**Specific Learning Disabilities: Response to Intervention**

**Specific Learning Disabilities: Response to Intervention**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70862

Kimberly A. Heinemann, Heather Bolanos and Jennifer S. Griffin and Jennifer S. Griffin Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Kimberly A. Heinemann, Heather Bolanos

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70862

#### **Abstract**

The content included in the current chapter centers around the screening and identification of students who experience learning challenges in an educational setting in the United States of America. The specific learning challenges discussed will focus on students who may have a specific learning disability (SLD). Legislation that brought about concepts such as response to intervention (RTI) is discussed in detail. The various levels of intensity of interventions, or tiers, provided to students are explained by more than one discipline. The new regulations guiding access to special education services are based on the identification, intervention, and close monitoring of student progress. The overarching goal of RTI is to provide support to students who may be experiencing difficulty, before they experience failure by falling too far behind their peers.

**Keywords:** response to intervention, evidence-based intervention, instruction, monitoring, dynamic assessment, multitiered system, educational legislation

#### **1. Introduction**

This current chapter provides an overview of the historical background of specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in the United States of America. A SLD is a developmental disorder that begins by school age, although it may not be recognized until later [1]. It involves ongoing problems learning key academic skills, including reading, writing, and math. SLDs may also affect the way an individual is able to write, spell words, reason, recall, or organize information. SLDs are a lifelong condition that comes with varying levels of challenges unique to each individual. The impact that a SLD has on an individual can be minimized based upon the early detection and treatment of the condition. The treatments provided should be evidence based and selected as a result of the individual's learning needs, preferences, and background [2]. Evidence-based interventions are methods that have been scientifically confirmed with regard

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

to the selected treatment and proven effectiveness. In the current chapter, distinct types of SLDs will be emphasized. An overview of response to intervention (RTI), as well as an explanation of the multitiered system, will be illustrated throughout the chapter and within **Figure 1**. Progress monitoring is a key component to successful RTI implementation. This chapter will describe the assessments used to observe improvements. The benefits associated with RTI methods are discussed from multiple perspectives within this chapter. The role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and special educators is highlighted below.

**Figure 1.** The figure presents each of the three levels (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3) of response to intervention (RTI). Each tier refers to the general descriptors of the strategies implemented in an increasingly intensive method [10]. Each tier presents the percentage of students requiring the specific tier's level of intervention and a description of each of the following: typical placement, level of support, method of intervention, and student need presented as a percentage of the student population requiring such interventions within each tier.
