Requirements, Conditions, & Types
for Identifying Learning Disabled Students

Requirements

Heward et al. (2022) notes that most states and school districts require that three criteria be met in order for a student to be identified as having a learning disability. These are:

  1. A discrepancy between the student's potential and actual achievement.
  2. An exclusion criterion (it can be due to another disability).
  3. The need for special education services to remediate achievement deficiencies.

However, IDEA 2004 also allows for the determination of a learning disability through a response to intervention model (RTI). In this model, a student is placed in a scientifically based program and assessed over time. If the student does not make adequate progress, even with strategic and intensive intervention efforts, the student can be referred for special education services.

Briefly summarized, the four diagnostic criteria, as adapted from APA, Diagnostic and Statistics Manual-V, (2013) are as follows:

  1. A persistent difficulty learning academic skills for at least six months despite intervention targeting the area(s) of difficulty. Many schools use a RTI model of academic skill assessment and progress monitoring to determine the effectiveness of interventions. The areas of documented academic skill difficulties include:
    1. Word decoding and word reading fluency
    2. Reading comprehension
    3. Spelling
    4. Writing difficulties such as grammar, punctuation, organization and clarity
    5. Number sense, facts and calculation
    6. Mathematical reasoning
  2. The affected academic skills are substantially below expectations given the individual’s age and result in impaired functioning in school, at work and in activities of daily living.
  3. LD is readily apparent in the early years, however it is not to be diagnosed until the onset of school years; in some individuals the disorder is not apparent until the onset of a demand for higher-level skills.
  4. The academic and learning difficulties occur in the absence of:
    1. Intellectual Disabilities
    2. Visual or hearing impairments
    3. Mental disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, etc.)
    4. Neurological disorders
    5. Psycho-social difficulty
    6. Language differences
    7. Lack of access to adequate instruction