Where there's a will there are ways to close the achievement gap for children with learning difficulties

The number of children identified with learning disabilities, or LDs, has steadily increased since the establishment of LDs as a disability category in education 40 years ago. At that time, there was relatively little research to guide identification, prevention, and intervention. However, in the past two decades, significant progress has been made in understanding the genetic and neural underpinnings of learning difficulties, identifying the cognitive processes underlying both typical and atypical development of academic skills, developing prevention strategies, and designing evidence-based instructional and intervention practices. An overview of the research on identification, prevention, and intervention - an understanding of which is critical for closing the achievement gaps in numeracy and literacy - is presented in this paper.

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