Children of low socioeconomic status often enter school with poor skills, leading them to be misidentified as learning disabled. Educators in Grades K–12 can allocate resources for special education services more effectively and meet the needs of low SES students by preventing students from being placed in the wrong program and by providing readiness supports. Offering an in-depth look at schools that have realized effective results in remarkable time frames, the authors challenge educators and parents to consider how low expectations can affect student achievement—and emphasize optimism as a necessary tenet of schools' day-to-day teaching/learning programs and school-community relationships. This resource provides: Training resources for teaching low SES students Assessment tools for identifying learning needs Strategies for building relationships of trust and collaboration throughout the school community Data charts that illustrate the increase in student achievement from schoolwide initiatives A bibliography and glossary of pertinent research and terminology With these strategies and tools, schools can meet the developmental and environmental needs of their most vulnerable students and watch student achievement and confidence soar!

Designed to improve the education of elementary school children with low school-readiness skills (low SES children), this book aims to prevent their misidentification as learning disabled. It challenges educators & parents to consider how low expectations can affect a child's achievements.

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

This influential book describes the knowledge and skills teachers and school administrators need to recognize and combat bias and inequity that undermine educational engagement for students experiencing poverty. Featuring important revisions based on newly available research and lessons from the authors professional development work, this Second Edition includes: a new chapter outlining the dangers of grit and deficit perspectives as responses to educational disparities; three updated chapters of research-informed, on-the-ground strategies for teaching and leading with equity literacy; and expanded lists of resources and readings to support transformative equity work in high-poverty and mixed-class schools. Written with an engaging, conversational style that makes complex concepts accessible, this book will help readers learn how to recognize and respond to even the subtlest inequities in their classrooms, schools, and districts.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to research the perceptions of elementary school teachers and school psychologists about the influence of poverty on the special education identification process. Participants included K-6 teachers and school psychologists employed by one school district in southeastern Pennsylvania. A total of 24 participants,20 general education teachers, two special education teachers, and two school psychologists, completed an online, researcher-designed survey consisting of demographic questions, 24 Likert-scale statements and four open-ended questions. Seven respondents participated in the researcher-designed interview. The perception of 20 out of 24 participants (83.3%) was that children of poverty were more likely to be identified with a learning disability. Despite this perception, the laws that guide the identification of learning disabilities list "economic disadvantage" specifically as an exclusionary factor for disability identification. Ryan (2013) stated "if either the discrepancy or the failure to respond is 'primarily the result' of the exclusionary factors, including "economic disadvantage," the students are not supposed to be identified as learning disabled" (p. 31). It is widely accepted in the field of education that leaming disabilities are intrinsic and not caused by external factors. The results of this study indicated students of poverty were in need of academic supports due to a decrease in both literacy exposure and resources. Teachers reported not feeling confident in the identification process, as well as the veracity of the student being identified with a disability as a result. Additional research is needed to investigate the best resources for students living in poverty and how to best prevent these struggling students from falling behind in the first place.

With several empirical evidences, this book advocates on the importance of human capital of persons with disabilities and demands the paradigm shift from charity into investment approach. Society in general believes that people with disabilities cannot benefit from education, cannot participate in the labour market and cannot be contributing members to families and countries. To invalidate such assumptions, this book describes how education in particular helps make persons with disabilities achieve economic independence and social inclusion. For the first time, detailed analyses of returns to the investment in education and nexus between disability, education, employability and occupational options are discussed. Moreover, other chapters describe disability and poverty followed by the discussion of barriers behind why persons with disabilities are unable to obtain education despite the significantly higher returns. These foundational themes recur throughout the book.