SLD

Criteria/Qualifying

100

DSM-V-TR requirments specify that learning difficulties must persist for at least this long despite interventions?

6 months

200

Can you qualify for SLD if you've never attended school?

No

300

Can you qualify for SLD if you're identified as intellectually gifted (IQ = 135 or higher)

Yes

400

Client summary:

FSIQ: 70

WIAT: Reading SS: 80

Clinically Significant BASC scores

History of Adaptive Behavior Issues

Does this person qualify for SLD?

No

Identification Models

100

This DSM-V-TR change clarified that what models are not required and that multiple sources of evidence can be used to determine SLD

IQ-Achievement discrepancy model

200

This model identifies SLD by examining patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses linked to academic deficits

What is Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW)

300

This approach evaluates how well a student responds to increasingly intensive tiers of evidence-based instruction

Response to Intervention (RTI)

400

A student shows low reading achievement, average cognitive ability, poor response to intervention, and no clear cognitive processing deficit pattern. Under current DSM-5-TR and IDEA frameworks, is identification defensible?

What is yes, because cognitive processing deficits are not required if academic impairment and persistence despite intervention are documented?

Clinical Reasoning

100

A student with average reading scores but very low phonological processing would not qualify for SLD because they are missing what component

Low academic achievement/functional impairment

200

A child who recently immigrated and has had limited English instruction should not be diagnosed with SLD without ruling out what factor?

Lack of appropriate instruction in the language of academic instruction

300

Someone with global cognitive delays and uniformly low academic skills would more likely meet criteria for this diagnosis instead of SLD

Intellectual Disability

400

When reviewing your behavioral observation of achievement test administration, you recall that the client continuously left their seat, scanned the room, and changed the subject. You are concerned about the client's attentiveness. The client's difficulties may be explained by what other condition(s)

ADHD, Anxiety, ASD, etc.

Potpourri

100

Skipping steps in long division, misaligning columns, and difficulty recalling numerical facts are common in this subtype of SLD

Mathematic Disorder/Dyscalculia

200

This federal law governs eligibility for Specific Learning Disability in public schools

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

300

Difficulty with magnitude comparison or numerical symbol recognition reflects weakness in this foundational mathematical skill

Number sense

400

If a student's reading fluency improves dramatically after Tier 2 supports (small group lessons), this weakens the argument for SLD consideration because it suggests this

Response to Intervention