Folks,
Excerpts from a very good article on SLD identification and
intervention are included below. For the complete article,
please read the current issue or visit NASP's website. (You
have to be able to access the Members Only section for the
complete article so I have included the opening, conclusion,
and references here.)
Obviously, I liked the content and believe it is a very good
synopsis. The authors speak to things like discrepancy scores,
psychometric batteries, and many "names" like Pasternack,
Reschly, McGrew, Flannagan, and Ysseldyke are quoted. They
begin by quoting the Bible and Yogi Berra, a combination rarely
seen in print. And who wouldn't fall in love with an article
that uses the word "armamentarium"?
Enjoy.
Chuck Archer
From the current issue of NASP's Communique (March 2003):
Diagnosing and Intervening With Learning Disabilities: "Deja
Vu All Over Again"
By Irwin Hyman, ABPP, NCSP; Catherine A. Fiorello, NCSP; Leslie
Blue, Stephen Kalberer, Robin Quann & Devon Mattie
As Ecclesiastes tells us, "One generation goes, and another
comes; But the earth remains the same forever," and that
"nothing is new under the sun." Or in Yogi Berra’s
words, "This sounds like deja vu all over again!"
The age-old nature/nurture debate finds its newest incarnation
in the controversy over the reauthorization of IDEA (Hyman,
1976, 1979, 1988; Hyman & Kaplinski, 1994). . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . . Summary and Conclusions
In this article, we have tried to present a convincing
argument that the practice of school psychology should be
based on the flexible use of a variety of theoretical and
pragmatic approaches. While some might take this as a polemic
against behaviorism, it is rather a plea to consider behavioral
theory and techniques as one tool in the armamentarium that
can be used to help children. It is dangerous to embrace
only behavioral techniques as our future. It is even more
foolish for trainers and university professors to espouse
this approach at the expense of more comprehensive training
in all aspects of assessment and treatment of LD. We have
tried to present a balanced view, reflecting that experts
in most professions are eclectic in the best sense of the
word—combining the best of the variety of techniques
available in the field. Our recommendations are based in
our view that it is only in the synthesis of the seemingly
antithetical nature and nurture positions that truth can
be found. Behavioral advances, including functional behavioral
assessment and analysis, and neurocognitive advances, including
a better understanding of the role of processing deficits
in LD, can both be incorporated into a comprehensive role
for school psychologists. In addition, we must acknowledge
that the current LD debate reflects not only theoretical
differences, but practical and political ones as well. If
the outcome of this debate is a reaffirmation of the role
of comprehensive evaluation, it is not only sound theoretically,
it is also a reaffirmation of the importance of the profession
of school psychology itself.
References
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on Education and the Workforce Summary of Major Recommendations.
www.house.gov/ed_workforce/hearings/107th/fc/idea71002/branstad.htm
Bigler, E. D., Lajiness-O'Neill, R., & Howes, N.-L.
(1998). Technology in the assessment of learning disability.
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Bracey, G. (2002). The 12th Bracey report on the condition
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Dumont, R., Willis, J., & McBride, G. (2001). Yes,
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too much ado about something? The School Psychologist, 55(1),
1, 4-13, 15.
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Irwin Hyman, Ed.D., NCSP, ABPP, is Professor of School
Psychology at Temple University and the 2003 recipient of
the NASP Legends in School Psychology Award. Catherine A.
Fiorello, Ph.D., NCSP is Assistant Professor of School Psychology
at Temple University and specializes in cognitive assessment.
Leslie Blue, Stephen Kalberer and Robin Quann are doctoral
students in school psychology at Temple University. Devon
Mattie is a graduate student at Temple University.
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