Diagnosing learning disorders

DIAGNOSING LEARNING DISORDERS

Diagnosing Learning Disorders
Second edition

A Neuropsychological Framework

Bruce F. Pennington

THE GUILFORD PRESS New York London

© 2009 The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc. 72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012 www.guilford.com All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of congress cataloging-in-Publication data Pennington, Bruce Franklin, 1946Diagnosinglearning disorders : a neuropsychological framework / Bruce F. Pennington. — 2nd ed. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59385-714-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Learning disabilities—Diagnosis. 2. Autism in children—Diagnosis. 3. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—Diagnosis. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Learning Disorders—diagnosis. 2. Attention Deficit Disorder withHyperactivity—diagnosis. 3. Autistic Disorder—diagnosis. 4. Language Development Disorders—diagnosis. 5. Neuropsychology. WS 110 P414d 2008] RJ496.L4P46 2008 618.92′85889075—dc22 2008032101

For children everywhere and those who try to help them

About the Author

About the Author

Bruce F. Pennington, Phd, is a developmental neuropsychologist who has earned an international reputation forhis research on dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. He has published 163 articles in refereed journals and was selected to appear on ISIHighlyCited.com because of his exceptional citation count in the field of Psychology/Psychiatry. He is particularly interested in using genetic and neuropsychological methods to understand comorbidity among disorders, such as thecomorbidity between dyslexia and ADHD. Dr. Pennington is a John Evans Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver, where he heads the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Program. His honors include Research Scientist, MERIT, and Fogarty awards from the National Institutes of Health; the Samuel T. Orton Award from the International Dyslexia Association; and the Emanuel Miller MemorialLecture from the British Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Pennington has also been the primary research mentor for 35 doctoral and postdoctoral students, many of whom are now pursuing their own research on developmental disabilities. The Guilford Press published his other book, The Development ofPsychopathology: Nature and Nurture, in 2002. Both that book and this one emphasize a close relation between research and practice. In addition to being a researcher and research mentor, Dr. Pennington is also a child clinical neuropsychologist, and has been active in clinical practice and training throughout his career.

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Preface Preface

Preface

ince the first edition of this book waspublished, 18 years have passed, and the field of learning disorders has gone from being a fledgling science to becoming a key part of developmental cognitive neuroscience. Now it makes sense to speak of a science of learning disorders, whereas when I began my career over 30 years ago, there was debate about whether several of these learning disorders (e.g., dyslexia andattention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) even existed. There has been considerable scientific progress both in understanding most of the disorders covered in the original volume (dyslexia and other language disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder [ASD]) and in understanding additional disorders covered in this expanded edition (intellectual disability [ID], mathematics disorder [MD], and developmental...