offers a personal perspective on educational trends such as resource rooms, content mastery, and inclusion. The paper argues that regular classroom teachers are not trained to teach LD students and that adequate support for mainstreamed LD students would be…

This paper reviews the implications of definitions of learning disabilities for the Regular Education Initiative. Since heterogeneity (i.e., developmental imbalances, intraindividual gaps) is characteristic of this population, regular classroom modifications alone are unlikely to meet these students' needs and thus special services will continue…

This article discusses terminology in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 referring to "otherwise qualified" individuals with disabilities, with particular reference to students with learning disabilities. Current practices and issues in implementing the law with learning-disabled students are evaluated in light of legal…

The importance of understanding individual differences in learning styles and temperament for developing special education programs is considered in the context of K. Lewin's theories of the interaction between behavior, personality, and environment. (DB)

Basic changes needed to recruit, train, and retain high quality professionals in the field of learning disabilities include: improving education's professional image; explicit articulation of program rationales, content, and processes; and political lobbying for improved public support. (Author/DB)

Describes special education in Spain, specifically for children with learning disabilities (LD). Discusses the broad definition used in Spain, relevant Spanish legislation, and proposed school reform. Also described are the support services model, assessment practices, and instructional approaches for LD in Spain. Educational implications of…

Current advocacy efforts in learning disabilities (LD) are critiqued and alternatives to traditional special education such as implementing the effective schools research are reviewed. Five objectives of an advocacy blueprint for a pluralist school include increasing public awareness of the LD experience and making integration the centerpiece of…

This article discusses reasons for rejection of the learning disability category in New Zealand and describes the general education and special education systems in New Zealand. It is suggested that the needs of such students may potentially be met by new policies for "high incidence" special needs. Teacher training needs are also…

The article examines the General Education Initiative of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in light of (1) the failure of past major reform efforts to help students with learning problems, and (2) questionable assumptions about how such students learn. The expansion of special education support to other at-risk students…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field identifies issues in the metaphor's use and concludes that effective special education has been inhibited by isolation of interventions from theory and by the way teacher education is structured. Use of the scaffolding metaphor to refocus…