Critical issues for the diagnosis of learning disabilities in the adult population

Abstract

Abstract Response to intervention (RTI) has little application to the identification of and access to accommodations for adults with learning disabilities (LD). However, the critical topics raised during the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA; 2004) pertaining to LD eligibility criteria are similar to ongoing concerns about the provision of appropriate accommodations for adults. The real issues being challenged include three major points: (a) the relation of LD to achievement, (b) the role of clinical judgment in eligibility criteria, and (c) the purpose of diagnostic assessments. Study of the adult population is critical to a better understanding of the issues surrounding the diagnosis of LD. A review of recent research with the adult population will provide the basis for our support of the use of specific cognitive and linguistic processing measures in the diagnostic methodology for LD. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 889–899, 2006.