**6. Acknowledgments**

During this research study, we received competitive funds from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MICINN) (EDU2010-19250 / EDUC) for 2010-2013, and Excellence Research Group funds from the Junta de Castilla y León (GR259), with FEDER funds from the European Union for 2009-2010-2011 (BOCyL 27 on April 2009). Both were awarded to the Director/Main Researcher (J. N. García). We are very grateful to Victoria Rosa Sturley for her help with the English version.

*Correspondence* should be addressed to Departamento de Psicología, Sociología y Filosofía. Área Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación. Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 – León, Spain. Phone: +34-987291041 (university); +34-987222118 (home); +34-652817871 (cell); Fax: +34-987291035 (university). E-mail: jn.garcia@unileon.es.

#### **7. References**

100 Learning Disabilities

forums, contact numbers, FAQs, etc. Some of them, usually the associations aimed at or related to psychology or educational psychology professionals, which generally have an evaluation function, offer diagnosis. Other services they offer are stimulation and leisure activities, treatment and guidelines, counseling and information for families. Most of them also offer information, courses and seminars for professionals who work with these pupils. Among the materials offered we would like to point out information on the disorders, how the family can face them, recommended treatment for the school and on the current legislation around the matter. They also often present screening protocols, guidelines for assessment, psychometric tests or intervention programs, treatment strategies and

To sum up, the development of Spanish LD associations is underway but still insufficient. However, there is another type of association, which is private and generally works at the national level, which has been founded and run by professionals from different areas whose aim is therapeutic and to offer guidance. They are focused both on treatment and family and

This chapter has addressed intervention with pupils with specific LD from a contextual point of view, based on the inclusion of the family as a focal point of development. We started by analyzing the studies which focused on the family and found it to be ideal for specific interventions. We then went on to describe empirical experiences in which parents were responsible for the application of specific intervention measures with children with LD. These were both remedial-preventive as well of collaboration with school tasks

The results of the studies reviewed support the need for a comprehensive assessment and intervention for students with LD (Gortmaker, et al., 2007; Polloway, et al., 2001). Intervention with the students themselves and treating their problems is necessary, but it is also necessary to take their family into consideration. Parents of students with LD need help to educate their children and to deal with their problems, but their own needs also require attention (Dyson, 2010; Karende, Mehta, & Kulkarni; 2007; Rolfsen & Martínez, 2008). Due to this, we finished by looking at the need to work directly with parents. We offered suggestions on activities, procedures for them to help their children effectively, such as parents' programs, support groups and associations. We have presented this with a focus on general guidelines which can help professionals actively work with and through the family. The empirical practices revised have shown parents to be effective for working with LD students. Therefore, intervention with and through families in the case of learning disabilities is well-established as necessary. We, thus, intend to continue this line of work

During this research study, we received competitive funds from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MICINN) (EDU2010-19250 / EDUC) for 2010-2013, and Excellence Research Group funds from the Junta de Castilla y León (GR259), with FEDER funds from

and research to improve the situation of children with LD and their families.

techniques, and practical proposals.

teacher guidance.

**5. Conclusions** 

including homework.

**6. Acknowledgments** 


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**7** 

*University of León* 

*Spain* 

**Preventing Children's Writing Difficulties** 

Patricia Robledo-Ramón and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez

**Through Specific Intervention in the Home** 

In recent times there has been a wealth of studies, both from the empirical (Bodovski & Youn, 2010, Burnett & Farkas, 2008; Mensha & Kiernan, 2010; Powell, Son, file, & John, 2010; Robledo & Garcia, 2009; Xia, 2010; Yun & Kusum, 2008) and from the legal point of view, confirming the need to consider the family, and especially parents, in educational processes, both due to their natural impact on student learning and for their potential to successfully stimulate students (Cayo, 2008; Hegarty, 2008; Hood, Conlon, & Andrews, 2009; Rogers, Wiener, Marton, & Tannock, 2009). Moreover, in the European context, given the constant changes the education systems are facing and the increasing educational requirements (Novoa, 2010), the context that supports the important role of parents in the academic

Nowadays, skills development it an established priority (Muñoz, 2008). Skills development is defined as the sets of knowledge, skills and attitudes required to transfer and apply knowledge from different areas and subjects to reality in order to understand it and solve real problems with expertise and efficiency across different types of contexts (Junta de Castilla y León [Government of the Region of Castile and Leon], 2009). So from this perspective, it is believed that the involvement of people and everyday environments in students' lives could be an excellent supplement to formal educational institutions in their efforts to empower children to develop lifelong learning applicable to real life. When we take into account the fact that the natural context where students spend more time other than school is the family it becomes apparent how ideal it is to involve parents in the improvement of basic skills, including the most important area in compulsory education –

Communicative competence refers to the use of language as a means of oral and written communication, learning, building one's thinking and personal and behavioral regulation. It is therefore highly relevant in the field of education and is very applicable to the social field, which means it can be approached through different contexts (Frijters, Barron, & Brunello, 2000; Hood, et al., 2009; Reyes, Alexandra, & Azuara, 2007; Strasser & Lissi, 2009). Thus, the goal of educators is to train competent communicators to operate naturally in different everyday communicative contexts that involve both the use of oral language and reading and writing (Pérez & Zayas, 2007). However, despite the triple configuration of this competence, empirical experience confirms that its stimulation in schools tends to offer a

**1. Introduction** 

progress of their children is especially relevant.

linguistic communication competence (Fernández, 2007).

