Prevalence of LD

What is it about?

This article describes the current trends in LD prevalence from two sources: parent report and OSEP data. The analysis indicates that the prevalence rate from parents have been told by a professional that their child has a learning disability is much higher than the number of students being served with learning disabilities in schools. It compares data from the National Survey of Children's Health and OSEP. It raises questions as to whether we are accurately identifying children in schools who may need special education services but are not receiving them.

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Why is it important?

It is concerning that the lines between general education and special education are not clear. Students with learning disabilities need specially designed instruction to meet their academic needs. These data indicate that the prevalence of children served in schools with LD is declining. As a field we need to ensure that children who need specially designed instruction and IEPs are receiving these services. This is timely in that we should be reauthorizing IDEA and we need to ensure that legally students with LD continue to be provided FAPE and LRE. LRE is not always the general education classroom all of the time.