Intensive Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities in the RTI Era: Position Statement of the Division for Learning Disabilities Council for Exceptional Children

Response to intervention (RTI) reforms have changed the structure of many aspects of special education for students with and at risk for learning disabilities (LD). Regardless of the structure of services, the core of special education for students with LD remains intensive instruction. Many students with LD are not being provided with appropriate instruction that consists of intensive, individualized interventions based on the best available evidence. To encourage schools and districts to examine the intensity, individualization, and research base of their instructional approaches for students with LD, the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Learning Disabilities offers the following position statement: RTI reforms provide a structure for delivering instruction to students with and at risk for LD. Students with LD require appropriate instruction that includes intensive, individualized interventions based on the best available evidence to help them improve in their areas of need, successfully access the general education curriculum, and make progress toward standards. Special education for students with LD should not be either accommodations/adaptations OR intensive interventions, but both. We suggest that the design and implementation of these intensive, individualized, research-based interventions will likely require changes in how schooling is now provided to the vast majority of students with LD.