Priority Issues Responses Submitted by The Council for Learning Disabilities

In response to the white papers presented at the LD Summit in August 2001, salient and priority topics related to learning disabilities (LD) identification and eligibility have emerged and been acknowledged by the NCLD work group. The Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) considers all the topics of the Summit's white papers to be important for decisions on the conceptualization of learning disabilities and operationalization of services. In this response paper we highlight what CLD considers to be the most critical topics, organized into five categories (the nature of LD, identification, eligibility, intervention, and professional development), with a brief discussion of the implications of each for policy, practice, and research. Preface The Council for Learning Disabilities recognizes learning disabilities as a disorder of interest to several branches of the sciences, as well as to educators, and children, adolescents, and their families. Recognizing the importance of language, we support the use of rigorous and appropriate language that facilitates communication among various fields of science, education practitioners, and individuals and their families. Further, recognizing education as the primary field concerned with learning disabilities and uniting the sciences, practitioners, and families, we endorse use of language that is consistent with the traditions of education in these discussions. CLD also endorses a balance of respect for the individual and her or his potential with precision in describing phenomena. Therefore, we call for use of person-first language when referring to persons and learning disabilities, language that characterizes the context in which learning disabilities occur instead of the performance of the individual (e.g., "ineffective intervention " for "nonresponder"), and translation of language from related sciences to language preferred by the field of education (e.g., "intervention " for "treatment"), whenever appropriate