Response to Intervention: A Diagnostic and Treatment Approach for Learning Disorders

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs at general education and special education. In the RTI-based educational program, learning disabilities are not considered as the mere cause of all educational weaknesses and problems; instead, this approach aims to eliminate this problem within the general education system, thereby, to keep students with learning difficulties in this system through empowering and supporting them. Therefore, this review study set out to introduce and identify the latest methods to find the latest educational programs that contribute to early identification and intervention aiming to prevent labeling and other issues at any point in a general education process.
This descriptive study aims to provide the readers with a systematic review of Response to Intervention studies. The materials reviewed were all electronically published studies relevant to the subject, published in scientific databases including Sagepub, Pubmed, Springer, ProQuest, Elsevier, and Eric in 2014 and 2015. The materials screened through keywords such as: Learning Problems, Learning Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Response to Intervention, Screening, Dynamic Assessment, and Dynamic Teaching. Sing review checklist (2013) systematically applied to the findings to achieve the research objectives, namely, introducing the identity, properties of, and challenges associated with screening, education and diagnosis of learning disorders.
The Literature review showed that 77.3 percent of reviewed studies reported RTI to be a preventive method that seeks to keep struggling learners within the general education system through providing instruction, progressive supervisions, and evidence-based decisions that target students’ needs. The next stage in the RTI is the diagnosis of learning disorder and giving a referral to special education services. This process is at service of those students who have been achieved no results in spite of their effort. Findings include: 1) RTI is a flexible method that can support various student groups.
2) RTI is applicable to all grade levels, school students (diagnosed or not as struggling learners), and even talented students.
3) RTI is comprised of five elements that help its implementation: screening, designing multiple tiers, intervention, evaluation, and decision-making, performed in order.
4) Due to such concerns as matching control and experimental groups in similar studies, quasi-experimental methodologies used.
5) There were several consistent and inconsistent findings in the field of educational and behavioral skills.
6) In the majority of references, 80% to 90% of participants were within Tier 1, 10% to 20% within Tier 2, and 3% to 5% within Tier 3. In addition, students with no response to intervention diagnosed as those with learning disorder.
7) Although this approach designed for all educational skills, it mainly covers reading problems.
The RTI introduced as a preventive and diagnostic method aiming to reduce the probability of wrong diagnosis of learning disorders. It is supposed to cover all types of students ranging from those in need of special education services to talented students throughout their early years of education. Identification and application of the latest diagnostic methods, and finding modern educational programs that contribute to early identification and use of interventions, aiming to prevent labeling and other issues at any point in a general education process, can justify the application of RTI. Literature review suggests that although teachers or users of RTI believe that it is a costly and difficult approach, this method is effective in identification of students with special needs. In other words, through RTI their teachers as students in need of special education services identify fewer students. This emphasizes the necessity of student's participation in the RTI process before any diagnosis. However, some studies dispute the effectiveness of the RTI. As a result, further research on the use and applicability of this approach is necessary.