Learning Disabilities is a relatively new field, filled with complications, unproven theories, and the need for more research. It is difficult to accurately identify the tenants of what constitutes a learning disability beyond that of a difficulty, As mentioned in Identifying English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities, “attempts to validate cut-points have met with a resounding lack of success giving the impression that cut-points reflect arbitrary choices that serve to control prevalence rates and/or access to resources.” (Wagner, Francis, & Morris, 2005) Quite simply, how can you diagnose anyone with LD, let alone ELL students, when there is no standard, definitive, empirical list of benchmarks or lack thereof that constitutes a sound diagnosis? How does this affect diagnosing English Language Learners (ELL) properly with a Learning Disability (LD) versus the disadvantage of not knowing the language sufficiently to progress along with their native speaking English peers?
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AuthorPDP @ SFU Archives
April 2013
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