ERIC Number: EJ1317708
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-2194
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How Specific Are Learning Disabilities?
Peterson, Robin L.; McGrath, Lauren M.; Willcutt, Erik G.; Keenan, Janice M.; Olson, Richard K.; Pennington, Bruce F.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, v54 n6 p466-483 Nov-Dec 2021
Despite historical emphasis on "specific" learning disabilities (SLDs), academic skills are strongly correlated across the curriculum. Thus, one can ask how specific SLDs truly are. To answer this question, we used bifactor models to identify variance shared across academic domains (academic "g"), as well as variance unique to reading, mathematics, and writing. Participants were 686 children ages 8 to 16. Although the sample was overselected for learning disabilities, we intentionally included children across the full range of individual differences in this study in response to growing recognition that a dimensional, quantitative view of SLD is more accurate than a categorical view. Confirmatory factor analysis identified five academic domains (basic reading, reading comprehension, basic math, math problem-solving, and written expression); spelling clustered with basic reading and not writing. In the bifactor model, all measures loaded significantly on academic "g." Basic reading and mathematics maintained variance distinct from academic "g," consistent with the notion of SLDs in these domains. Writing did not maintain specific variance apart from academic "g," and evidence for reading comprehension-specific variance was mixed. Academic "g" was strongly correlated with cognitive "g" (r = 0.72) but not identical to it. Implications for SLD diagnosis are discussed.
Descriptors: Learning Disabilities, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Clinical Diagnosis, Classification, Students with Disabilities, Reading Difficulties, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Mathematics Skills, Problem Solving, Writing Difficulties, Spelling, Dyslexia, Achievement Tests, Reading Tests, Timed Tests, Oral Reading
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Individual Achievement Test; Test of Word Reading Efficiency; Gray Oral Reading Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: HD027802; R15HD086662
Author Affiliations: N/A