National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities
Founded in 1975, the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) is a national committee of representatives of organizations committed to the education and welfare of individuals with learning disabilities. More than 350,000 individuals constitute the membership of the organizations represented by the NJCLD.
LD OnLine is pleased to serve as the official web site for the papers of the NJCLD.
Click below for the following information:
Purposes of the NJCLD
The NJCLD meets twice a year to consider and discuss contemporary issues in learning disabilities, and to develop and disseminate reports and statements related to these issues. The major purposes of the NJCLD are listed:
- To facilitate communication and cooperation among the member organizations.
- To provide an interdisciplinary forum for the review of issues for educational and governmental agencies, and act as a resource committee for those agencies and other interested groups.
- To provide a response to national issues in the area of learning disabilities when and as the need arises.
- To seek agreement on major issues/problems pertinent to the area of learning disabilities.
- To prepare and disseminate statements to the public to clarify issues in the area of learning disabilities.
- To identify research and service delivery needs in learning disabilities.
Member organizations
The member organizations of NJCLD are the following:
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
- Association of Educational Therapists (AET)
- Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD)
- Division for Communicative Disabilities and Deafness (DCDD), Council for Exceptional Children
- Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD), Council for Exceptional Children
- International Dyslexia Association (IDA)
- International Reading Association (IRA)
- Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA)
- National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities
- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
- National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
- Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
Contact information
For general information about NJCLD
Stan Dublinske
Senior Advisor for Planning
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
phone: 301-296-5707
Email: sdublinske@asha.org
For NJCLD web site information
Mary Beth Klotz, PhD, NCSP
Director, IDEA Projects and Technical Assistance
National Association of School Psychologists
Phone: 301-347-1643
Email: mbklotz@naspweb.org
Reports currently in development
Comprehensive Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Disabilities
A comprehensive assessment and evaluation, using multiple data sources, is specified in IDEA 2004 for the identification and diagnosis of students with learning disabilities. This NJCLD report (1) delineates guiding principles for a multidisciplinary team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of learning disabilities; (2) presents components and procedures for a comprehensive assessment and evaluation; (3) describes the way learning disabilities are manifested differently over time, in severity, and in various settings; (4) addresses differential diagnosis; (5) discusses the distinction between diagnosis of learning disabilities and eligibility for specific services at different ages and in different settings; and (6) considers implications for intervention.
Literacy for Students with Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 and Beyond
The purpose of this paper is to advocate for effective instruction of students with learning disabilities in the 4th grade and above who struggle with the acquisition of literacy skills. Over the last decade, the emphasis has been on the early acquisition of literacy skills in the primary grades. Literacy development in older students and adolescents is equally important. These students must be accurately defined, and they must receive explicit instruction in basic reading and writing skills as well as the application of these skills at increasing levels of complexity to academic content areas and in social interactions.
Validating Learning Disabilities: Conceptual Issues, Challenges, and Implications
A number of forces have converged in recent years to call into question the validity of the LD construct. The purposes of this paper are to: (a) identify these forces and the resulting contentions that have been voiced regarding the five core elements of the construct of LD (unexpected underachievement, intrinsic processing disorders, relevance of IQ, intra-individual differences, and exclusionary criteria); (b) discuss the essential shared understandings we hold regarding the nature of disability and the nature of learning, because these understandings have a direct bearing on how we define the construct of LD and how we operationalized that definition for purposes of assessment, evaluation, identification, placement, and service; and (c) propose recommendations for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers about how to deal with the contentions that exist.
NJCLD reports and helpful resources
Suggested citation for NJCLD papers: National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (Year, Month). Title of report. Retrieved on (give date) from www.ldonline.org/njcld
The following reports and articles are recommended reading by NJCLD. They are listed in chronological order beginning with the most recently published report first.
- The Documentation Disconnect for Students with Learning Disabilities: Improving Access to Postsecondary Disability Services (2007) (56K PDF)*
The purpose of this report is to outline the issues affecting documentation for postsecondary disability services and to suggest ways to bridge the gap between secondary and postsecondary settings.
- The Documentation Disconnect for Students With Learning Disabilities: Improving Access to Postsecondary Disability Services (2007)
A Report from the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities*
- Transition to School and Work: A blueprint for your child's success after high school (2007) (226K PDF)*
This brochure on transition planning makes a helpful resource for parents.
- Learning Disabilities and Young Children: Identification and Intervention (2006) (179.1K PDF)*
This paper addresses early identification, services, supports, and intervention for young children, birth through 4 years, who demonstrate delays in development that may place them at risk for later identification as having a learning disability.
- Responsiveness to Intervention and Learning Disabilities (2005) (152K PDF)*
This report examines the concepts, potential benefits, practical issues, and unanswered questions associated with "responsiveness to intervention" (RTI) and learning disabilities.
- State and District-Wide Assessments and Students with Learning Disabilities: A Guide for States and School Districts (2004) (142K PDF)*
This report highlights issues and offers guidance on sound implementation of state and district-wide assessments to ensure equal access by students with learning disabilities.
- A Reaction to Full Inclusion: A Reaffirmation of the Right of Students with Leaning Disabilities to a Continuum of Services (2003) (61K PDF)*
- Learning Disabilities: Issues in Higher Education (1999) (107K PDF)*
- Professional Development for Teachers (1999) (20K PDF)*
This report outlines professional development as an ongoing process of continuous improvement.
- Learning Disabilities: Use of Paraprofessionals (1998) (123K PDF)*
- NJCLD Press Release (1998) (73K PDF)*
- Operationalizing the NJCLD Definition of Learning Disabilities for Ongoing Assessment in Schools (1997) (70K PDF)*
This article highlights five constructs underlying the NJCLD definition of learning disabilities and recommends operational procedures for ongoing assessment and interventions for children in preschool and secondary school.
- Learning Disabilities: Preservice Preparation of General and Special Education Teachers (1997) (63K PDF)*
This report identifies the core competencies that the NJCLD believes are essential for both general and special educators who work with children with learning disabilities.
- Secondary to Postsecondary Education Transition Planning for Students with Learning Disabilities (1994) (86K PDF)*
This article addresses the rationale for the transition planning process as it applies to the education of students with learning disabilities, specifically the progression from secondary to postsecondary education.
- Learning Disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1992) (98K PDF)*
- School Reform: Opportunities for Excellence and Equity for Individuals with Learning Disabilities- A Special Report (1991) (98K PDF)*
- Providing Appropriate Education for Students with Learning Disabilities in Regular Education Classroom (1990) (48K PDF)*
This report identifies factors that are necessary for an effective educational program for students with learning disabilities, problems related to serving students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom and recommendations for actions required at the state, school district, and school building level to effectively educate students with learning disabilities within the regular classroom.
- Learning Disabilities: Issues on Definition (1990) (48K PDF)*
This article addresses problems resulting from the Federal definition of learning disabilities.
- The Need for Subject Descriptors in Learning Disabilities Research: Preschool Through High School Years (1989) (43K PDF)*
This position paper provides a set of descriptors the NJCLD believes are necessary to describe subject in studies of learning disabilities.
- Issues in Learning Disabilities: Assessment and Diagnosis (1987) (48K PDF)*
This article emphasizes the importance of integrating assessment, diagnosis, and procedures that lead to a diagnosis of learning disability and eligibility for services.
- Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Call to Action (1985) (53K PDF)*
This paper identifies issues related to learning disabilities as manifested in adults and proposes ways for exploring and resolving the problems encountered by adults with learning disabilities.
- Issues in the Delivery of Services to Individuals Learning Disabilities (1982) (82K PDF)*
- Issues in the Delivery of Services to Individuals with Learning Disabilities (1982)
- Learning Disabilities: Issues in the Preparation of Professional Personnel (1982) (48K PDF)*
This position paper gives recommendations to professionals who provide services to individuals with learning disabilities and their families.
- Inservice Programs in Learning Disabilities (1981) (45K PDF)*
This report highlights information pertaining to the design and implementation of in-service programs for professionals who provide services to individuals with learning disabilities.
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