Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of questions that we are often asked. They are grouped into three categories. Click on the links below to jump to each category of questions.

Questions about the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities

Where is the TCLD located?
The TCLD is based at three universities in Texas: the University of Houston (in the Department of Psychology and at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics); The University of Texas at Austin (at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk); and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (at the Children’s Learning Institute). Our four research projects are conducted at these sites.

How can I request additional information about the TCLD?
Our brochure is available for download on this site. To request bookmarks or printed copies of our brochure, please fill out our contact form. Be sure to include the mailing address that we should use to send you the materials.

Are results from TCLD research available?
Our four research projects are ongoing, so final results are not yet available. Preliminary results are being disseminated at conferences and in articles published in peer-reviewed journals. These presentations and articles are posted on this site.

What resources, publications, and links are posted on your site?
We post publications (presentations at professional conferences and peer-reviewed journal articles) developed by TCLD researchers.

We link to other research centers and professional organizations that focus on learning disabilities (LD) and response to intervention (RTI).

Our Library includes research and resources (developed outside of TCLD) related to multitiered interventions in reading, math, and behavior; progress-monitoring tools; and specific identification methods for LD that are based on RTI models.

Questions about Testing for Learning and Other Disabilities

I know a student who is struggling in school. What are the next steps for determining whether he or she has a learning disability?
This type of evaluation can be done through the school with an educational diagnostician or school psychologist, and in most cases is arranged through the student’s district or school at the request of a parent (or teacher, with the parents’ consent). Note, however, that the district is not obligated to conduct the evaluation and may disagree that there is educational need. Some parents decide to have an evaluation completed independently of the school at their own expense. These evaluations should be done by a licensed psychologist with experience in assessment and working with schools.

• If you would like to learn more about family rights in your district, the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) may be able to advise you. Its LD at School site and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Parent Guide are helpful resources.
• If you live in Texas, the Texas Education Agency is a good source of information, especially its Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process Guide.
• If you have not yet asked the student’s school for help with your concerns, that would be our first recommendation. Most schools have a staff member or team available to discuss a student’s learning difficulties with his or her family and to make recommendations for further evaluation, if applicable.
• If you have already contacted officials at the student’s school and they are unable to help, more information about your possible next steps can be found on the NCLD Web site.

Does the TCLD offer testing, tutoring, or resources for students with LD?
The TCLD is primarily a research center that focuses on developing a more comprehensive classification of LD, a more integrated understanding of intervention at different levels and intensities for children with reading difficulties, and important cross-discipline insights into the nature of LD. Thus, we do not offer testing or tutoring outside of our research projects in Austin and Houston. We do offer several online resources produced by other centers in our Library. In addition, we link to several other national and Texas organizations that may offer testing, tutoring, and printed resources on our Links page.

Questions about Instruction and Disability

What are some research-based strategies I can use in my classroom to help students with LD achieve success on reading achievement tests?
Many different instructional strategies can be used to help students at risk for LD and students identified as having LD achieve reading success. Resources that outline the research and describe these strategies are posted in our Library. Resources in the Reading Instruction and Intervention sections may be particularly helpful. In addition, links to other centers that produce instructional resources can be found on our Links page.

How can RTI help my child, who has recently been diagnosed with a disability?
RTI is a system for allocating instruction and resources within schools. RTI uses assessment and instructional strategies to ensure that each student’s needs are met. RTI can include both students at risk for LD and students identified as having LD, as well as students served in other “entitlement” programs or simply in general education.

Some schools have chosen to include RTI as part of the special education eligibility process. In these schools, an RTI framework provides part of the data used to decide whether a student should be evaluated for LD. However, simply participating in an RTI process is not sufficient to establish eligibility for special education; IDEA requires a comprehensive evaluation that draws from the multiple sources of information that are deemed necessary by the interdisciplinary team that makes the eligibility determination. Some schools have chosen to include special education within the RTI system of tiered instruction. In these schools, students with individualized education plans (IEPs) are provided services within an RTI framework.

For students with disabilities, like all students, an RTI framework will help by encouraging teachers to use data to select instructional strategies that meet students’ specific needs. A student can be referred for evaluation for special education at any time during an RTI process, but most students need the opportunity to participate in multiple interventions in order to establish educational need.

Several resources that define RTI and how it can be used to help all students can be found in our Library, especially in the Response to Intervention section.