bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ISM
Authors: Richardson Ellis , Bradley C. Michael
Published: December 2008

This article describes a method of teaching reading to handicapped children that is independent of specific instructional programs. The method provides a structure for using available instructional materials to teach specific skill behaviors and their application in reading. Both auditory and visual approaches are utilized by the method; emphasis on the auditory or visual aspects of instruction can be varied to meet the needs of individual children. A brief review of the research which led to development of the method is presented; the need for teacher training in its application is discussed.
Some Predictive Antecedents of Specific Reading Disability
Authors: Satz Paul , Friel Janette
Published: December 2008

This paper reports one phase of an ongoing longitudinal project designed to identify the precursors of developmental dyslexia. The present study is based on the second year follow-up of an original population of 497 white male kindergarten children administered a developmental and neuropsychological test battery in 1970, and an evaluation of the predictive accuracy of these tests to the criterion of reading level at the end of grade 1 in 1972. The results of the multivariate analyses revealed that over 90% of both the High Risk and Low Risk children were correctly classified. The results were shown to lend preliminary support for the theory and for the predictive utility of these preschool tests.
Implications of Recent Trends in Educational Labeling
Authors: Forness Steven R.
Published: December 2008

It is clear that special education has entered a new era of noncategorical approaches toward exceptional children. Beginning with disenchantment with special classes, the trend continues with serious questioning of traditional diagnostic labels and with experimentation in grouping various types of exceptional children together for educational programs. This article explores the implications of these events for learning disabled children.
Programs, Materials And Techniques
Authors: Bannatyne Alex
Published: December 2008

The Teaching Box by Elizabeth Hathaway is one of the better sources of phonetic materials to which teacher or tutor can refer for sequential ‘phonics/linguistic’ information. On the diagnostic side at the academic level thePeabody Individual Achievement Test is a high-quality wide-range test of attainment. Those intelligent older students with learning disabilities, who would like a college degree but view the reading requirement with dismay, should look into the three year old College of the Ozarks program, as well as the new Parsons College program. We need more college degree programs for LD students so the spatially-talented, genetic dyslexics will be able to find a niche in the occupational world. Nancy Stevenson has developed a program entitledThe Natural Way to Reading which, it is claimed, can be used by parents—even though it seems a bit complex. TheLearning Disabilities Handbook tries to compress too much information into too few pages and suffers considerably in the process. AlthoughThe Psychological Assessment of Children by James Palmer leaves out detailed evaluation of learning disabled children, it is a valuable, extensive text on the assessment of children's personalities. The information on tests is useful. In conclusion, I have written a section entitledDo Not Teach the Alphabet. It is a plea to all parents and teachers of children between the ages of two and seven, not to teach them the alphabet names. It is much better for young children to learn to recite phonemes.
Peer Popularity of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Bryan Tanis H.
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this study was to determine the peer popularity of children classified as learning disabled. The method employed was to administer a sociometric technique to 62 third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms in which there was at least one learning disabled child. An analysis of variance was computed for votes received on scales of social attraction and social rejection by learning disabled and comparison children matched on variables of sex, race, and classroom. The results indicate that learning disabled children, particularly white and female, were significantly less attractive and more rejected than comparison children.
Social Status of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Siperstein Gary N. , Bopp Michael J. , Bak John J.
Published: December 2008

Though learning disabilities initially concern performance in academic subjects, the ramifications of the disability extend into other spheres of the child's life. The Journal has published reports of children's social interactions and their ability to interpret social cues (see Bryan, October 1977 and this issue). This article examines the peer relationships of learning disability children with respect not only to their academic ability but also to their physical appearance and athletic ability. Studies of this type should help practitioners understand the potentially difficult social environment in which the learning disabled child functions. — G.M.S.

One hundred seventy-seven fifth- and sixth-grade children, including 22 who were learning disabled, responded to a sociometric survey. They also indicated the smartest, best-looking, and most athletic individuals in their class. Learning disabled children were found to be less popular, in general primarily because none were extremely popular; however, they were not overly represented among social isolates. A tendency for the best-liked learning disabled children to be good athletes was noted.
Classroom Behavioral Styles of Learning Disabled Boys
Authors: Richey David D. , McKinney James D.
Published: December 2008

Observational studies have uniformly failed to find the cluster of symptoms associated with LD. Instead, one or another seems to typify most of the LD children in any context — in this case classroom distractibility. As the authors note, other behavior often associated with LD was found among some of the children — though not enough to distinguish them from normal learners. Such documentation of the heterogeneity of the LD group logically questions the relevance of comparing LD and normal children, and suggests the need for subtypes of LD to be identified, at least for research purposes. — G.M.S.

The classroom behavior of 15 learning disabled boys was compared to that of 15 matched normal boys in order to determine differences in behavioral style and to examine the learning disabled children's behavior in different classroom environments. Results indicated that of 12 discrete kinds of classroom behavior only one, distractibility, differentiated the two groups. There was very limited support for the stereotyped cluster of negative behavior often associated with learning disabilities. The study also supports the position that characteristics of the classroom environment may exert much influence in fostering or minimizing specific behavior related to academic achievement and competence.
Span of Apprehension in Learning Disabled Boys
Authors: McIntyre Curtis W. , Murray Michael E. , Cronin Carmody M. , Blackwell Scott L.
Published: December 2008

The spans of apprehension of learning disabled and normal boys were compared by means of a forced-choice letter recognition task developed by Estes (1965). This task provides an estimate of the span, which is relatively insensitive to either memory or motivational influences. In experiment 1 the span size was found to be the same for both groups when visual “noise” was absent. In the presence of noise, span size for the learning disabled boys was reduced. It is argued that this reduction in span size represents a true deficit in atrention. In experiment 2, the influence of variations in the amount of physical similarity between signal and noise letters on the spans of both groups were compared to determine whether noise letters act as more potent distractors for the learning disabled boys. The results indicate that the spans of both groups were influenced equivalently No evidence for a distractibility explanation was obtained.
The Relationship between Learning Disability and Simultaneous-Successive Processing
Authors: Das J. P. , Leong Che K. , Williams Noel H.
Published: December 2008

A heterogeneous group of learning disabled children and a relatively homogeneous group having specific reading deficits were compared with normal children in two studies. In the first experiment the learning disabled children were subdivided into hyperactive, hypoactive, and the balanced types as judged from teachers' ratings of the child's classroom behavior. Whereas the learning disabled, as a group, performed poorly in a few of the simultaneous-successive tasks in comparison with the normal children, there were no distinct differences among the groups. In the second experiment only those children who demonstrated specific reading deficits were selected. They were comparable in age and IQ with the normal children. On the simultaneous-successive tasks they were inferior to the normals, as they were also in dichotic listening. Since IQ was not a variable, it was concluded that the inferior performance of the reading deficit group was not due to poorer intelligence; rather, the difficulty may lie in the strategies that need to be chosen when the child is faced with a somewhat unfamiliar task.
Training First Graders of High-Activity Level to Improve Performance through Verbal Self-direction
Authors: Weithorn Corinne J. , Kagen Edward
Published: December 2008

Several previous lines of theory and research have suggested that language development plays an important role in control of impulsive responding and that training in verbal self-regulation can be effective in reducing impulsive responding among hyperactive children. The body of research on “conceptual tempo” further suggests that multiple-choice formats found in educational materials may be specifically eliciting impulsive responses from children who are disposed to make hasty (and incorrect) choices. In this study impulsive, high-active first graders were trained to verbally mediate responses on a multiple-choice task. Then on a standardized, multiple-choice test of perceptual-matching ability, this group showed a significant pretest to posttest gain in comparison with an untrained control group of impulsive, high-active children and with both trained and untrained control groups of nonimpulsive, low-active children. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the questionable validity of certain types of assessment materials for impulsive children and the specific potential of verbal mediational training as a remedial technique.
Unitary Deficit Hypotheses of Reading Disabilities: Has Vellutino Led Us Astray?
Authors: Fletcher Jack M. , Satz Paul
Published: December 2008

The present paper evaluated the empirical and theoretical basis upon which several recent studies rejected the hypothesis of a visual-perceptual deficit in reading disabilities. It was shown that because of problems with task definition and test ceilings, the studies failed to provide a convincing refutation of this hypothesis. Similar problems were cited for the alternative verbal-mediational deficit hypothesis offered by the studies. An attempt was also made to show some of the problems with unitary deficit hypotheses by illustrating the importance of developmental factors, one source of complexity, for interpreting the performance correlates of reading disabilities.
The Improvement of Children's Oral Reading through the Use of Teacher Modeling
Authors: Smith Deborah Deutsch
Published: December 2008

The influence of the classroom teacher reading orally before the child reads was investigated. The teacher read at a proficient rate (approximately 100 words per minute) from the child's basal reader. Three learning disabled students participated in the study, and in every case the correct and error rates for oral reading improved remarkably. The tactic selected — modeling — is inexpensive in teacher time and cost and is easily scheduled. The data indicate that modeling could be an appropriate intervention to select when children are not yet proficient in oral reading.
A Comparison of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities and the WISC-R
Authors: Goh David S. , Youngquist James
Published: December 2008

In this issue the concurrent validity of the WISC-R and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities is examined, as is the predictive validity of the WISC to the WISC-R with learning disabled students. The instability of learning disabled students' self-concepts as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale is also described, and the reader is provided with strategies for evaluating instructional materials. — D.A.S.
The Influence of an Orienting Task on the Memory Performance of Children with Reading Problems
Authors: Torgesen Joseph K. , Murphy Harry A. , Ivey Charles
Published: December 2008

This study investigated the hypothesis that differences in performance between reading disabled and normal children on a rote memory task could be eliminated if both groups were induced to process the material to be remembered in the same manner. The free recall of fourth-grade good and poor readers was tested following a free study period and the performance of an orienting task that required subjects to sort the material into taxonomic categories. There was a significant group by conditions interaction, with recall differences in the free study condition being eliminated following performance of the orienting task. The results have important implications for theoretical explanations of performance deficits in reading disabled children.
Relationship of Auditory and Visual Skills to Reading Retardation
Authors: Richardson Ellis , DiBenedetto Barbara , Christ Adolph , Press Mark
Published: December 2008

The relationship between specific tests of auditory and visual skills and phonic decoding, sight-word reading, and comprehension was investigated in a sample of 77 poor readers from a racially and ethnically heterogeneous elementary school population in New York City. Partial correlational analyses (with age and IQ as control variables) indicated that only two of the skill measures (Auditory Closure and Sound Blending) related to a wide variety of reading measures independently of IQ. Results also showed that IQ scores did not correlate highly with the reading measures. It is concluded that the findings do not support the hypothesis that children can be successfully sorted into auditory and visual learner categories on the basis of the instruments employed (aptitude-treatment interaction). Furthermore, the results suggest that the use of IQ scores to compute expected reading levels for children is questionable.
Quantitative Evaluation Procedures for Learning Disabilities
Authors: Elliott Max
Published: December 2008

Learning disability diagnosis and placement decisions require estimates of the discrepancy between a child's ability to achieve and actual achievement. This paper reviews current estimation techniques and their resultant effects on the learning disability classroom's composition. An alternate estimation methodology, using z-score conversions, is presented. The methodology is generalized beyond specific tests. Z-score conversion tables are presented for the Stanford-Binet, WISC-R, WRAT, and the PIAT. A table to estimate the probability levels for differences between ability and achievement tests is presented. The significance of the difference between a child's scores on the ability and achievement measures can be evaluated using the tables presented. A concrete example, using the appropriate tables, is provided.
Hemispheric Specialization in Normal and Disabled Readers
Authors: Newell David , Rugel Robert P.
Published: December 2008

Degree of hemispheric specialization in normal and disabled readers was evaluated using a linguistic task and a musical task. While normals demonstrated hemispheric specialization on these tasks in the expected directions, disabled readers showed a right hemisphere deficit. The results were evaluated in terms of Witelson's hypotheses concerning a right hemisphere deficit in disabled readers.
Cultural Differences in the Hyperactive Syndrome Rated in the Conners Abbreviated Scale
Authors: Margalit Malka
Published: December 2008

Theoretically, the hyperactivity is best described in terms of child by situation. Cultural differences are expected to be manifested. Sixty normal children and 76 learning disabled children from regular and special classes in Israel were rated in hyperactivity by their teachers. The similarity of the syndrome features in the different educational systems stressed the notion of a specific syndrome defined in similar terms. The relative stability of the syndrome over ages and cultures calls for a reevaluation of the educational features and their impact over behavior.
A Comparison of the 1976 and 1978 Wide Range Achievement Test
Authors: Breen Michael J. , Prasse David P.
Published: December 2008

This study is a comparative analysis of grade equivalent and standard scores on the 1976 and 1978 revised editions of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT). A previously identified learning disabled sample is utilized. When using standard scores, there were no significant differences between the 1976 and 1978 WRAT for all three subtests. When using grade equivalent scores, two of the three subtests indicated significant mean differences. The comparison indicates consistency of direction for all three subtests, with 1978 Level 1 yielding higher performance and 1978 Level 2 yielding lower performance. It is argued again that standard scores are the more appropriate representation of functioning when considering learning disability needs.
Behavioral Assessment of Occupational Skills of Learning Disabled Adolescents
Authors: Mathews R. Mark , Whang Paula L. , Fawcett Stephen B.
Published: December 2008

Little information is available on the levels of basic living skills of learning disabled adolescents. Using direct observation techniques, this study analyzed the differences in levels of occupational skills between LD youths and their non-LD peers. The results showed low levels of employment-related skills for both groups of high school adolescents. However, the non-LD high school students performed significantly better on the job-related skills than their LD peers. These differences were more marked for nonsocial interaction skills than for social skills. These findings suggest the need for methods of teaching LD youths the skills of finding and retaining employment.
Let's End the Reading Disabilities/Learning Disabilities Debate
Authors: Gaskins Irene W.
Published: December 2008

The question of who should teach a poor reader is ofen determined by a label. Yet the experts who do the labeling do not agree on a clearly definitive w y to decide whether a poor reader should be labeled reading disabled or learning disabled. Further, labels have not proved to be helpful in determining treatment. In view of these facts and the fact that imprwed reading is the most common academic need of children labeled learning disabled or reading disabled, it appears that the fields of reading and learning disabilities should merge to create one strong field. Recommendations for creating this merger are given.
A Note on Frames of References in the Assessment of Learning Disabilities
Authors: Schlieper Anne E.
Published: December 2008

Assessment of learning disabilities requires the gathering of both diagnostic and prescriptive information. While the normative frame of reference is adequate for diagnosis, a behavioral approach may be more suited to the prescriptive phase of assessment. The behavioral frame of reference is described and its relevance to prescriptive assessment is discussed.
The Case Study Approach to Understanding Learning Disabilities
Authors: Raim Joan , Adams Ruth
Published: December 2008

A case study can help to clarify for the student the puzzling contradictions and the range of irregularities that characterize the learning disabled child. This approach can be illustrated through analysis of the case of Jeffry, a third grader who was highly verbal, while at the same time demonstrating immaturities and/or deficits in other areas of functioning. Evaluation indicated four vulnerable areas, which were later handled during the course of remediation. Different frameworks for analyses can be generated from the case study. It offers an opportunity to use inductive reasoning in uniting theory and practice.
A Comparison of Learning Disabled and Normal Children on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts
Authors: Kavale Kenneth
Published: December 2008

The performance of learning disabled children was compared with that of normal children on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, a 50-item instrument designed to assess comprehension of concepts considered important for achievement in the first years of school. The LD were found to have a lower level as well as greater variability in their understanding of basic concepts. The greatest discrepancy of the LD group was found on concepts of quantity, space, and miscellaneous, respectively. It was concluded that LD children do not possess the same degree of understanding of basic concepts as normal children.
The Early Identification of Educationally ‘At Risk’ Children Revisited
Authors: Lindsay G. A. , Wedell K.
Published: December 2008

The basic assumptions underlying the development of early identification procedures are reviewed. The effectiveness of screening measures designed to identify educationally “at risk” children is critically examined. It is concluded that there is a general lack of evidence for the usefulness of such instruments. The implications of these findings are considered, and an alternative strategy of action based on the use of sequences of educational objectives rather than predictive instruments is proposed.
A Theoretical Analysis of the Performance of Learning Disabled Students on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery
Authors: Shinn Mark , Algozzine Bob , Marston Douglas , Ysseldyke James
Published: December 2008

Two studies were conducted to (a) analyze the subtest characteristics of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery, and (b) apply those results to an analysis of learning disabled students' performance on the Battery. Analyses indicated that the poorer performance of LD students on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, as compared to their performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Revised, can be explained in terms of the kinds of behaviors sampled in the Woodcock-Johnson battery. Implications of the findings for assessment and placement decisions are discussed.
Driver Education and the Learning Disabled
Authors: Wirths Claudine G. , Leonard Steven
Published: December 2008

Little attention has been paid to driver education for the learning disabled. Some states have developed programs for handicapped, but few have recognized the special needs of the learning disabled. Options for the learning disabled usually are limited to regular commercial driving schools or public mainstream programs with private special education or special classroom assistance. A recent project of the University of Maryland has developed a driver education curriculum for the learning disabled and focused attention on the problem. Options for future safety programs include parent-student seminars, multidiscipline teaching, and motorcycle safety education.
Comparability of Self-Concept Among Learning Disabled, Normal, and Gifted Students
Authors: Winne Philip H. , Woodlands Margaret J. , Wong Bernice Y.L.
Published: December 2008

Using randomly formed groups of fourth-to seventh-grade learning disabled, normal, and gifted students, the comparability of representations of self-concept across groups was analyzed for the Sears and Coopersmith inventories. Additionally, mean differences across the three groups of students were calculated on self-concept subscales. Subscale representations of the construct were judged comparable across groups. Whereas a reliable linear trend on academic self-concept subscales favored gifted and normal students over learning disabled students, learning disabled children slightly exceeded gifted children on physical and social facets of self-concept from the Sears inventory only. Implications for validity research and evaluation studies are discussed.
Learning Disabled Programs in California Community Colleges
Authors: Ostertag Bruce A. , Baker Ronald E. , Howard Robert F. , Best Laurel
Published: December 2008

In a survey of the 106 California Community Colleges, it was found that over 75% operated formal programs for the learning disabled, while an additional 12% provided informal services for their LD student population. Though diversity existed among the college LD programs surveyed, a consistency of process and practice was evident. Most colleges provided similar means for the identification and diagnosis of potential LD students and in the support services delivered. More specifically, LD programming similarities were demonstrated in intake interviewing, referral procedure and agencies, assessment tools, personnel, counseling and availability of a learning center.

Based on the model provided by the California Community Colleges, these recommendations are made for adoption by others who wish to implement LD programming at the post-secondary level: (a) a defined identification and assessment approach, IEP development, and delivery system; (b) collection of assessment data on all students that measures discrepancy; (c) appropriate, valid, and reliable assessment instruments; (d) IEPs that indicate assessment data, discrepancy, needs, goals, and programming methodology; (e) a multidisciplinary team approach to assessment, IEP development, and delivery systems; (f) consistent data reporting methods securely maintained; (g) confidentiality of material; and (h) in-service programming.
Learning Disabled Children and their Families: Strategies of Extension and Adaptation of Family Therapy
Authors: Margalit Malka
Published: December 2008

A critical question in considering family therapy is whether the family members have the necessary emotional and cognitive resources to bring the desired changes. Some families of handicapped children face enormous difficulties in performing discussed changes when their only support is the weekly sessions. Some learning disabled children need additional ego support in the therapy. A project of reaching out strategies as an extension of the family therapy is a pattern that was tried with five families after the regular practices of counseling and therapy had failed.
The Learning Disabled College Student: Some Considerations in Setting Objectives
Authors: Barbaro Fred
Published: December 2008

Many references have been made in the literature to the deficits in social-interpersonal skills that often follow the learning disabled into adulthood, yet few college LD programs address these deficits. Adelphi University's program is unique in that it has a dual focus; academic and social growth. Dr. Barbaro's article was included in this, the first of several issues focusing on the learning disabled adult, because it describes a model for direct intensive intervention designed to enhance psychosocial growth within the college environment. Second, because social adequacy is a critical factor for successful functioning, not only in social settings, but also in academic settings and the work world, more attention to deficits in this area should be given.
Learning Disabilities
Authors: Tucker James , Stevens Linda J. , Ysseldyke James E.
Published: December 2008

Researchers, policy makers, and teacher trainers, who were identified by peers as being on the “cutting edge” of research and programming in learning disabilities, responded to surveys in 1975 and 1981. The “experts” generally endorsed learning disabilities as a viable classification and asserted that learning disabilities are identifiable by specific symptoms or a syndrome of symptoms. Considerable variability in responses was evident with regard to the prevalence of learning disabilities among school age children and the age at which a learning disability can be identified with assurance.
The Personal-Social Characteristics of Children With Poor Mathematical Computation Skills
Authors: Badian Nathlie A. , Ghublikian Maureen
Published: December 2008

Twenty-two seventh- and eighth-grade students poor in mathematical computation but with average reading comprehension (low math group) were compared with two matched groups: below average in reading comprehension but average in mathematical computation (low reading group) and average in both reading comprehension and mathematical computation (no difference group). Each of the 66 subjects was rated by two teachers (English and mathematics) on the eight items of the Personal-Social Behavior section of the Myklebust Pupil Rating Scale. Factor analysis showed that the eight behaviors split into two factors: Factor I—responsibility and Factor II—social cooperation. The low math group was significantly lower than the other two groups on Factor I and the total scale but not on Factor II. Group differences occurred only among boys. It was concluded that children with a disability in mathematical computation may be at risk for impulsive and possibly antisocial behavior.
“Straight is the Bamboo Tree”
Authors: Cruickshank William M.
Published: December 2008

This article expresses the author's concerns regarding three issues germane to the field of learning disabilities. First, the nature and quality of research in this field need a careful examination both in terms of methodology and in terms of the substantive issues which are involved. Secondly, the divisive actions of leaders in the field serve only to fragmatize and to develop hostilities rather than to bring about a harmony of ideas. Thirdly, issues of mainstreaming advocated by some professional persons are not accomplishing the desired ends and are resulting in both parental and professional backlashes which are detrimental to the field and to the children involved.
Selective Auditory Attention Abilities of Learning Disabled and Normal Achieving Children
Authors: Cherry Rochelle Silberzweig , Kruger Barbara
Published: December 2008

This study investigated the selective auditory attention skills of learning disabled children as compared with the performance of normal achievers aged 7 through 9 years. The task consisted of pointing to the appropriate picture of a monosyllabic word presented diotically. The task was always presented first in quiet and then under three noise (distractor) conditions: white noise (nonlinguistic), speech backwards (linguistic nonsemantic), and speech forward (semantic). The performance of the LD children was affected more than the performance of normal achievers under all distractor conditions, with the greatest difference found when the distractor was semantic. The performance of 8-year-olds was significantly better than 7-year-olds on these listening tasks. These findings suggest that LD children may be differentiated from normal achievers using a selective auditory attention task with a semantic distractor.
Visual Persistence and Information Pick-up in Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Mazer Suzanne R. , McIntyre Curtis W. , Murray Michael E. , Till Robert E. , Blackwell Scott L.
Published: December 2008

Psychophysical tasks were used to test two possible explanations for the lower spans of apprehension observed for learning disabled subjects by McIntyre, Murray, Coronin, and Blackwell (1978). In Experiment 1, the length of visual persistence was found to be less for LD subjects. In Experiment 2, the rate of information pick-up was found to be slower for LD subjects. Clearly, either or both of these explanations may account for the lowered spans of apprehension observed for LD subjects by McIntyre et al. The implications of these results for the reading difficulties encountered by LD children and for remediation techniques involving saccadic eye movement training are discussed.
Write Right—or Left
Authors: Hagin Rosa A.
Published: December 2008

Although legible and rapid handwriting is a necessary skill for success in school and adult life, recent research in this area is meager. This paper proposes a simplified handwriting method for children who have difficulty in learning conventional cursive writing patterns. Designed to meet learning disabled children's needs for task analysis, overlearning, monitoring, and verbal cues, this method is based on the vertical downstroke, rather than the diagonal slant necessary to most cursive writing. Building on the motor patterns of manuscript letters usually taught in the early years, this method adds connecting strokes that permit faster writing than is possible with the separated letters of print. By emphasizing the vertical downstroke and the natural connections between manuscript letters, this writing method combines the simplicity of manuscript with the speed of cursive writing.
Hair Mineral Analysis and Behavior
Authors: Rimland Bernard , Larson Gerald E.
Published: December 2008

An attempt was made to compile and summarize all available studies on the relationship between hair mineral levels and various aspects of human behavior. The 51 studies located covered a wide range of behaviors: learning disabilities (10 studies); retardation (7); hyperactivity (5); criminality and delinquency (5); “behaviorally disturbed” (4); autism (4); schizophrenia (3); anorexia, hypoglycemia (2 each); fatigue, anxiety, allergy, senility, and phenylketonuria (1 each); giftedness and intelligence (4). High levels of certain minerals, especially lead and cadmium, and low levels of other minerals, especially potassium and sodium, tend to be associated with undesirable behavior. There is a need for vigorous attempts to eliminate sources of environmental exposure to heavy metals and for further study of the role of mineral excesses and deficiencies in human health and behavior.
The Feingold Diet
Authors: Mattes Jeffrey A.
Published: December 2008

The Feingold diet, eliminating artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, and salicylates, has been claimed, based on anecdotal evidence, to improve the learning and behavior of hyperactive children. A review of all published, completed controlled studies, however, indicates that the Feingold diet is probably not effective, except perhaps in a very small percentage of children. The positive results in a few studies have been inconsistent between studies and greatly outnumbered by negative results. Even among children whose parents feel the diet has helped them greatly, the improvement seems more often a placebo effect, e.g., due to the increased attention the child is receiving, than a true effect of artificial colorings or flavorings.
Enhancing Motivation for Overcoming Learning and Behavior Problems
Authors: Adelman Howard S. , Taylor Linda
Published: December 2008

Current motivational theories underscore the importance of cognitive and affective constructs and generate implications for expanded understanding of psychoeducational problems and practices. Based on such theories and recent experimental work, the authors have been developing frameworks and procedures for identifying and correcting motivational problems among students manifesting learning and behavior problems. This paper (1) highlights motivation itself as a problem; (2) suggests times when correction of the motivation problem should be the initial focus of intervention; and (3) describes a framework and specific procedures for enhancing positive motivation and reducing avoidance as key aspects of correcting learning and behavior problems.
Learning Disabilities and Competency-Based Instruction
Authors: Newberger Darryl Alan
Published: December 2008

In the first of two articles, the reasons for movement toward a competency-based methodology in personnel preparation teacher training programs are discussed. Characteristics ofCBTE schemes are described and evaluated, and it was found that numerous problems exist with this approach, problems which so far have been ignored by special educators. An inquiry into the differences between teaching competencies and teacher competence is analyzed.
Reading Disability
Authors: Lipa Sally E.
Published: December 2008

One cause of severe reading disability appears related to dysfunction or “difference” in functioning of the language area in the left hemisphere. Research also suggests lateralization differences, temporal sequencing difficulties, and undifferentiated left hemisphere processing as characteristic of children with reading problems. Some of this research does not differentiate those children with severe reading disability from those with easily corrected problems.

Attempts to teach children with reading difficulty have typically centered on teaching methodology or notions of perceptual modality preference related to either visual or auditory processing. These notions have been short-sighted in view of the fact that reading is a highly integrative task based on cognitive development. The field of neurology currently is expanding our data base regarding the role of the hemispheres in word processing.

The educator needs to examine the reading task in relation to teaching methodologies and the type of response individuals must make to the print given different teaching methods. Severely disabled readers may need to learn to read using methods that go beyond currently acceptable standards.
A Comparison of the Use of Orthographic Structure in Word Discrimination by Learning Disabled and Normal Children
Authors: Ryan Michael C. , Miller C. Dean , Witt Joseph C.
Published: December 2008

A group of 45 learning disabled children and a group of 45 normal children were presented pairs of letter patterns. In each pair, one pattern was a word in English (orthographically legitimate) and the other was not (orthographically illegitimate). Children were asked to identify the pattern that “is most like a real word.” After twenty pairs had been given, the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test was administered. A significant difference was found between the learning disabled and normal groups in discriminating between orthographically legitimate and orthographically illegitimate pairs. Further, this ability to discriminate correlated with performance on the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test.
Physcial and Occupational Therapy
Authors: Jenkins Joseph R. , Sells Clifford J.
Published: December 2008

Issues related to occupational and physical therapy services for handicapped students are outlined. Among the issues addressed are the efficacy of therapy treatments, who should receive therapy, the frequency of services, and the effects of therapy on non-motor domains. Results of an experiment are reported which tested hypotheses about several of these issues. Findings suggest that the developmental therapy treatment affected gross motor gains for preschool children who exhibited moderate but not mild motor delays, and that one treatment per week was as effective as three treatment sessions per week.
First Impressions, Ingratiation, and the Learning Disabled Child
Authors: Perlmutter Barry F. , Bryan James H.
Published: December 2008

Two experiments were conducted concerning college students' immediate impressions of male learning disabled and nondisabled children. In both experiments, one half of the stimulus children within each group had been instructed to ingratiate an interviewer; the remaining youngsters had been instructed to act naturally. Interviews centered around the children's descriptions of their favorite television programs and movies. College students in the experiments viewed either 10- or 25-seconds of videotape of the interactions of each child. After each 10-or 25-second sequence the college students rated the child as to his degree of social adaptability and social hostility. Experiment I demonstrated that while LD children were judged more negatively under the “act naturally” instructions. thesechildren were judged as positively as nondisabled children when prompted to ingratiate. In Experiment II, judges based their ratings solely on the nonverbal behaviors of the target children. Again, a group by instruction interaction was found and was similar in nature to that found in Experiment I.
Educational Therapy
Authors: Johnston Christopher L.
Published: December 2008

An overview of the historical development of educational therapy as a treatment model for individuals with exceptional needs is presented. Out of this analysis two major disciplines emerge as having a significant influence on the practice of educational therapy: (1) the psychoeducational model which emphasizes the diagnosis and remediation of learning and emotional problems, and (2) the mental health approach which is primarily concerned with the amelioration of learning and emotional problems by intervening therapeutically in the individual's intrapsychic, interpersonal, and social world. A critique of these two major viewpoints is presented along with a more comprehensive model of education therapy which would include an assessment of family functioning as an integral part of the diagnostic and treatment process.
Distractibility in Learning-Disabled Children
Authors: Harvey Philip D. , Weintraub Sheldon , Neale John M.
Published: December 2008

Learning-disabled (LD) children are thought to be deficient in attention and memory performance, especially selective attention in the presence of distracting information. However, these findings have not always been confirmed and when these differential distraction effects are found they may be an artifact of the tasks' differential abilities to detect differences between groups. Two-digit span tasks were used to compare distraction performance of LD and normal learning (NL) children. On the first set of tasks, where the nondistraction and distraction conditions were matched, a priori for their ability to discriminate differences between groups, no differential distraction effect was found. In the second pair of tasks, the distraction condition was designed to make it more discriminating than the nondistraction condition and a differential distraction effect was found. These results are discussed in terms of the need for researchers to consider the psychometric properties of their tasks as important variables and as another potential explanation for some of the disparate findings in the distractibility literature with LD children.
An Evaluation of the Slingerland Method With LD Youngsters
Authors: Lovitt Thomas C. , DeMier Dolores Michele
Published: December 2008

This was a study to compare the reading gains of students who received Slingerland instruction with others enrolled in a class based on the Sullivan reading program. There were seven learning-disabled pupils who ranged in age from 6-7 to 9-11 in each class.

Ten before and after treatment measures were obtained, and seven were gathered each day of the program. Analysis of the data indicated that the youngsters in both groups made substantial gains. They also showed that pupils in the Slingerland class out performed their Sullivan-instructed mates on some measures, whereas performances of the Sullivan-taught youngsters were better for an equal number of different measures. Discussion relates to possible reasons for the improvement of both groups, to reasons which may account for the popularity of the Slingerland method, and to directions for future research on the Slingerland program.
The Bivariate Normal Distribution and the IQ of Learning Disability Samples
Authors: Burns Edward
Published: December 2008

Several studies have indicated that the average IQ score of many learning disability samples is significantly below 100, although above the educable mental retardation range. The bivariate normal probability distribution was used to explain how selecting cases with achievement scores below a given z score cutoff (e.g., scores less than -1.0) and IQ scores above a given cutoff (e.g., IQ scores 80 or greater) can result in an average IQ score significantly below 100. Because of the relationship between achievement and IQ, as the correlation between achievement and IQ increases, the average IQ score of learning disability samples decreases. The bivariate normal probability distribution was illustrated by considering correlations of 0.0, .5, and 1.0.
Orthography and Reading Disabilities
Authors: Stevenson Harold W.
Published: December 2008

Recently, a number of influential writers have emphasized the role of orthography in the development of reading disabilities. The English writing system has been described by Gleitman and Rozin (1977), for example, as possessing “rampant irregularity, redundancy, and downright misrepresentation” (p. 35), while to these writers the Japanese writing system “seems ideal” (p. 36) from the point of utilizing scripts that represent both meanings and sounds. English, it is argued, poses problems for the beginning reader that are not encountered in learning to read the logographs (Chinese characters) and syllabary used in Japanese.

Could it be that the widespread incidence of reading disabilities in our culture can be traced in large part to the idiosyncracies of the spelling and writing system used in English? If this is true, what can be done to remedy the situation, other than following those who have proposed that the written form of English must be revised? The purpose of this article is to discuss these issues in the context of research dealing with writing systems and their relation to reading and reading disabilities.
Short-Term Memory Encoding and Memory Search in the Word Recognition of Learning-Disabled Children
Authors: Elbert Jean C.
Published: December 2008

Two aspects of the information processing involved in word recognition—encoding and memory search—were investigated in learning-disabled children. A short-term memory recognition paradigm was employed which allowed for the separation of reaction time into separate processing stages. Subjects were 16 learning-disabled children with particular deficiencies in word recognition and 16 control children equated for age, grade and intelligence. Input modalities of both stimulus array words to be encoded and stored in short-term memory, and target words for recognition were manipulated, resulting in three experimental conditions: (1) Visual/Visual, (2) Auditory/Auditory and (3) Auditory/Visual. Three hypotheses were tested each involving inferences about internal operations based en reaction time. While LD subjects did not differ from control subjects at the encoding stage of word recognition, LD subjects required significantly more processing time for memory search.
Cognitive and Linguistic Strategies in Children with Reading Disabilities in an Oral Storytelling Test
Authors: Levi Gabriel , Musatti Lucilla , Piredda M. Letizia , Sechi Enzo
Published: December 2008

Three groups of children: 18 dyslexic children; 18 children with reading retardation: 18 normal children (mean age = 9 years), were given an oral storytelling test. The results point out a clear--cut differentiation between the three groups in their overall performance and the presence of atypical linguistic strategies in dyslexic children. The data are discussed in relation to linguistic difficulties in dyslexic children.
Multiple Indexes of Test Scatter on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children
Authors: Chatman Steven P. , Reynolds Cecil R. , Willson Victor L.
Published: December 2008

Discrepancy scores for the four global scales and the Nonverbal Scale were examined for the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (ages 2-1/2 to 12-1/2) using the standardization sample as the data source. In addition, the range of subtest scores and the profile variability of subtest scores were determined for each sex, race, and age level. Tables illustrating the frequency of significant scale and subtest scores are presented. Consistent with research in the 1960s and 1970s, significant intellectual discrepancies occur frequently in normal populations. Proper evaluation of within test scatter should consider base rates for discrepancies in the normal population in addition to the statistical significance of the difference.