Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors 3rd Edition Building Blocks Model

The Problem This Book Solves

Educators and specialists in Grades K-12 face a persistent, high-stakes challenge: how to effectively support students whose learning disabilities and challenging behaviors intersect, often derailing academic progress and classroom management. In the current era of accountability and high-stakes testing, a fragmented approach—separating academic intervention from behavioral support—fails these students. The core problem is a lack of a unified, evidence-based framework that allows professionals to identify root causes across both cognitive and behavioral domains and then deploy targeted, integrated interventions.

About Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors 3rd Edition Building Blocks Model

Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: Using the Building Blocks Model to Guide Intervention and Classroom Management, Third Edition (2015, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.) is a comprehensive, research-driven textbook and practical guide authored by Nancy Mather, Sam Goldstein, and Katie Eklund. This edition presents the proven Building Blocks model, which targets 12 interconnected factors and abilities essential for school success. The framework helps professionals move beyond surface behaviors to understand the underlying neurocognitive, social-emotional, and environmental contributors to a student’s struggles. The book provides a detailed questionnaire for pinpointing student strengths and needs, along with practical, actionable strategies for intervention and classroom management.

Who Will Benefit Most

This text is essential for a specific professional audience committed to evidence-based practice in K-12 settings.

• Classroom Teachers (General and Special Education): Gain a practical framework for differentiating instruction and managing challenging behaviors within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS).
• School Psychologists: Deepen your assessment and intervention planning skills by using the Building Blocks model to connect evaluation data to meaningful educational goals.
• Speech-Language Pathologists: Understand the interplay between language disorders, learning disabilities, and behavior to provide more integrated support.
• School Administrators and Instructional Coaches: Adopt a school-wide, unifying framework for professional development and intervention planning that aligns with PBIS and social-emotional learning initiatives.
• Graduate Students in Education, School Psychology, and Special Education: This is an essential textbook for courses focused on learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and intervention methods.

What You Will Learn

The Building Blocks model is organized into three levels, each containing four critical factors. This book equips you to assess and intervene across all of them.

• Level I: Foundational Blocks: Understand how attention and self-regulation, emotion, behavior, and self-esteem form the base for all learning.
• Level II: Academic Blocks: Master strategies for supporting phonological awareness, orthographic processing, memory, and executive functions like planning and organization.
• Level III: Application Blocks: Learn to foster social cognition, language, motivation, and the pragmatic skills needed for real-world success.
• How to use the detailed Building Blocks questionnaire to create a precise profile of a student’s strengths and needs.
• Practical strategies for implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at the classroom and individual level.
• How to design and deliver effective multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) that integrate academic and behavioral interventions.
• Techniques for fostering social-emotional learning (SEL) to build resilience and interpersonal skills.
• Methods for developing meaningful, realistic educational goals that are directly tied to the assessment data.
• How to collaborate effectively with families and other professionals using a common language and framework.
• Updated research on the neurobiological underpinnings of learning disabilities and challenging behaviors.
• Case studies and real-world examples that illustrate the model in action across different grade levels and disability categories.

How It Compares

While many books address either learning disabilities or behavior management in isolation, this text provides a uniquely integrated, unified framework. Unlike generic classroom management guides, the Building Blocks model is rooted in neuropsychology and special education research, offering depth that general resources lack. Compared to purely academic intervention texts, this book gives equal weight to the social-emotional and behavioral factors that are often the primary barriers to learning. The inclusion of a detailed, practical questionnaire sets it apart from theoretical textbooks, making it a working tool for daily practice. Its explicit alignment with MTSS, PBIS, and SEL also makes it more current and directly applicable in today’s schools than earlier editions or competing titles that have not been updated for these frameworks.

Author & Publisher Credentials

The strength of this work lies in its esteemed author team and reputable publisher. Nancy Mather, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona and a renowned expert in learning disabilities and reading assessment. Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist and faculty member at the University of Utah, with decades of experience in child psychopathology and behavior disorders. Katie Eklund, Ph.D., is a school psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Arizona, bringing contemporary expertise in school-based mental health and MTSS. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. is a highly respected publisher of professional resources in early childhood, special education, and developmental disabilities, known for its commitment to evidence-based practice. This combination of clinical, academic, and practical expertise ensures the content is both authoritative and immediately useful.

Is It Worth It?

For any professional who works with struggling learners in K-12 settings, this book is not just worth it—it is a practical necessity. It replaces guesswork with a systematic, evidence-based approach to understanding and intervening with complex student needs. The Third Edition’s updates on MTSS, PBIS, and SEL make it relevant for today’s educational landscape, while the enduring Building Blocks model provides a timeless framework for professional decision-making. The investment in this book is an investment in your own professional effectiveness and, most importantly, in better outcomes for your students.

Download Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors 3rd Edition Building Blocks Model Now

Stop searching for piecemeal solutions. Equip yourself with the unified, research-validated Building Blocks model that integrates academic intervention, behavioral support, and social-emotional learning. Whether you are a teacher, psychologist, or specialist, this Third Edition from Brookes Publishing gives you the assessment tool and practical strategies you need to make a real difference for your most challenging students. Add to cart now and start building a foundation for success in your classroom or practice.