Commentary: Seeing Individual Children and Their Vulnerabilities

Abstract

Despite vast empirical evidence on reading difficulty and reading disability, including assessment, early identification, and intervention, many students are not benefiting from these discoveries. In this thematic issue, authors explore the multiple factors that may make students more vulnerable to reading difficulty, including biases associated with race, poverty, and disability, and using samples that are racially and socioeconomically diverse and include student groups that are often underrepresented in large-scale research on reading disabilities. Each article in this collection offers a different window into examining reading performance and what specific structured environments, instructional programs, or interventions might prove useful in seeking to address the needs of vulnerable students. Despite the differences in these articles, the theme is that important practice- and policy-relevant discoveries emerge when we study reading and reading disabilities in diverse student populations.