Handbook of Learning Disabilities

This comprehensive handbook reviews the major theoretical, methodological, and instructional advances that have occurred in the field of learning disabilities over the last 20 years. With contributions from leading researchers, the volume synthesizes a vast body of knowledge on the nature of learning disabilities, their relationship to basic psychological and brain processes, and how students with these difficulties can best be identified and treated. Findings are reviewed on ways to support student performance in specific skill areas--including language arts, math, science, and social studies--as well as general principles of effective instruction that cut across academic domains.

H. Lee Swanson, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and holds an endowed chair at the University of California, Riverside. He did his doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico and his postdoctoral work at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Swanson was recently awarded a large U.S. Department of Education grant, which provides support for a longitudinal study of working memory in children with and without math disabilities. He served as Editor of Learning Disability Quarterly for 10 years, and has also published over 200 articles, 13 books, and 30 chapters.

Karen R. Harris, PhD, is Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt University. She has taught kindergarten and fourth-grade students, as well as elementary and secondary students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and behavioral/emotional difficulties. Dr. Harris's research focuses on theoretical and intervention issues in the development of academic and self-regulation strategies among students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and other challenges. Author of over 100 scholarly publications, she is Editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology. She is past president of the Division for Research of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Steve Graham, PhD, is Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was Professor of Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas. Following the completion of his doctorate, he was a member of the special education faculties at Auburn University and Purdue University. Dr. Graham's research has focused primarily on identifying the factors that contribute to the development of writing difficulties; the development and validation of effective procedures for teaching planning, revising, and the mechanics of writing to struggling writers; and the use of technology to enhance writing performance and development. One outcome of this focus has been the development of an instructional approach in writing, known as Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), which provides a powerful way to assist students in the development of higher-level cognitive processes involved in written language, the capability to monitor and manage their own writing, and positive attitudes about writing and themselves as writers. Dr. Graham is the author of more than 150 scholarly publications and coauthor of several books.