bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differences In Vocabulary And Syntax Usage Between Nez Perce Indian And White Kindergarten Children
Authors: Ramstad Vivian V. , Potter Robert E.
Published: December 2008

Through the use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test, this study sought to determine if there were significant differences between Nez Perce Indian and white kindergarten chil-dren (21 in each group) in their use of receptive vocabulary and receptive and expressive syntax. The study also attempted to determine if there were any significant differences between re-ceptive vocabulary and receptive syntax and between receptive and expressive syntax within each population. Significant differences were found between the two populations in all three tasks measured. This investigation has implica-tions for educational strategy, as well as for further language evaluational and instructional considerations.
The Assessment Of Children With Learning Problems
Authors: Ozer Mark N. , Dworkin Nancy C.
Published: December 2008

A model clinical program has been designed to help the many children who are having difficulty learning in the regular classroom. The goal is to help the teacher respond more effectively to the variety of needs within the classroom. In a demonstration, the teacher observes those children whom she has first identified as having difficulties and then described on a Teacher Report Form. The examiner utilizes specific strategies in interaction with the child to solve the child's problem in accomplishing a given task. The teacher sees how the child may be assisted in learning how to cope with difficulties. She may recognize the strategies demonstrated as being within her own repertoire and as those she was exposed to in the Teacher Report Form. The consultant aids the teacher in applying the strategies in the context of what she would like to see the child accomplish, thereby making the teacher more aware of her own competence in helping the child. The consultant also helps the teacher to generalize the strategies she uses with a specific child to her interactions with other children within the classroom. The clinical program thus works as an in-service teacher training program, with communication of a limited but expanding number of problem-solving strategies that may be applied to a multitude of educational tasks.
Behavior Therapy Of An Eleven-Year-Old Girl With Reading Problems
Authors: Word Penny , Rozynko Vitali
Published: December 2008

A recent behavioral technique, developed to eliminate unwanted behavior, is desensitization (Wolpe 1958). This procedure initially was utilized to countercondition fears (phobias) of specific objects or situations—such as fear of snakes, spiders, heights, closed spaces, etc. Later extensions of this method included its use to alleviate discomfort in talking and socializing with others (Kraft 1969). In this procedure the subject learns to relax, or to behave in a way that is incompatible with autonomic responses associated with the fear response. By engaging in behaviors incompatible with anxiety, the association or connection between the stimulus and the resulting fear response is broken.
Attention Deficits In Children With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Tarver Sara G. , Hallahan Daniel P.
Published: December 2008

Twenty-one experimental studies of attention deficits in children with learning disabilities were reviewed. Included in the review were studies of distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsivity, vigilance, and intersensory integration. From the accumulated evidence, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) Children with learning disabilities exhibit more distractibility than controls on tasks involving embedded contexts (figure-ground perception tasks) and on tests of incidental vs. central learning. They are not differentially distracted by other types of distractors such as flashing lights and extraneous color cues. (2) Hyperactivity of children with learning disabilities may be situational-specific, with higher levels of activity being exhibited in the structured situation. (3) Children with learning disabilities are more impulsive, i.e. less reflective, than controls. (4) Children with learning disabilities are deficient in their ability to maintain attention over prolonged periods of time. Studies of attention within a standardized testing framework were also discussed
A Short Form of the Revised Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities
Authors: Newcomer Phyllis , Hammill Donald
Published: December 2008

A short form of the ITPA was developed for use in research projects. Sample items were selected from each subtest so that all the psycholinguistic functions measured by the original test were included in the abbreviated version. Both the long and shortened tests were administered to 83 ‘normal’ children from the greater Philadelphia area, between the ages of 5 and 10. T-tests of differences between subtests mean scores on both versions were computed and were not statistically significant at the 5% level of confidence. Correlation coefficients between the long and shortened version of each subtest were also computed. In all but one instance (the Auditory Closure Subtest, correlated at .78) coefficients reached or exceeded the 80 lower level set as acceptable for alternate test reliability. Although these results indicated that the short form ITPA had sufficient reliability to be used for the purposes of research or screening, the authors recommend that the study be replicated on children of uniform chronological age before it is used in clinical settings.
The Factor Structure Of The Wisc In Two Populations Of Disabled Readers
Authors: Rugel Robert
Published: December 2008

WISC subtest scores from two populations of disabled readers were factor analyzed. Subtests included in Bannatyne's Spatial and Conceptual categories were each found to comprise separate factors. Subtests in Bannatyne's Sequential category, particularly Digit Span and Coding, comprised a separate factor in only one of the two populations. This suggests that the lowered scores of disabled readers on Digit Span and Coding cannot be accounted for in terms of a single underlying short-term memory ability.
Assessing the Parents of the Learning Disabled Child
Authors: MRCS Leon Sloman , Webster Christopher D.
Published: December 2008

The obvious and inevitable fact that parents of the LD child are intimately involved with the child's disability stands in marked contrast to the paucity of studies in this area. Many speak of their difficult situation, but there are few tools to assist them. While no interview form can replace sound psychological training, teachers will increasingly be required to interact with parents and will “recognize, more or less accurately, kinds of emotional expression - warmth, criticism, dissatisfaction.'' This article presents a descriptive and non-theoretical interview-based rating scale. While it focuses on the procedure's reliability, the article is published primarily to provide practitioners with a straightforward means of organizing their subjective reactions to parents. Further research may point out prognostic and therapeutic implications, though no such conclusions can yet be drawn. — G.M.S.

In trying to help parents of learning disabled children, clinicians often cannot give useful advice because they themselves differ concerning the important aspects of family dynamics. A semistructured interview procedure is described, permitting the clinician to rate the family on five main dimensions-evaluation, permissiveness of autonomy, mutual affection, hostility, and pressuring. The main aim of the study was to see if acceptable interrater reliability could be obtained. Twenty-two parents were interviewed by experienced clinicians (first assessment) and then reinterviewed after an interval of 6 to 12 weeks (second assessment). The interviews, which were audio-and videotaped, were then examined by two coders. Significant correlations were obtained between coder scores on all dimensions during both first and second assessment. With all five dimensions combined, a Spearman's rho of +.74 was found for the second assessment. Possible future uses of the instrument are considered.
Stability or Change in Reading Achievement over Times Developmental and Educational Implications
Authors: Belmont Ira , Belmont Lillian
Published: December 2008

Just as IQ is thought to be a relatively stable attribute, skill acquisition is considered an orderly, continuous growth process. Teachers must set goals based on such an assumption. Researchers often define their LD samples assuming that a reading achievement score reflects the skill growth rate. Federal LD standards have formalized both assumptions by defining LD as the difference between these two indices. Belmont and Belmont's findings may not measurably help teachers set reading goals for their pupils but do confirm suspicions regarding the predictability of a specific child's short-range accomplishments. Group statistics are found not to represent individual growth patterns in reading which suggests the need for a more detailed understanding of the reading skill acquisition process and for a more sensitive measurement technology. — G.M.S.

Previous work has led to conflicting conclusions regarding the long-term stability or variability of individual reading performance. This paper attempts to resolve the contradictory findings through a preliminary study of the course of individual performance and explores the results in terms of implications for normal growth and development and for the early prediction of later reading performance.
A Potpourri of Materials — Cognitive Development, Problem Solving, and Culture Study
Authors: Etten Carlene Van , Watson Bill
Published: December 2008

In the almost two years that we have been writing this column, we have not prepared a general column that would review a wide variety of new materials. Though we have reported on many materials as a part of specific columns, we have received many other materials that do not necessarily fit into a specific content or subject area. This month we should like to offer a wide-ranging sampling of materials that publishers have sent us for review. We should also like to take this opportunity to thank those publishers who responded to our general request for materials, as well as those who responded to phone requests for specific materials. We appreciate their continued support.—C.V.E., B.W.
Social Relationships and Verbal Interactions of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Bryan Tanis H.
Published: December 2008

Despite federal regulations which define LD children strictly in terms of intellect and achievement, sensitive observers recognize the social and emotional complications these children face. With increased mainstreaming, the LD child's social skills will be severely tested. Our ability to recognize the nonacademic aspects of LD should provide each child with a more understanding and supportive environment. The series of studies Bryan reviews challenges some stereotypes of the LD child and provides alternative views for teachers and researchers. All readers must recognize that the findings may not represent all LD children, nor does Bryan suggest such. Rather, this work provides an empirical touchstone against which to understand individual pupils and to accomplish increasingly refined experimental work. — G.M.S.

A series of research studies is described which investigated the sociometric status, social behavior, and social relationship of learning disabled children in classroom observations and laboratory studies. The results indicate that a significant number of learning disabled children are experiencing difficulty in eliciting positive responses from others and in establishing friendships with peers. It is suggested that social relationships be considered an academic area worthy of the development of interventions strategies to train social skills.
Perspective on Parental Involvement in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: McLoughlin James A. , Edge Denzil , Strenecky Bernard
Published: December 2008

The provisions of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act can have a profound impact on parent-teacher relationships. The potential exists for a cooperative effort, as well as for an antagonistic one. This paper argues for the importance of parent-professional cooperation. Recognizing that new relationships often have to be consciously developed, the authors suggest a number of roles which can foster cooperation in educational settings. — G.M.S.

Parents should be involved in services for their learning disabled children. In clinics, schools, homes, and communities there are many ways parents and professionals can cooperate more fully. Each phase of the intervention process, from identification through evaluation, offers ample opportunities for parent involvement.
Attention and the EEG Alpha Rhythm in Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Fuller Peter W.
Published: December 2008

Using several measures of attention, researchers are investigating the ability of LD children to attend to various information while performing different tasks. Technological advances in “reading” EEG (electroencephalogram) brain wave information have made it possible to measure reliably the difference between two persons' brain responses. In light of considerable research showing that the reduction in the percentage of so-called alpha waves relates to attention, this study examines LD children's EEGs for evidence of deficient attentional processes. — G.M.S.

Parieto-occipital EEGs were recorded during resting baseline intervals, during an initial instruction period, and during active performance on mental arithmetic and immediate recall tasks to determine if 10 learning disabled boys would show less alpha attenuation than 11 normal controls. Fourier transform power spectral analysis was performed on FM magnetic tape recordings of the EEGs. The logs of the ratio of the average power in each task over the average power in the resting period were then computed. LD boys showed less alpha attenuation than the normal control boys. In addition, control boys responded correctly to more of the problems. Since EEG research has shown attenuation of the parieto-occipital alpha rhythm to be an electrophysiological concomitant of attention, these results support the implication that attention deficits play at least some part in learning disabilities.
The Effects of Special Class Placement on the Self-Concept of Exceptional Children
Authors: Ribner Sol
Published: December 2008

The impact of placement decisions on a child's self-concept will be a growing concern as mainstreaming efforts increase. A child's feelings of self-worth may vary from setting to setting and from one aspect of life to another. This paper well illustrates that self-concept is a complex entity. As Ribner demonstrates, both research and practice must consider these complexities, especially when the child's self-concept is in question. — G.M.S.

The self-concept of minimally brain damaged children in special classes was compared with that of children with similar disabilities who were in the regular grades. Those in regular grades had significantly lower self-concepts in school adequacy but not in general competence. When compared with normal children, both groups of minimally brain damaged children had significantly lower self-concepts in school adequacy, but only those in regular grades held significantly lower self-concepts than normal children in general competence. No relationship was found between self-concept and length of stay in special classes.
Five Questions Regarding My Past and Future and the Past, Present, and Future of Learning Disabilities
Authors: Frostig Marianne
Published: December 2008

The author describes how she became involved with learning disabled children, discusses her perception of the field today, states the major guidelines in her work with children and teachers, and reveals her wishes for the future. The importance of obtaining an optimal "match" between a child's cognitive and affective abilities and his or her educational program, of providing moral education, and of fostering care for and trust of others is emphasized.
Improving Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading
Authors: Jenkins Joseph R. , Barksdale Armanda , Clinton LeRoy
Published: December 2008

Daily measures of reading comprehension were obtained for three boys in two settings — their regular classrooms and a special remedial setting. In the latter setting, measures of oral reading rate were also obtained. Reinforcement interventions were scheduled in each setting separately, first for comprehension improvements and later for reading rate increases. Generalization of treatment effects from the special to the regular classroom setting were investigated as well as generalization of effects over time. In addition, the effects on oral reading of improvements in comprehension and the effects on comprehension of oral reading increases were studied. In each setting contingent reinforcement of comprehension produced comprehension improvements, but there appeared to be little generalization across settings. Generalization of comprehension across time was observed. Comprehension improvements and oral reading improvements seemed to have little effect on each other, although each performance was affected by direct intervention.
Measuring Impulsivity-Reflection
Authors: Becker Laurence D. , Bender Nila N. , Morrison Gale
Published: December 2008

This study was undertaken to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), which was devised to measure conceptual tempo. The construct of impulsivity-reflection has been widely investigated by psychologists and educators. Epstein, Hallahan, and Kauffman (1975), in a recent review of literature, present evidence suggesting a significant relationship between impulsivity-reflection and the school learning problems of exceptional children. There are, however, general measurement problems associated with the MFFT that need to be considered. Data from this present study and from others may be interpreted to indicate that there are problems with the reliability and validity of the MFFT. The construct of impulsivity-reflection has validity, but the procedure used to measure this aspect of problem-solving needs to be re-examined. Studies using the MFFT should be interpreted with caution.
Acceptance Hierarchy of Handicaps: Validation of Kirk's Statement, “Special Education Often Begins Where Medicine Stops”
Authors: Abroms Kippy I. , Kodera Thomas L.
Published: December 2008

Kirk's statement, “Special education often begins where medicine stops” (1972), was validated in this research. Undergraduate students ranked the acceptability of common disabilities. Factor analysis yielded three organizing principles: the first consisted of organic impairments that are typically responsive to medical intervention; the second sensorimotor impairments; and the third psychoeducational or functional impairments that are typically not responsive to medical intervention but are treatable through special education services. The organic impairments were generally ranked more acceptable than the sensorimotor impairments. Psychoeducational or functional impairments were the least acceptable. This suggests that a belief in the greater efficacy of the medical model and the amenability to treatment of a disorder determines its acceptability.
Creative Abilities of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Argulewicz Ed N. , Mealor David J. , Richmond Bert O.
Published: December 2008

This study examines the creative ability of 39 elementary school children diagnosed as learning disabled. These children were in grades 1 through 4 and all were of average intelligence. They were administered the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and scored in the same range as average children on all constructs of creativity except elaboration. On this component they scored significantly below average. The learning disabled children seemed to have less task persistence, but on other creative strengths they were as capable as the average child.
Conservation and Cognitive Role-Taking Ability in Learning Disabled Boys
Authors: Fincham Frank
Published: December 2008

Two issues regarding the cognitive skills of learning disabled children are investigated: (1) logical thinking on tasks comprising physical and social materials and (2) the relationship between performance on these two measures. Learning disabled (n = 28) and normal achieving (n = 28) 8- and 9-year-old boys, approximately equated on the variables of IQ, age, and socioeconomic status, were administered three conservation tasks and Flavell's measure of cognitive role-taking. No performance differences were found between the two groups. However, conservation and role-taking ability were significantly related in the normal group but not in the learning disabled group. These results are discussed in terms of the criteria used to identify learning disabled children and the structure of their intellect.
Testing the Attentional Deficit Notion
Authors: Koppell Steven
Published: December 2008

The current evidence for an attentional deficit explanation of learning disability must be evaluated cautiously. The attentional deficit notion really represents a number of different hypotheses, which means that it is permitted a great many degrees of freedom in accounting for data. Also, many of the findings cited as supporting the attentional-deficit notion are equally consistent with the two basic alternative explanations for learning disability: the diminished capacity and the specific deficit hypotheses. Finally, the existing studies rarely provide the information needed to differentiate the processing deficit responsible for learning disabilities from concomitant deficits that may occur as a part of the minimal brain dysfunction syndrome or reflect motivational and emotional difficulties. Until researchers address these issues, an attentional deficit explanation for learning disability will remain conjectural.
A Summer Program for Children with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Sutaria Saroj
Published: December 2008

Summer programming for children with learning disabilities has become a common practice today. Periodically, questions have been raised about the practice by those who are unconvinced or doubtful about the benefits of such programs. Based on personal involvement extending over several years, the author believes that summer programs can be very beneficial to the involved parties. This report has a threefold focus: first, it describes a university-affiliated summer program operated under the sponsorship of a local Association for Children with Learning Disabilities; second, it discusses benefits of the program from the perspectives of both parent and teacher trainee; third, it points out some problems.
Service Delivery to the Handicapped
Authors: Donaldson William S. , Stephens Thomas M.
Published: December 2008

Subdivisions of the federal government, acting as the implementation agents of Congress, have proliferated beyond the expectations of most knowledgeable persons. As this growth in numbers has taken place, a corresponding increase in the amount of tax dollars required has been experienced. An impressive portion of these support dollars are partitioned by agencies to fund programs that have been approved at the agency's discretion. Competition among bidders for these funds reflects the widespread interest competing institutions have in federal programs and in the various other benefits coming to the successful institution.

The process for competing is well documented, and readers of this formidable set of rules and regulations would be correct in assuming that the process is both widely known and accepted. Relying only on this documentation, offerors for federal contracts should conclude that they are entering into a truly competitive arena, one best characterized under the “best contract” maxim. Here, careful review of offers by highly competent experts always discloses the most productive offer at the lowest price to the government.

Yet the number of formal appeals to the government's official hearing body continues to grow. Thousands of contract-award protests are filed each year, and this does not take into account the many reluctant, unsuccessful offerors who suspect bias but who elect not to pursue the matter formally. Many highly respected professionals are beginning to feel more inclined to ask questions and to demand definitive answers.

This being the case, there must be opportunities for what first appears to be an objective review/award process to become subjective. In examining the federal procurement code and the recent decision of the Government Accounting Office (GAO), inconsistencies and ambiguities are revealed immediately. There are many opportunities for subjectivity, bias, personal preferences, and the like to repudiate the foundation of the federal procurement activity: integrity of the competitive process.
Educational Underachievement
Authors: McLeod John
Published: December 2008

To equate expected academic achievement with measured IQ level is invalid because of statistical regression effect. Harris, Myklebust, and others have developed formulas pragmatically to match “theory” more closely with the facts of life, but these formulas have no valid mathematical or psychological basis. The probability of any discrepancy between measured intelligence and achievement occurring by chance can be calculated if the reliabilities of the tests and the intercorrelation between the tests are known. This suggests the possibility of a reasonable and legitimate method of psychometrically identifying a group of students that is likely to yield a high concentration of diagnosed cases of learning disabilities. The present article develops such a method and provides specific illustrative tables.
Learning Disabilities and Reading Disorders
Authors: Lindsey Jimmy D. , Kerlin Marcella A.
Published: December 2008

The secondary level, learning disabilities literature offers limited hard data on learning disabled adolescents' reading behaviors and pedagogical programming that meet these students' reading needs. The literature supports the view that reading disorders, specifically comprehension problems, rank high on the list of academic deficiencies but provide little information delineating specific behavioral manifestations. Reviewing the extant literature, one finds a host of variables that researchers have hypothesized contribute to reading problems and a number of pedagogical strategies they recommend to develop appropriate reading skills. Unfortunately, the hard data necessary to validate these investigators' positions either are not included or are contaminated by the researchers' use of faulty methodological procedures. Because the adolescent learning disabled population and resultant instructional programs have mushroomed in recent years, it is imperative that the learning disabilities field support and provide impetus for future secondary level research.
Elicited Imitation Ability of Children from Learning Disabled and Regular Classes
Authors: Hresko Wayne P.
Published: December 2008

In this study 40 normal and 40 learning disabled children classified by age (5 and 6) and level of auditory discrimination (impaired and normal) were tested for language ability using an elicited imitation paradigm. Learning disabled children exhibited more errors, had more difficulty extracting the semantic componeant from the model sentence, and gave more reformulations than normal children. Results supported a deficit hypothesis in regard to the learning disabled child's language rather than a deviancy hypothesis. In addition, the elicited imitation technique was found to be inappropriate for children with impaired auditory discrimination ability.
Reversal Errors in Strong, Average, and Weak Letter Namers
Authors: Cohn Marvin , Stricker George
Published: December 2008

Four hundred nine first graders were asked to name the letters of the lowercase alphabet presented in fixed, nonalphabetical order. In going from the weak to the average to the strong groups of letter namers, the proportion of correct responses for each letter increased. However, an examination of their errors showed that the more competent the group was in letter naming, the higher the proportion of reversal errors in wrong responses (p < .001). It was concluded that letter reversal errors are not necessarily indicators of a basic perceptual or cognitive deficit.
Recall After a Short Delay and Acquisition in Learning Disabled and Nondisabled Children
Authors: Bauer Richard H.
Published: December 2008

In Experiment 1, serial recall of supraspan digit sequences after a short delay and acquisition of a repeated digit sequence were compared in learning disabled and nondisabled children. The results showed that short-term recall and acquisition rate were lower in learning disabled than in nondisabled children, and shortterm recall and acquisition rate were positively correlated. In Experiment 2, serial recall of supraspan color sequences and acquisition of this type of information were compared in learning disabled and nondisabled children. Shortterm recall and acquisition rate were positively correlated. In Experiment 3, the sequence length presented to each child exceeded the number that each child could recall perfectly after a short delay. Results of this experiment showed that acquisition in learning disabled and nondisabled children was more similar than when all children acquired the same amount of information. The present findings are consistent with previous suggestions that those processes such as attention and memory that are responsible for low recall in learning acquisition in these children.
Food Allergy Treatment for Hyperkinesis
Authors: Rapp Doris J.
Published: December 2008

Eleven children were treated with a food extract after titration food allergy testing. They remained improved for one to three months while ingesting the foods to which they were sensitive. Five of eight patients completed a double-blind evaluation of the food extract and successfully differentiated the latter solution from two placebo solutions. Two of three children who failed to identify correctly the food extract relapsed when food therapy was discontinued and responded favorably when this therapy was again reinstituted.
Relationships Between Visual and Auditory Perceptual Skills and Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Weaver Phyllis A. , Rosner Jerome
Published: December 2008

The outcome of a correlational study that examined the relationships between visual and auditory perceptual skills and comprehension is reported. Scores of 25 learning disabled students (aged 9 to 13) were compared on five tests: a visual-perceptual test (Coloured Progressive Matrices); an auditory-perceptual test (Auditory Motor Placement); a listening and reading comprehension test (Durrell Listening-Reading Series); and a word recognition test (Word Recognition subtest, Diagnostic Reading Scales). The correlation coefficients indicated highly significant relationships between visual-perceptual skills and listening comprehension, and between visual-perceptual skills and reading comprehension only when the effect of word recognition skills was controlled statistically. Auditory-perceptual skills, however, were more closely related to reading comprehension than to listening comprehension. Although word recognition skills explained much of the variance in reading comprehension among the learning disabled students in this study, visual perceptual skills also seemed to contribute to this variance.
The Role of Theory in Learning Disabilities Research Part II. A Selective Review of Current Theories of Learning and Reading Disabilities
Authors: Wong Bernice
Published: December 2008

This paper presents a selective review of current alternative conceptualizations of learning disabilities and reading disability. Generally these new frameworks are devoid of the conceptual and methodological problems that plagued the earlier theories of learning disabilities. Altogether they present an exciting array of diverse ways of conceptualizing the causes of learning disabilities. More importantly they hold exciting heuristic promise. Through theory-based and programmatic research, important knowledge will accrue to our understanding of the causes of learning disabilities. This knowledge will enable us to serve the learning disabled more profitably.
An Examination of Methods Used to Test the Visual Perceptual Deficit Hypothesis of Dyslexia
Authors: Gross Karen , Rothenberg Stephen
Published: December 2008

Two methodological problems often arise in dyslexia research. The first problem concerns the validity of experimental measures and the related problem of interpreting null results. The second problem involves the effects of sampling from a disabled population if the disorder under investigation has multiple unknown origins. Both problems were illustrated by a discussion of research aimed at testing the visual perceptual deficit hypothesis of dyslexia. Many studies cited as evidence against this hypothesis suffer from one or both problems. Data are presented in support of the visual perceptual deficit hypothesis. The authors suggest that visual perceptual dysfunction may account for some forms of dyslexia. Visual perceptual deficits must be ruled out as an explanation for poor performance by dyslexic children on tasks using visual stimuli before “higher order” deficits in cognitive processing can be reasonably postulated.
Psychotropic Drugs and Learning Problems—A Selective Review
Authors: Aman Michael G.
Published: December 2008

Past research into psychotropic drugs can be divided conveniently into laboratory studies that have generally looked at the more immediate effects on learning and follow-up studies that have investigated long-term effects as they pertain to academic attainment. Many of the commonly used drugs in childhood disorders appear to have beneficial effects in the short term and in the laboratory situation, though there are notable exceptions. Long-term assessments, however, have generally been unable to document lasting educational gains due to the psychotropic drugs.

Historically the application of diagnostic labels has frequently been inaccurate, giving vent to the false impression that certain drugs are of demonstrated benefit in children with specific learning problems. The research relating to drug effects on academic attainment in children with pronounced learning problems was reviewed. The evidence attesting to educational gains was found to be negligible, and possible directions for future research were indicated.
The Wax Block Metaphor
Authors: Mann Lester
Published: December 2008

Plato's epistemological speculations on the nature of perception, memory, and ideation are expressed in a wax block metaphor in the dialogue Theaetetus. While this dialogue is primarily concerned with the nature of knowledge, it can also be construed as reflecting a Platonic conception of cognitive disabilities.
Maternal Child Rearing Attitudes Associated with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Humphries Thomas W. , Bauman Edward
Published: December 2008

Compared to 35 mothers of normal achievers, 35 mothers of learning disabled children exhibited a pattern of more controlling, but less hostile child rearing attitudes on the Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI). No correlation was found between strict control and hostility for mothers of the learning disabled children suggesting they may perceive a need for providing the structure needed for their children's typically disorganized functioning, but want it to be free of hostile feelings. This pattern, which, appears to be independent of both the age and sex of the learning disabled child, argues favorably for mothers assuming a parent-as-teacher role.
Comparative Validity of Two Preschool Screening Tests
Authors: Lichtenstein Robert
Published: December 2008

Screening tests have the explicit purpose of assigning individuals an initial classification (ie, at risk or not at risk) in a sequential assessment process. Although screening test validity studies generally present correlational validity coefficients based on continuous scores, validity figures based on classificational scores, which summarize the proportion of accurate and inaccurate predictions, are more relevant to the decision-making function of screening tests. Correlational and classificational approaches were compared in a concurrent validity study of 40 preschool children who were given two screening tests (Denver Developmental Screening Test and Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning) and three criterion measures (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery). Correlations between the two screening tests and between the screening and criterion measures were inconsistent with prediction rates based on classificational screening test scores. On the basis of correlational validity coefficients, relationships between measures in this study would have been overestimated.
Concurrent and Construct Validity of the Slingerland Screening Tests for Children with Specific Language Disability
Authors: Meade Linda S. , Nelson Rosemery O. , Clark Robert P.
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent and construct validity of the Slingerland Screening Tests (SST) for Children with Specific Language Disability in the assessment of learning disabilities. Children in grades 1 through 4 ( n = 382) were given both the SST and an IQ test. The SST errors were significantly negatively correlated with IQ scores. When SST scores were adjusted for IQ, learning disabled children did not consistently make more errors, nor did male and/or left-handed children—characteristics commonly related to learning disability.
First Grade Norms, Factor Analysis and Cross Correlation for Conners, Davids, and Quay-Peterson Behavior Rating Scales
Authors: Arnold L. Eugene , Smeltzer Donald J. , Barnebey Norma S.
Published: December 2008

Three behavior rating scales were filled out by teachers for the entire first grades of three public schools, totalling 225 children. Factor analyses on this nonclinical sample yielded different factors from those found previously on clinical samples. The Conners scale showed four factors: hyperkinetic, shy-inept, rebellious-unsocialized, and antisocial-immature. The Quay-Peterson checklist also showed four factors: hyperkinetic, shy-inept, depressed, and dyssocial. The “inattentive” items, which formed a separate factor on older clinical samples, blended into the hyperkinetic factor on this younger normal sample. The whole Davids scale was one clean factor with all loadings above .6 and “impulsiveness” the highest loading. The hyperkinetic factors of both scales correlated highly with each other and with the Davids whole scale. The two shy-inept factors correlated at .82 with each other. Factor analysis of all the items from the 3 scales as if they were one large scale yielded seven factors: hyperkinetic-inattentive, shy, rebellious-unsocialized, antisocial, oversensitive, depressed, and dyssocial. Nonclinical first-grade norms by sex and parent occupational status were derived for all three scales and eight factor sub-scales. These consistently showed advantage for girls and for children of higher occupation parents. Many of these trends were significant at .05. Inspection of the Davids ratings raises questions about the meaning of “average” and suggests that teachers very early dichotomize students into good and poor.
Reducing Training Problems Associated with Visually and Auditorily Similar Correspondences
Authors: Carnine Douglas W.
Published: December 2008

Experimental figures and labels were selected that theoretically approximate the difficult discriminations encountered by young children in school (e.g., b vs d). Following pretraining on three figures, the children were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups to investigate different methods of integrating a new, similar symbol into a set of familiar symbols. The new symbol was visually similar and its label auditorily similar to one of the three familiar symbols. The results supported Carnine's (1976) hypothesis that similar correspondences should be separated from each other whenever possible. That is, training conditions that provided for initial separation of similar elements (either in shape or name), required fewer training trials than conditions that did not provide such separation. Teaching implications are discussed.
Attentional Dysfunction in Poor Readers
Authors: Hebben N. A. , Whitman R. D. , Milberg W. P. , Andresko M. , Galpin R.
Published: December 2008

Poor readers, good readers, and normal readers referred for school problems shadowed single prose passages presented to one ear and competing prose passages presented simultaneously one to each ear. Poor readers had particular difficulty shadowing prose material when a competing, distracting message was present and when the difficulty level of the passage was high. Normal readers with school behavior problems showed a nonspecific performance deficit. All groups showed a significant right ear advantage. These results suggest that a specific attention deficit may account for poor readers' performance on verbal tasks.
The Role of Interference in the Verbal Retention Ability of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Cermak Laird S. , Goldberg-Warter Judith , DeLuca David , Cermak Sharon , Drake Charles
Published: December 2008

Three groups of learning disabled children defined on the basis of their Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children test profiles, and one control group of normal readers, were asked to retain verbal material across distractor intervals ranging from 0 to 24 s. The to-be-retained material consisted of word triads presented either visually (in one half of the conditions) or auditorily (in the other half). Six distractor tasks were designed to vary the level of similarity between the memoranda and distraction. Three of these distractor tasks were auditory, three visual. In each modality, one task required nonverbal analysis, one phonemic analysis, and one semantic analysis. In addition, two unfilled distractor intervals were also introduced; one following auditory, and one after visual presentation of the to-be-retained materials. Each child participated in each of the eight conditions. All three LD groups retained less information than the normals following phonemic or semantic distractors in either modality. However, their performance following nonverbal distraction or no distraction was nearly normal. It was concluded that LD children's retention of verbal material is more susceptible to interference from similar material than is the case for normals.
Preserving Education
Authors: Thies Armin P. , Unrein Joan
Published: December 2008

While attempting to establish policies and procedures for implementing Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) in the classroom, administrators and supervisors may inhibit several methods of instruction that have proved productive. The experience at Sagamore Children's Center is discussed in order to guide others in making policy decisions. In particular, problems involved in implementing IEP requirements in the open classroom, in group instruction, and in classrooms for the severely learning disabled are presented within a discussion of penetrating resistence by faculty to the legislated mandates.
Interpretation of Pictorially Presented Social Situations by Learning Disabled and Normal Children
Authors: Bruno Rachelle M.
Published: December 2008

The responses of learning disabled and normal children to a social inference task were compared. In individual interviews children were asked to interpret pictures of social situations. For some stimulus pictures children were asked to determine antecedents and predict consequences of the event. The LD children showed deficits in interpretation of the situation and determining consequences. No differences were found between groups in determining antecedents. Results are related to the cognitive and attentional deficits of LD children.
Stress and Coping in Families of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Faerstein Leslie M.
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature on families of learning disabled children. Having a handicapped child is stressful to a family, but the family whose child has a hidden handicap experiences special problems. The literature on families with physically handicapped and retarded children is first explored as a basis for the more contemporary work done on the LD child's effect on the total family. The literature describing parental reactions to the diagnosis of learning disabilities and the problems inherent in living with these children is discussed, as well as the children's reactions.
Compensatory Training for Disabled Readers
Authors: Fisher Dennis F.
Published: December 2008

This paper elaborates on the rationale expressed by the author earlier (Fisher 1980) and describes the development of a compensatory training program for disabled readers. The program is data based and aimed at compensating for dysfunctional peripheral retinal processes, at enhancing left-to-right sequencing, and at optimizing sight word skills to reacquaint the disabled reader with text. The method is described, and two sets of data are presented for successive stages in the development of a promising, viable, and efficient approach to reading instruction for the targeted disabled readers.
Test Scatter on the WPPSI
Authors: Reynolds Cecil R. , Gutkin Terry B.
Published: December 2008

Four indexes of test scatter were examined for the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) within the standardization sample of 1,200 children between the ages of 4 and 6 1/2 years. Normative data were developed and presented for interpreting Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancies, the range (highest minus lowest subtest scaled score), the number of subtests deviating from the mean of all subtests for a given child, and frequency of significant differences between each possible pair of subtests. Results were generally similar to previous studies of the WISC-R for older children. What were previously believed to be unusual amounts of within test variability of performance for individual children were found to characterize the profiles of many normally functioning children.
Statistics for the Interpretation of Bannatyne Recategorizations of WPPSI Subtests
Authors: Reynolds Cecil R. , Gutkin Terry B.
Published: December 2008

Bannatyne recategorizations of the WPPSI subtests were developed. Statistics related to the scores for each category were computed based on the WPPSI standardization sample, including the mean, standard deviation, reliability coefficient, standard error of measurement, and deviation from the mean of all categories required for significance at three probability levels. Suggestions for the use of this information in WPPSI interpretation are provided.
The WISC-R and Learning Disabilities Assessment
Authors: Kaufman Alan S.
Published: December 2008

This paper reviews WISC-R research that has particular pertinence for the assessment of learning disabilities. Three topics are treated in depth: factor analysis investigations, recategorization of subtests into Bannatyne's four groupings, and interscale/intrascale scatter. For each topic, relevant current research findings are summarized and interpreted, their implications for LD assessment are explored, and avenues for future research are delineated.