Identifying and Integrating Assessments to Intervention Criterion for Learning Disabilities

Abstract

SLD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 8 to 10% of learners in the school-age populations. Presence of SLD and related barriers make academic learning stressful and leave long-lasting impact on social, emotional, financial and familial outcomes for the affected individuals. Early identification and management can facilitate better outcomes. Historically, SLD identification has been dominated by IQ-Achievement discrepancy model which has created a skewed perspective of disorder as lying in the individual. The discrepancy model has taken the focus away from environmental factors and evaluation of the teaching pedagogy as possible reasons of academic learning failure. In India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment laid out diagnostic guidelines that put part emphasis on heterogeneity of factors affecting SLD but marked SLD identification as largely a clinical phenomenon. There is a lack of school-based standardized identification procedures for SLD. In this context, the current study adopted a qualitative design aimed at exploring SLD identification processes in school settings as well as examine the disability documents for the kind of data used to conclude presence of SLD. The findings suggested prevalence of a reactive approach towards academic failure along with narrow range of preventive considerations in SLD identification. The study concluded with a proposal of a preventive socio-ecological framework for identification and service for children with SLD. newline