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Home > Reference > Circulars > Learning Disabilities
Issued 2004
This reference circular describes sources of information for persons with learning disabilities, their families, and professionals.
The first section of the circular is an annotated, alphabetical listing of national organizations, including information clearinghouses, research institutions, referral agencies, and advocacy groups. These organizations provide information on parenting, education, transition from high school to work or higher education, employment, independent living skills, and legal advocacy. Several of the organizations publish journals, brochures, newsletters, and catalogs.
The second section of the circular is a selected bibliography of materials dealing with learning disabilities. Topics include information on education, legislation, and adaptive technologies. The third section is a list of selected Internet resources. The fourth section describes federal legislation concerning education and employment of persons with learning disabilities. The fifth section is a list of online services describing state agencies that administer programs for persons with learning disabilities.
Selected Bibliography, 2000-2004
Online List of Agencies and Services in Specific States
Provides special testing with extended time and in alternative formats at specially arranged times for people with disabilities. The alternative testing policies and procedures are consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and adheres to what the tests are designed to measure. Applicants must provide information about prior accommodations made in similar settings, such as academic classes and other testing facilities, if appropriate.
Seeks full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities. Promotes excellence through education, communication, and training. Sells publications.
Offers support and information to families of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD), adults with ADD, and professionals working in the field of ADD, through a network of chapters throughout the country. Serves as a non-profit volunteer community resource for information on training programs and speakers for those who work with individuals with ADD. Presents conferences and workshops for parents and professionals on current issues, research, and treatments for ADD.
Promotes an audio, visual, kinesthetic, and oral (AVKO) multi-sensory approach to dyslexia. Studies the spelling patterns of the English language to determine what makes the language difficult to be understood by people with dyslexia. Provides techniques for teaching patterns that prove difficult to learn through traditional teaching methods. Advises parents and teachers of those materials that will best help people with dyslexia to spell and read competently.
Acts as a clearinghouse of information for persons with brain injury and their families through a national network of state associations. Participates in legislative advocacy and supports research and prevention awareness.
Works to improve the lives of people affected by AD/HD through collaborative leadership, advocacy, research, education, and support. Serves as a national resource center on AD/HD. Has health information specialists who are available to members, professionals, and the general public to answer questions about AD/HD and to provide referrals to local chapters and other community resources.
Focuses on the educational success of children with disabilities and children who are gifted and talented and supports the professionals who serve them. Conducts conferences and programs on special and gifted education, publishes journals and newsletters on current research and special education topics, develops and implements standards for special education and gifted programs, and advocates for effective policies and legislation for special and gifted education.
Promotes effective teaching and research to enhance the education and lifespan development of individuals with learning disabilities. Establishes standards of excellence and promotes strategies for research and practice through interdisciplinary collegiality, collaboration, and advocacy.
Specializes in laws and policies related to disability civil rights. Works to secure and advance the civil rights of adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.
Assists children and adults with disabilities and their families through a nationwide network of more than 450 service sites. Each center provides services tailored to meet the specific needs of the particular community it serves. Advocates for passage of legislation that helps people with disabilities achieve independence. Has online resources, including
Provides nonstandard testing accommodations for test takers who meet Educational Testing Service requirements. Accommodations may include extended testing time, additional rest breaks, an accompanying recorder or writer of answers, and sign-language interpreters. Offers tests in alternative formats including audio recording, braille, and large print (18 point) and large-print answer sheets. Makes available special computer equipment for testing including keyboards with special touchpads, trackball mice, alternative keyboards, monitors using enlarged fonts, and selectable background and foreground colors.
Grants special accommodations to GED candidates with documented medical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or blindness; emotional disabilities, such as schizophrenia, major depression, attention deficit disorder, or Tourette's Syndrome; specific learning disabilities such as perceptual problems, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia; or other disabilities that severely limit a GED candidate's ability to perform essential skills required to pass the GED tests.
Serves as a national clearinghouse on post-secondary education for individuals with disabilities. Acts as an information exchange about educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, and opportunities at American colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, and other post-secondary training entities.
Operates a free information and referral service. Includes a membership of a variety of professionals in partnership with individuals with dyslexia and their families. Actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies for individuals with dyslexia. Facilitates the exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia.
Identifies causes and promotes prevention of learning disabilities and seeks to enhance the quality of life for all individuals with learning disabilities and their families. Fosters research and advocates for the rights of individuals with learning disabilities under the law. Has online resources that include publications to download and links to state and government agencies.
Advocates for national policy, legislation, and funding to support adults with special learning needs. Provides professional development and technical assistance and disseminates information and research. Works to increase awareness of holistic services and best practices for serving adults with special learning needs.
Seeks to improve the quality of education for African American children by raising the level of awareness in their communities about learning differences. Promotes an understanding among parents, educators, and others of the culturally sensitive issues facing minority children with learning disabilities as defined by federal law. Provides a clearinghouse of information and resources for parents, African American educators, and others responsible for providing an appropriate education for students.
Provides information and support to women and girls with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Maintains its ADDvance web site: www.addvance.org with resources that can be downloaded and books that can be purchased.
Works to increase opportunities and offers solutions for all individuals with learning disabilities to achieve their potential and to participate fully in society. Promotes public awareness and understanding of learning disabilities, conducts educational programs and services that promote research-based knowledge, and provides national leadership in shaping public policy. Developed the web site "Get Ready to Read!" (www.getreadytoread.org/) that includes a screening tool to assist parents in determining whether their child is experiencing trouble learning to read and, if so, recommends specific actions to be taken such as further testing. Also provides assistance in seeking referrals and recommends appropriate instructional activities.
Acts as a central source of information on disabilities in infants, toddlers, and children; on Public Law 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); on Public Law 107-110, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities); and on research-based information on effective educational practices. Makes referrals to state and national disability information sources. Has free publications in English and Spanish that can be downloaded or obtained in print on request.
Provides information concerning mental illness and behavior disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Conducts research on mind, brain, and behavior and offers a variety of publications in English and Spanish. Has a public health mandate to harness scientific tools to achieve better understanding, treatment, and prevention of these disabling conditions.
Administers a free library service that lends braille and recorded books, magazines, and music scores and books to individuals who are unable to use standard print materials because of a visual or physical disability. Circulates reading materials and playback machines to eligible borrowers through cooperating regional and subregional libraries. Publishes a factsheet, Talking Books and Reading Disabilities, www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/readingdisabilities.html, that outlines eligibility requirements for persons with learning disabilities.
Serves as an information center focusing on a wide range of disability and rehabilitation issues. Houses a collection of disability and rehabilitation research literature, both federally funded and commercially produced. Information specialists provide information and referral free of charge and document delivery and customized database searches for nominal fees.
Lends educational materials and textbooks on cassette tape and compact disc to persons with verified visual, physical, or specific learning disabilities that substantially limit reading. Requires a one-time registration fee and an annual membership fee for all applicants.
Works to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities by expanding access to training, education, employment supports, assistive technology, and integrated employment. Seeks to increase awareness of the benefits of hiring people with disabilities and to facilitate the use of effective strategies. Publishes a variety of factsheets on topics for employers and employees, such as Accommodating Employees with Hidden Disabilities.
Bellis, Teri James. When the brain can't hear: unraveling the mystery of auditory processing disorder. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2002. 342p.
Brown, Dale S. Learning a living: a guide to planning your career and finding a job for people with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2000. 340p.
Comstock, Renee, and Carol A. Kamara. Adult language/learning
disability: issues and resources. Washington: HEATH Resource Center. Retrieved
on Sept. 10, 2004.
www.heath.gwu.edu/PDFs/Adult%20Language.pdf
Cornoldi, Cesare, and others. "A rapid screening measure for the identification of visuospatial learning disability in schools." Journal of learning disabilities, v. 36, Jul.-Aug. 2003: 299-306.
Gardner, Amanda. "Dyslexia therapy gets kids' brain on track." HealthDayNews,
July 21, 2003. Retrieved October 19, 2004.
www.hon.ch/News/HSN/514230.html.
Gorman, Christine. "The new science of dyslexia." Time, v. 162, July 28, 2003: 52-59.
Harwell, Joan M. Complete learning disabilities handbook. 2d ed. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2001. 376p.
The International Dyslexia Association. Basic facts about dyslexia: what everyone ought to know. 3rd ed. 2002. 20p.
Koller, Harold P., and Kenneth B. Goldberg. "Spotting learning differences." Review of ophthalmology, v. 9, Mar. 2002: 90-93.
Learning disabilities. NICHCY factsheet no. 7. Washington: National
Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2004. 4p. Also
available online at
www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs7txt.htm
Mars-Proietti, Laura. The complete learning disabilities directory.Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2001. 848p.
National Center for Learning Disabilities and Schwab Learning. Making the No Child Left Behind Act work for children who struggle to learn: a parent's guide. New York, 2004. 22p. www.ld.org/NCLB/NCLB.cfm.
National Institute of Mental Health. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Bethesda, MD, 2003. 4p.
National Institute of Mental Health. A look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Bethesda, MD, 2004. 28p.
Ransby, Marilyn H., and Lee Swanson. "Reading comprehension skills of young adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia." Journal of learning disabilities, v. 36, Nov.-Dec. 2003: 538-555.
Rea, Patricia, J., Virginia L. McLaughlin, and Chriss Walter-Thomas. "Outcomes for students with learning disabilities in inclusion pullout programs." Exceptional children, v. 68, winter 2002: 203-222.
Reading and learning disabilities. NICHCY briefing paper (FS17), 4th edition. Washington: National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2004.
16p. Also available online at
www.nichcy.org/pubs2.asp#fs17.
Rief, Sandra F. Ready--start--school!: nurturing and guiding your child through preschool and kindergarten. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press, 2001. 240p.
Roffman, Arlyn J. Meeting the challenge of learning disabilities in adulthood. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes, 2000. 322p.
Scanlon, David, and Daryl F. Mellard. "Academic and participation profiles of school-age dropouts with and without disabilities." Exceptional children, v. 68, winter 2002: 239-258.
Shaywitz, Sally. Overcoming dyslexia: a new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Knopf, 2003. 414p.
Sherman, Gordon F. Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D., speaks with Schwab Learning.org
on brain research and reading. San Mateo, CA: 2003. 22p. Also available online
at
http://www.schwablearning.org/pdfs/expert_sherman.pdf
Stowe, Cynthia M. How to reach and teach students with dyslexia. West Nyack, NY: Center for Applied Research in Education, 2000. 337p.
Taymans, Juliana. Unlocking potential: college and other choices for people with LD and AD/HD. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2000. 386p.
Von Hahn, Ludwig. "What is a nonverbal learning disability?" EP: Exceptional parenting magazine, v. 34, Aug. 2004: 49-51.
Weinberg, Warren. "Learning disabilities don't go away: 20-25 year longitudinal study of cognitive, academic achievement scores, and life cycle of affective illness." LDA news, Jan.-Feb. 2001: 9-10.
West, Lynda, and Juliana Taymans. Selecting a college for students with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Washington, DC: HEATH Resource Center. Retrieved Sept. 10, 2004. www.heath.gwu.edu/PDFs/SelectingCollegefactsheet.pdf
Witruk, Evelin, Angela D. Friederici, and Thomas Lachmann, eds. Basic functions of language, reading, and reading disability. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. 375p.
Wodrich, David L. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: what every parent wants to know. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes, 2000. 285p.
American Academy of Pediatrics. National Center of Medical Home
Initiatives.
www.medicalhomeinfo.org/weblinks/learn_dis.html
LDOnline
www.ldonline.org/
Federal agencies:
www.ldonline.org/finding_help/federal_agencies/federal.html
National organizations:
www.ldonline.org/finding_help/national_org/natorg-help.html
LD Resources
www.ldresources.com
MedlinePlus - Learning Disorders
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/learningdisorders.html
National Center for Learning Disabilities - Get Ready to Read
www.getreadytoread.org/index.php
National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials
www.nchrtm.okstate.edu/resources/state_vr.html
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
publications
www.nichcy.org/pubs1.htm
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NINDS Dyslexia Information
Page
www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/dyslexia_doc.htm
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NINDS Learning Disabilities
Information Page
www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/learningdisabilities_doc.htm
Nemours Center for Children's Health, Nemours Foundation
kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/learning_problem/
Health related articles for educational purposes for children. The site is not intended to provide medical care information.
SchwabLearning.org: A parent's guide to helping kids with learning
difficulties.
www.schwablearning.org/
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors. The standards for determining employment discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Section 501 requires affirmative action and nondiscrimination in employment by federal agencies of the executive branch. To obtain more information or to file a complaint, employees should contact their agency's Equal Employment Opportunity Office. For more information contact:
Office of Federal Contract Compliance ProgramsSection 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives federal financial assistance or is conducted by any executive agency or the United States Postal Service.
For information on how to file 504 complaints with the appropriate agency, contact:
U.S. Department of JusticeSection 508 requires electronic and information technology developed by the government to be accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.
An accessible information technology system is one that can be operated in a variety of ways and does not rely on a single sense or ability of the user. For example, a system that provides output only in visual format may not be accessible to people with visual impairments and a system that provides output only in audio format may not be accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some individuals with disabilities may need accessibility-related software or peripheral devices in order to use systems that comply with Section 508. For more information on Section 508, contact:
U.S. General Services AdministrationThe ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered by the statute.
Title I requires employers with fifteen or more employees to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to others. Religious entities with fifteen or more employees are covered under Title I. Title I complaints must be filed with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within one hundred and eighty days of the date of discrimination, or three hundred days if the charge is filed with a designated state or local fair employment practice agency. Individuals may file a lawsuit in federal court only after they receive a "right-to-sue" letter from the EEOC.
Charges of employment discrimination on the basis of disability may be filed at any U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission field office. Field offices are located in fifty cities throughout the U.S. and are listed in most telephone directories under "U.S. Government."
For the appropriate EEOC field office in your geographic area, contact:
The US Equal Opportunity CommissionTitle II covers all activities of state and local governments regardless of the government entity's size or receipt of federal funding. Title II requires that state and local governments give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities.
State and local governments are required to follow specific architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of their buildings. They also must relocate programs or otherwise make inaccessible older buildings accessible, and communicate effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. For more information, contact:
U.S. Department of JusticeTitle III covers businesses and nonprofit service providers that are public accommodations, privately operated entities offering certain types of courses and examinations, privately operated transportation, and commercial facilities. Public accommodations are private entities who own, lease, or operate facilities such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, movie theaters, private schools, convention centers, doctors' offices, homeless shelters, transportation depots, zoos, funeral homes, day care centers, and recreation facilities, including sports stadiums and fitness clubs. Transportation services provided by private entities are also covered by Title III.
Courses and examinations related to professional, educational, or trade-related applications, licensing, certifications, or credentialing must be provided in a place and manner accessible to people with disabilities or alternative accessible arrangements must be offered. For more information contact:
U.S. Department of JusticeTitle IV addresses telephone and television access for people with hearing and speech disabilities. It requires common carriers (telephone companies) to establish interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services (TRS) twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. TRS enables callers with hearing and speech disabilities who use telecommunications devices for the deaf (TTYs) and callers who use voice telephones to communicate with each other through a third party communications assistant. Title IV also requires closed captioning of federally funded public service announcements. For more information about TRS, contact:
Federal Communications CommissionThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly called P.L. 94-142 or the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs. IDEA requires public school systems to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for each child. IDEA also mandates the procedures to follow in the development of the IEP, which must be reviewed at least annually. The IEP team includes the child's teacher, the parents (subject to certain limited exceptions), the child (if determined appropriate), an agency representative who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education, and other individuals at the parents' or agency's discretion.
If parents disagree with the proposed IEP, they may request a due process hearing and a review from the state educational agency, if applicable in that state. They may also appeal the state agency's decision to state or federal court. For more information, contact:
Office of Special Education ProgramsThe Perkins Act defines vocational-technical education as organized educational programs offering sequences of courses directly related to preparing individuals for paid or unpaid employment in current or emerging occupations requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.
The Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), administers the Perkins Act. Under the Perkins Act, federal funds are made available to help provide vocational-technical education programs and services to youth and adults. The vast majority of funds appropriated under the Perkins Act are awarded as grants to state education agencies. These State Basic Grants are allotted to states according to a formula based on states' populations in certain age groups and their per capita income.
Only State Boards for Vocational Education are eligible to apply for State Basic Grants. The distribution of grant funds within a state is directed to priority items established by the state in accordance with an approved state plan for vocational-technical education. Local education agencies and post secondary institutions are eligible recipients for sub grants. For more information contact:
The U.S. Department of EducationNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires each state to define adequate yearly progress (AYP) for school districts and schools, within the parameters set by NCLB. In defining AYP, each state sets the minimum levels of improvement--measurable in terms of student performance--that school districts and schools must achieve within time frames specified in the law. Each state begins by setting a starting point that is based on the performance of its lowest achieving demographic group or of the lowest-achieving schools in the state, whichever is higher. The state then sets the level of student achievement that a school must attain in order to make AYP. Subsequent thresholds must increase at least once every three years until, at the end of twelve years, all students in the state are achieving at the proficient level on state assessments in reading and language arts, math, and science.
When measuring adequate yearly progress for students with disabilities, states and school districts have the flexibility to count the "proficient" (passing) scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards--as long as the number of those proficient scores does not exceed one percent of all students in the grades assessed, which amounts to about nine percent of students with disabilities. For more information contact:
U.S. Department of EducationThe web sites list resources in each state. Follow the links, then select the state.
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Find a library
www.loc.gov/nls/find.html
LDonline state by state resource guides
www.ldonline.org/finding_help/local_org/locorg-help.html
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
www.nichcy.org/states.htm
LDonline
www.ldonline.org/finding_help/state_doe.html
National Association of State Directors of Special Education list
www.nasdse.org/state_departments_of_education.htm
U.S. Department of Education contacts and information
www.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html?src=1n
Rehabilitation Services Administration
www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/VOCREHAB.HTM
Social Security Online
www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/rehabproviders.html
Compiled by:
Robert Jones
Reference Section
2004
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Posted on 2010-08-25