This volume on the identification of learning disabilities (LD) offers chapters that provide comprehensive reviews of the research evidence underlying different aspects of LD and was the product of a 2001 general conference followed up by a small research forum. Contributors include researchers, parents, practitioners, and administrators. A final chapter summarizes major findings and presents consensus statements. Chapters have the following titles: (1) "Learning Disabilities: Historical Perspectives;" (2) "Early Identification and Intervention for Young Children with Learning Disabilities;" (3) "Classification of Learning Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Evaluation;" (4) "Learning Disabilities as Operationally Defined by Schools;" (5) "Discrepancy Models in the Identification of Learning Disability;" (6) "Responsiveness to Intervention: An Alternative Approach to the Identification of Learning Disabilities;" (7) "Empirical and Theoretical Support for Direct Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities by Assessment of Intrinsic Processing Weaknesses;" (8) "Clinical Judgments in Identifying and Teaching Children with Language-Based Reading Difficulties;" and (9) "Is 'Learning Disabilities' Just a Fancy Term for Low Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of Reading Differences between Low Achievers with and without the Label." An appendix provides the current legal definition of "specific learning disability" and a list of resources and organizations on specific learning disabilities. (Individual chapters contain references.) (DB)