Chairman, Professional Advisory Board

Dr. Donald Deshler is a Professor in the Department of Special Education and Director of the Center for Research on Learning (CRL) at the University of Kansas. He teaches graduate courses on instructional methodologies for teachers of adolescents and young populations with learning disabilities, and seminars on current issues in research procedures for populations with learning disabilities.

As Director of the Center for Research on Learning, Dr. Deshler has created an international training and dissemination network of more than 900 trainers who provide staff development for schools on educational procedures validated through CRL research.

Dr. Deshler and his staff have developed the Strategies Intervention Model and the Learning Strategies Curriculum as mechanisms for improving the learning effectiveness of students with learning disabilities and the instructional effectiveness of teachers.

Dr. Deshler is the author of the textbook Teaching Adolescents with Learning Disabilities: Strategies and Methods. Dr. Deshler was the original editor of the Councils for Learning Disabilities' journal, The Learning Disability Quarterly, and is currently on the editorial boards of several other journals in learning disabilities and special education. He is the recipient of the Louise Byrd Outstanding Graduate Educator of the Year Award and the Higuchi Research Achievement Award at the University of Kansas.

As Chairman of NCLD's Professional Advisory Board (PAB), Dr. Deshler works with leading educators, psychologists, researchers, physicians, and advocates to guide NCLD program activity and advise the staff and Board of Directors on educational needs, program opportunities, public policy development, and strategic planning. NCLD convenes the PAB annually and consults with members on an ongoing basis.