Each local educational agency and public school
academy in Michigan is required to publicly
post the process used to determine the existence of
a Specific Learning Disability (SLD).
Consistent
with this requirement, Carney-Nadeau
Public School reports the following:
For
determination of a SLD, a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW) process is used for
students
in kindergarten through 12th grade for the skill area of Basic Reading. This
process is also used
across
all other areas of SLD, kindergarten through 12th grade, which includes: Oral
Expression, Listening
Comprehension,
Written Expression, Reading Comprehension, Reading Fluency, Math Calculation,
and
Math
Problem Solving.
It
is noted that regardless of the process used, all schools must follow all of
the regulatory requirements in
the
IDEA, the MARSE, and Michigan laws, policies and procedures for special
education.
What is a SLD?
A
Specific Learning Disability is “a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in
understanding
or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the
imperfect ability to
listen,
think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including
conditions such as
perceptual
disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and
developmental aphasia that
adversely
affects a student’s educational performance. A SLD does not include learning
problems that are
primarily
the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; mental retardation;
emotional disturbance; or
of
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.” (34 CFR §300.8(c)(10)).
What is Response to Scientific, Research-Based
Intervention Process?
Response
to Scientific, Research-Based Intervention is a process to determine if a
student has a SLD. This
process
involves the collection of data to determine the following:
_
The student does not achieve adequately for the
student’s age or to meet State approved grade level
standards
in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR §300.309(a)(1)(i) when
provided
with
learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student’s age or
State-approved
grade-level
standards.
_
The student does not make sufficient progress to
meet age or State-approved grade-level
standards
in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR §300.309(a)(1)(i) when using a
process
based
on the student’s response to scientific, research-based intervention.
What is a PSW Process?
Pattern
of Strengths and Weaknesses is a process that is used to determine if a student
has a SLD. This
process
involves the collection of data to determine the following:
_
The student does not achieve adequately for the
student’s age or to meet State approved grade level
standards
in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR §300.309(a)(1)(i) when
provided
with
learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student’s age or
State-approved
grade-level
standards.
_
The student exhibits a pattern of strengths and
weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both,
relative
to age, State-approved grade-level standards, or intellectual development, that
is
determined
by the Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) to be relevant to the
identification of a
SLD,
using appropriate assessments, consistent with the IDEA Evaluation Procedures
and
Additional
Requirements for Evaluations and Reevaluations.
Source:
Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education and Early
Intervention Services
(2010).
Michigan criteria for determining the existence of a
specific learning disability. Lansing, MI:
Author.