Academic and Cognitive Interventions for LD Adolescents

Abstract

This is the second of two articles focusing on a review of the academic and cognitive interventions available for LD adolescents. In “Academic and Cognitive Interventions: Part I,” an argument was presented that because of the complex needs of LD adolescents it is important to develop an intervention model that is suficiently comprehensive to impact these students. A further contention was made that such an intervention model would be composed of a number of components. In Part I, reviews of three of these components (motivation, instructional practices for promoting general skill acquisition, and instructional practices for enhancing the generalization and maintenance of skills) were presented. The purpose of this article is to discuss four additional components that would be needed in a comprehensive intervention model for LD adolescents. Specifically, the literature will be reviewed regarding a curriculum or content component, a communications component, a transition component, and an evaluation component. Again, since the existing body of research in the field of secondary learning disabilities relative io academic and cognitive interventions is in its infancy, these reviews will, in places, focus on recommended research instead of on actual findings.