The State of Learning Disabilities

If you are a parent trying to better understand the issues involved in in your child's learning challenges, an advocate or professional in need of data about learning disabilities or special education, or an educator who is concerned about how schools deal with students who learn differently -- or some combination of these roles -- you will likely find valuable information in a report recently released by The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), The State of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5. The title refers to the fact that one out of five children in the U.S. has learning and/or attention issues.

The report uses data from the 2015–2016 school year and takes a wide-ranging look at the landscape of learning and attention issues in school age children. It includes information about new findings in neuroscience that look at brain structure and function. It looks at policy issues, such as the increased rate at which students of color and students from low-income families are identified as having learning challenges. And it has extensive data on topics like emotional and behavioral issues.

Whether you prefer to review the "Executive Summary" of several pages or the longer report, which includes videos, charts, and personal perspectives of those dealing with learning challenges, this is a resource to bookmark, download, and use again and again.