Increasing evidence shows that fetal exposure to alcohol, cocaine, phenylcyclidine hydrochloride (PCP), and other drugs results in infants with abnormal neurologic findings. This suggests the need for longitudinal studies to determine whether such findings will translate into a significant number of children with learning and behavioral problems.…

This critical analysis of the scaffolding metaphor for the field of learning disabilities first reviews the origins and early applications of the metaphor and criticisms of the metaphor raised by others. It proposes an enriched version of the metaphor which emphasizes the communicational dynamics and conceptual reorganization involved in…

Examines, from the perspective of the plaintiffs, the 1998 Guckenberger v. Boston University case in which the plaintiffs claimed the university failed to provide reasonable accommodations for students with learning disabilities. The authors view the complex decision as a ruling against the university under the Americans with Disabilities Act,…

This paper comments on the Integrative Strategy Instruction Model, the Strategies Intervention Model, the Content Enhancement Model, and Process-Based Instruction, concluding that such integrative models are appealing because they draw teachers of students with learning disabilities away from strategy training in nonauthentic settings and from…

In response to Larry Silver (EC 231 774) concerning whether attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is a learning disability via a related disorder, this article proposes an interactional perspective that stresses the educational needs of the child within his/her total environmental context. It also summarizes the current empirical and clinical…

This article first reviews the literature on parent professional collaboration under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and then applies Mikhail Bakhtin's notions of discourse and dialogism to accounts of parent-professional interactions as reflected in the literature. The differing perspectives of the professional educator and a…

Describes the 1998 Guckenberger federal lawsuit from the perspective of attorneys who litigated on behalf of Boston University. Discusses events leading up to the lawsuit (which claimed Boston University failed to provide reasonable accommodations for a student with learning disabilities), policy changes at the university, the trial itself, and…

Offers a conceptual model for students who manifest symptoms of both learning disabilities and emotional/behavior disorders. The model is based on six functional domains: cognitive processing, social/emotional adjustment, behavioral functioning, academic performance, language functioning, and executive functioning. The model is applied to critical…

This commentary on Edwin Ellis' model of integrative strategy instruction for students with learning disabilities points out that the model holds considerable promise. However, the model necessitates that teachers be trained to assess student cognition using multiple methods and that content area teachers think in new ways about their instruction…

This paper describes common practices in social studies instruction and proposes a conceptually based model of history instruction for learning-disabled students, involving sameness analysis and integrating concepts into a network of knowledge. The model includes preskill instruction, problem-solution-effect analysis and note taking, vocabulary…

This response focuses on the effects of the current construction of learning disabilities (LD) on families of children from devalued racial/ethnic groups. Agreeing with the arguments of Reid and Valle, we add that parents from such groups are further disenfranchised because they are not participants in the critical discourse surrounding LD and…

I examine the role that administrators play in facilitating the development, adoption, use, and evaluation of scientifically based interventions within the school culture to support the educational outcomes of students with learning disabilities (LD). Two ways of transforming the administrative role to support science in the schoolhouse are…

In the opening discussion of this special issue, I take stock of science and schooling for students with learning disabilities (LD) before probing four ideas to foster effective instruction in contemporary schools: (a) Turn to science as the best trick we know for solving educational problems; (b) specify clearly what we hope to achieve in our…

In this commentary, I discuss the science of professional development. A great deal is already known about how to provide professional development that supports teachers' implementation of evidence-based practices and the factors that enhance or inhibit teachers' sustained use of the practices. I summarize the work of researchers who have achieved…