Responsiveness to Intervention

Abstract

This article addresses ways in which speech–language pathologists can play a proactive and substantive part in schoolwide reading disability prevention and intervention efforts within the responsiveness to intervention framework. First, the driving forces that led Congress to alter how schools may operationalize learning disabilities are presented. Next, responsiveness to intervention is introduced and the shared characteristics of its varied models are reviewed. Finally, the likely benefits and potential limitations of this new approach for preventing and diagnosing learning disabilities are discussed. This information offers a backdrop for rethinking the role and responsibilities of school-based speech–language pathologists in the new millennium.