We examined whether children with comorbid reading and mathematics difficulties (RDMD) experience more school, reading, and mathematics anxiety than children with either reading difficulties (RD) or mathematics difficulties (MD). Furthermore, we examined whether attention differences account for these effects. Thirty-three children with RD (51.5% female; M age = 10.80 years), 35 with MD (60.0% female; M age = 10.79 years), 37 with comorbid RDMD (45.9% female; M age = 10.79 years), and 42 chronological-age (CA) controls (64.3% female; M age = 10.82 years) were assessed on measures of reading, mathematics, general cognitive ability, attention, and school, reading, and mathematics anxiety. The groups did not differ from each other in general cognitive ability, and the RDMD group did not present more severe RDMD than the RD and MD groups, respectively. Analyses of variance revealed that children with RDMD exhibited significantly higher levels of reading and mathematics anxiety compared to the CA controls. The RDMD group also exhibited higher levels in reading anxiety compared to the MD group and mathematics anxiety compared to the RD group. These differences remained significant after controlling for attention. Findings suggest that children with RDMD are at greater risk for both reading and mathematics anxiety, emphasizing the need for targeted, domain-specific interventions.

Registered Reports are a novel approach to empirical publication that involve two stages of peer review: one before a study is conducted (of prospective Introduction and Method sections), and one after the study is conducted and fully written up. In this paper, we describe Registered Reports and their potential benefits (e.g., expert peer reviewers providing input on the design of research before it is conducted, combatting publication bias by basing acceptance for publication on the quality of study plans rather than study findings) and limitations, provide an overview of the three Registered Reports in the special series, and highlight lessons learned in guest editing this special series of Registered Reports.

Current understandings of disability experience are centered around individuals who hold the disability identity and membership in the marginalized group. This perspective does not include the experiences of disability allies, such as parents, who act alongside their children to support their access and engagement in the education setting. This partial perspective is of concern because it does not reflect the depth and complexity of disability experience for those in allyship roles. This paper builds on current understandings of disability experience by introducing an emerging conceptual lens that defines and describes the nature of disability experience for those acting in allyship roles. Attention is focused on children with dyslexia and their parents to illustrate this conceptual lens. Extending on ecological models of interactions and understandings of subjective experience, the authors highlight how the proximity of the parental experience to the child’s dyslexic identity shapes parental allyship and present a lens of disability experience that includes primary, vicarious, and primary adjacent experience. The proposed conceptual lens offers researchers and educators an opportunity to view disability experience and allyship from an alternative perspective, and in doing so, consider a broader understanding of disability experience and allyship that would potentially provide insights into parent–school partnerships.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of an intensive writing intervention focusing on mathematical reasoning through written expression. A group pretest–intervention–posttest comparison experimental design was used to implement a 12-lesson intervention, delivered through a combination of Google Classroom and in-person classroom teacher support, to fifth-grade students with specific learning disabilities ( n = 19). Although underpowered, our results indicated the intensive writing intervention led to all students in the intervention group ( n = 11) significantly outperforming the students in the control group ( n = 8) on subtraction and division word problems requiring an explanation of their solution in written form. Additionally, student treatment interviews revealed the strategy was both enjoyable and helpful in solving and explaining their word problem solutions and the teacher provided insight into potential additional scaffolds to support the most intensive students. Lessons learned and implications for research and practice are presented.

The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) affirms the importance of transition as a critical component of successfully progressing from secondary school to college or university for students with learning disabilities. Although NJCLD has addressed secondary to postsecondary education transition planning in a previous paper, several challenges remain. This NJCLD position paper includes information about the laws that affect students with learning disabilities at each level, documentation required, key participants, and programs and resources to assist in the transition process.

One of the most persistent areas of difficulty in mathematics for children with learning disabilities (LDs) and difficulties is fractions. We report the development and initial testing of an intervention designed to increase access to and advancement in conceptual understanding. Our asset-based theory of change—a tested and confirmed learning trajectory of fraction concepts of students with LDs grounded in student-centered instruction—served as the basis for our multistage scientific design process. We report on foundational (i.e., a theory of change, establishment and refinement of learning trajectories, and core instructional components) and evaluative (pilot data on student outcomes) components of the intervention. The results of the study reveal positive effects of the program’s fidelity and potential to improve student outcomes in school settings. The positive outcomes support continued exploration and expansion of a new framework for supplemental intervention grounded in trajectories of student learning.

High school co-teachers prepare students with and without disabilities to earn content credits for graduation, with instructional effectiveness influenced by multiple factors. In this study, teacher self-efficacy and personal compatibility were examined as potential predictors of active involvement in instruction. The moderating effect of personal compatibility on the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and active involvement in instruction was also examined. One hundred twenty-seven co-teachers of students with learning disabilities and other high-incidence disabilities participated. Active involvement in instruction was significantly higher for general educators than for special educators. Results of Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) analyses revealed teacher self-efficacy was predictive of active involvement in instruction for general educators but not for special educators. Results of APIM with moderation found personal compatibility did not significantly moderate the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and active involvement in instruction for general or special education co-teachers. Implications for co-teaching practices are provided.

In this overview of implementation science and implementation fidelity in the field of learning disabilities, authors provide a brief summary of current research related to implementation science followed by an introduction of the articles in this special series. Authors emphasize the relationship between the effectiveness of interventions and the difficulty of their implementation, highlighting the importance of considering both when adopting new interventions in the field of learning disabilities. The authors then turn their attention to the need for implementation science and implementation fidelity to be considered at all stages of research from program or intervention development to efficacy and effectiveness trials through large-scale implementation in real-world settings. An overview of active implementation frameworks as proposed by the National Implementation Research Network as well as a discussion on the importance of research–practice partnerships when implementing programs and interventions in the field of learning disabilities are also included.

This study examined the impact of linguistic and cultural enhancements to evidence-based mathematics instruction within a multitiered support system for English learners. The study employed a single subject changing criterion design for four fourth-grade students who were English learners with or at risk of a learning disability diagnosis in mathematics. Dual dependent variables were mathematics vocabulary acquisition and application in story problems. Student performance on identifying the correct mathematics vocabulary words when given the definition was measured across baseline and four phases of intervention. Students were also assessed on their ability to complete story problems that contained the target vocabulary. At each phase of the intervention, students showed an increase in performance on both vocabulary words correctly identified and story problems correctly completed. Implications for practice and future directions for research are discussed.

Growth in two subscales, Informal and Formal Mathematics Skills, of the Test of Early Mathematics Abilitity–3 (TEMA-3) was explored in a sample of 281 children. Children were identified as either typically developing (TYP; n = 205) or having mathematics difficulties (MD; n = 76) based on their total TEMA-3 score at the end of prekindergarten. Their average level of informal and formal mathematics skills, growth rate over time, and rate of acceleration of growth were estimated using conventional growth modeling while controlling for the effects of gender. Results indicated that children with MD had significantly lower informal and formal mathematics knowledge than did TYP children at the end of kindergarten. However, for informal mathematics skills, children with MD grew at a significantly faster rate than did TYP children, and the rate of acceleration was also significantly faster for children with MD. In contrast, both the rate of growth and acceleration of growth in formal mathematics skills were significantly faster for TYP children than they were for children with MD. Implications for early MD identification and interventions are discussed.