Search

In 2010, "Intervention in School and Clinic" undertook a project to interview "giants" in the fields of learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities. The purpose of the interviews was to document the perspectives and reflections of leaders who had contributed to their respective fields over several decades (i.e., in most instances spanning back to the 1950s or 1960s) in order to provide a historical context for current and future professionals to envision a successful future. Contributors were asked to discuss their careers and their historical perspectives about their fields and to focus on areas of success and struggles. Interviews from 29 contributors were reviewed for this article, which focuses on concerns and reasons for optimism in both fields. Themes across interviews are described, along with highlights of contributors' observations.

Barbara Keogh is a true Californian. She was born in Glendale, received her education and professional training in California colleges and universities, and has been a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for more than 40 years, where she is now Emerita. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked as a psychologist in schools, hospital clinics, and juvenile court and probation offices. She joined the UCLA faculty in 1967 after spending a year as a United State Public Health Service (USPHS) Fellow at the Centre for Child Study, Birmingham University, England. The time in England was pivotal in many ways. She began her research on spatial development of children with academic and developmental problems, she worked with British and European psychologists and educators who had different perspectives and approaches to the study and treatment of children with learning problems, and she accepted an invitation to join the faculty in the School of Education at UCLA. In this interview, Keogh talks about her career and the role of context in understanding children with disabilities.

This article presents an interview with Dr. Thomas Lovitt, one of the "giants" in the field of learning disabilities. Dr. Lovitt was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1930. He received bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from the University of Kansas. In 1956, after a 4-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Lovitt took positions as a musician with the Kansas City Philharmonic and the Kansas City Conservatory. His teaching career began in the public schools in 1964. Following completion of his doctorate in 1966, he joined the faculty of the University of Washington, where he remained until his retirement in 2002. Dr. Lovitt has written extensively in the field of special education, including 10 books, 137 articles, and 34 book chapters, in addition to presenting 152 papers and serving on the editorial board of 14 journals. In two of his best-known works--"In Spite of My Resistance, I Have Learned From Children" and "Because of My Persistence, I Have Learned From Children"--he wrote of common principles in education such as clarifying expectations and the benefits of practice. In this article, Dr. Lovitt reflects on his career and the field of learning disabilities. He also discusses some of his postretirement activities.

In 2010, Intervention in School and Clinic undertook a project to interview "giants" in the fields of learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities. The purpose of the interviews was to document the perspectives and reflections of leaders who had contributed to their respective fields over several decades (i.e., in most instances spanning back to the 1950s or 1960s) in order to provide a historical context for current and future professionals to envision a successful future. Contributors were asked to discuss their careers and their historical perspectives about their fields and to focus on areas of success and struggles. Interviews from 29 contributors were reviewed for this article, which focuses on concerns and reasons for optimism in both fields. Themes across interviews are described, along with highlights of contributors' observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with special education educator Gerald Wallace is presented. When asked about how he became interested in special education, he says that he had an opportunity to work with Ruth Strang, whose expertise was reading instruction, especially remedial reading instruction. He decided that was the area in which he would specialize.

An interview with clinical psychologist Barbara Keogh is presented in which she discusses children with learning disabilities (LD). The article offers information on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the Project Research on Early Abilities of Children with Handicaps (REACH) organization, and students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).