The purpose of this article is to respond to Bernice Wong's questions regarding the efficacy of the risk and resilience model for studying social problems in students with learning disabilities. Two factors render this framework particularly inviting to special education researchers. First, it is inherently optimistic because it assumes that once we identify factors that contribute to resilience, we can train less–resistant individuals to be more resilient. As such, it moves us away from deficit models to empowering models. Second, the model forces us to look beyond the characteristics of the individual to consider external factors that have a significant influence on development and behavior. At the same time, however, we still need to advance our knowledge regarding the basic dimensions of social problems among students with learning disabilities. Hence, this article argues for multiple approaches to advancing knowledge about students with learning disabilities.
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