Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 30(1), 15–28 C  2015 The Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children A Systematic Review of Function-Based Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities John William McKenna St. John’s University Andrea Flower and Min Kyung Kim The University of Texas at Austin Stephen Ciullo Texas State University Christa Haring University of South Florida Students with learning disabilities (LD) experience pervasive academic deficits requiring extensive academic intervention; however, they may also engage in problem behaviors that adversely affect teaching and learning, thus lessening the potential impact of specialized instruction and supports. The learning deficits of students with LD are prevalent in the extant research, but behavioral needs appear to receive less attention. The authors report the results of a systematic review investigating the evidence-base for function-based interventions for students with LD using the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) criteria for evaluating single-case studies. Fourteen studies with 17 participants met inclusion criteria, with the majority occurring in elementary settings. Although interventions tended to be effective, few included maintenance and generalization measures. Because of the small number of studies (n = 4) that met WWC design and effectiveness standards, the authors conclude that function-based interventions, although promising, cannot currently be considered an evidence-based practice for students with LD. Implications for practice, areas for future research, and study limitations are reported. Students with learning disabilities (LD) exhibit academic performance deficits compared to their typically devel- oping peers (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes, & Lipsey, 2000). Learning difficulties experienced by students with LD manifest in the areas of basic reading skills, read- ing fluency, reading comprehension, written expres- sion, mathematical computation, mathematical problem solving, and listening comprehension (IDEA, 2004). Although learning difficulties tend to be addressed through specialized academic instruction (Huberman, Navo, & Parrish, 2012; King-Sears & Bowman-Kruhm, 2011), problem behaviors can limit its effectiveness and im- pede academic outcomes (Cameron, Connor, Morrison, & Jewkes, 2008; U.S. Department of Education, 2000). In addition to academic learning challenges, students with LD can also experience social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties and these challenges need to be considered as part of the profile of students with LD (Epstein, Cullinan, & Lloyd, 1986). For example, young students with LD are at a greater risk for developing behavioral difficulties than their nondisabled peers (Gresham & MacMillan, 1997), making Requests for reprints should be sent to John William McKenna, St. John’s University. Electronic inquiries should be sent to Mckennj1@stjohns.edu. it more difficult to access instruction. In addition, results of a meta-analysis demonstrated that this student population showed significant classroom behavior deficits compared to their peers without LD (Bender & Smith, 1990). Moreover, previous research suggests that students with LD have atten- tion problems (Mayes, Calhoun, & Crowell, 1998a, 1998b, 2000), reduced motivation (Bouffard & Couture, 2003), low frustration tolerance (Messinger-Willman & Marino, 2010), and perceive academic tasks as threatening (Sideridis, 2003). Although these difficulties are not a defining characteristic of LD for purposes of identification, they may lead to problem behaviors that can disrupt or interfere with instruction, ad- versely affecting efforts to improve academic performance. Possibly compounding this potential problem, the emergence of the Common Core State Standards initiative (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) will impact the educa- tion of students with LD by considerably increasing the rigor of academic-related tasks (e.g., Haager & Vaughn, 2013). Research has suggested that a discrepancy between task difficulty and student academic performance can maintain escape-motivated behavior (Haydon, 2012; Scott, Nelson, & Liaupsin, 2001). Considering the presence of learning dif- ficulties as well as their social–emotional characteristics,