Learning Disability Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
Although many social–emotional learning (SEL) surveys exist for the general student population, students with learning disabilities (SwLD) are often excluded during the survey development process, and the current SEL surveys often overlook critical SEL competencies for SwLD (e.g., self-advocacy), necessitating an SEL survey for SwLD. To address this oversight, the Winston Essential Skills Survey (WESS) was designed to measure SEL in an SwLD population. Annually, over a 4-year period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, two teachers evaluated each student with the WESS 2.0 (Nstudents = 809; Nteachers = 236). A confirmatory factor analysis suggested that this 41-item version of the WESS could be improved. A follow-up exploratory factor analysis indicated that 15 items could be dropped and that two items fit better under two other subscales, which improved the model fit of the eight-factor model substantially. This 26-item version of the WESS (WESS 3.0) also had evidence for internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and consensus (i.e., between the two evaluating teachers). Study 2 found that the WESS 3.0 has evidence for convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity. These findings suggest that the WESS 3.0 may be the first reliable and valid SEL survey specifically designed for SwLD.

Learning Disability Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
Reading interventions focusing on self-determination can effectively improve the academic performance of students with learning disabilities (LD). This study investigated the effects of a multicomponent reading comprehension strategy intervention, which is based on the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), on the use of strategies, reading comprehension levels, SDLMI knowledge, and self-determination skills of students with LD. This empirical study was designed quantitatively using a pretest–posttest control group design, and 42 Turkish students with LD were included. The students were randomly assigned to two study groups and one control group. The results showed that all scores of the group that received the multicomponent reading comprehension strategy intervention based on the SDLMI were significantly higher than those of the other groups in the posttest. The findings showed that integrating SDLMI into a reading comprehension intervention increased its impact. Educators should combine instruction for self-determination and academic skills to improve academic outcomes.

Learning Disability Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
In this study, we examined the differences in reading comprehension processes between students with and without reading difficulties. A total of 72 third- and fourth-grade students in South Korea participated in the study; of these, 28 were identified as having reading difficulties and 44 were not. Multiple types of tasks were administered to evaluate the participants’ eye-movement behaviors, including reading different types of texts and answering questions. Nonparametric tests were conducted on the students’ responses, and the results indicated that students with reading difficulties fixated significantly longer and more frequently on both narrative and expository texts than those without such difficulties. Students without reading difficulties demonstrated significantly decreased reading comprehension processing times after a question-answering activity for all types of texts, whereas students with reading difficulties experienced decreased processing times only for a whole passage reading of narrative text. These results suggest that educators should be aware of differences in comprehension processes among students and develop differentiated instructional plans for students who struggle with reading.

Learning Disability Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
The ability to write informatively is a skill not only required by the Common Core State Standards but is also essential for preparing students to be successful in college. The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the effects of a self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) informative writing intervention for high school students with and at-risk for learning disabilities. Using a pretest–posttest design, 18 high school students received instruction on identifying credible source texts; reading and annotating source texts; and planning, writing, and revising informative essays that incorporated central ideas and details from source texts. Student essays were scored for overall quality, number of genre elements, transitions, total words written, and central ideas and details from the sources. Students made statistically significant gains in their informative genre knowledge and writing skills in all measured outcomes. Students also reported increased self-efficacy and found the intervention to have acceptable social validity.