David Scanlon's research interests include learning disabilities, special education collaborations and disputes, transition, content-area teaching and learning, and strategic teaching and learning. He also researches cognitive strategies for adolescents with disabilities to engage in higher order comprehension skills (such as for reading textbooks and engaging complex concepts in the classroom). Scanlon is the co-author of two books: Methods and Strategies For Teaching Students with Mild Disabilities, A Case-Based Approach; and Teaching Learning Strategies to Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Scanlon has served as editor for the International Journal for Research in Learning Disabilities, editor of Learning Disability Quarterly, and section editor of the Handbook of Special Education, 2nd Ed. He was also the principal investigator for The Secondary Classroom Accommodations Project. In both 2014 and 2015, he served as associate program chairperson for the Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference. Among his many honors, Scanlon is a fellow with both the Autism Consortium and the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.