Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention.
Jack M. Fletcher, G. Reid Lyon, Lynn S. Fuchs, and Marcia A. Barnes. 2007.
New York: The Guilford Press, 324 pp, $38.00 (HB).
Four senior leaders in the fields of neuropsychology, cognitive
neuroscience, and special education tackle the complex issue of learning
disabilities in Learning Disabilities: From Identification to
Intervention. They summarize research conducted over the past 30
years that has contributed to our understanding of how to assess,
identify, and treat learning disabilities. Determining the presence of a
learning disability is different from measuring the manifestations of
brain damage caused by brain injury or disease states that
neuropsychologists typically evaluate. Fletcher et al. point out that the
construct of a learning disability is a latent variable. It is
not observable directly and is consequently difficult to operationally
define, identify, and measure. They also show that characteristics
associated with a learning disability are dimensional and occur along a
continuum. Adding to the intricacy is the difficulty keeping abreast with
education policy and knowledge of how federal law drives clinical
practice.