Evidence-Based Assessment and Intervention for Specific Learning Disability in School Psychology

Abstract

Historically, the approach to specific learning disability (SLD) identification and recognition not only differs from state to state within Australia but also differs greatly from that in other countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. In actuality, SLDs have not generally been formally recognized or funded in Australian schools. Consequently, SLD identification does not regularly form part of school policy or procedure, with Australian school psychologists generally indicating minimal knowledge and skills in this area. However, community and political support for the formal recognition and funding of SLD students has been increasing in Australia more recently. It is thus timely to consider what constitutes evidence-based assessment of SLDs. While Australian psychologists appear to favor a response-to-intervention (RTI) approach to SLD conceptualization and identification, with this approach having many strengths, when used in isolation RTI is often incapable of accurately identifying SLD and differentiating it from general learning difficulties. Consequently, there have been moves internationally toward analysis of an individual’s pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, with a number of the currently available methods being based on the extensively researched and well-validated Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities. By advancing our understanding of the structure of human cognitive abilities generally, CHC theory has provided a sound evidence-based framework for understanding the presentation and manifestation of SLD. Such diagnostics provide a much improved basis for the development of individualized academic interventions in support of students with SLD.