bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effectiveness of Irlen Filters for Improving Reading Performance: A Pilot Study
Authors: Blaskey Penni , Scheiman Mitchell , Parisi Maria , Ciner Elise B. , Gallaway Michael , Selznick Richard
Published: December 2008

The objectives of this pilot study were to investigate the effectiveness of Irlen filters for improving comfort and reading performance and to determine whether traditional optometric intervention would be effective in relieving the symptoms commonly reported by people seeking help through the use of Irlen filters. Thirty subjects were included in the study: 12 males and 18 females. The ages of the subjects ranged from 9 to 51 (mean = 23.6). They were randomly placed in either an Irlen filter treatment group (n = 11), a vision therapy treatment group (n = 11), or a control group (n = 8). Pre- and posttesting on all subjects included a vision evaluation, reading and intelligence testing, the Irlen scotopic sensitivity screening test, and a symptom questionnaire. Results revealed that subjects in both treatment groups were more comfortable after treatment, although only the vision therapy group showed improvement in vision functioning. The subjects in the Irlen filter group did not show any significant gains in reading rate, word recognition in context, or comprehension.
Overlapping Symptoms of Substance Abuse and Learning Handicaps: Implications for Educators
Authors: Fox C. Lynn , Forbing Shirley E.
Published: December 2008

The effects of substance abuse have produced a population of students who exhibit behaviors similar to the behaviors of many youth with learning problems. Often such students are mislabeled as learning handicapped (including learning disability, behavioral disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder), when their primary problem is actually one of chemical abuse. The following issues are examined: (a) overlapping symptoms of chemical impairment and learning handicap that may result in misdiagnosis, (b) student populations at high risk for chemical abuse, (c) preventive measures, and (d) intervention and treatment for chemically impaired students.
Factors Associated with Employment Success Among Youths with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Siegel Shepherd , Gaylord-Ross Robert
Published: December 2008

This follow-up study examines the employment success of young adults with learning and other mild disabilities. The study questioned the employee with disabilities, his or her parents, and the employer on a number of vocationally related items. A four-factor model is advanced to explain job success. The factors include job match and accommodation, social acceptance, work attitude, and special services. Participants in a total of 41 job situations were queried with 38 completed triads (employee with mild disability, employer, family). The method of constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data. Although an aggregate of the four factors correlated significantly (p<.01), job match proved to have the most significant (p<.01) relationship with the outcome variable. The results are interpreted in light of the need to deliver and understand the types of supported employment services for adults with mild disabilities.
Attention Deficit Disorder and Specific Reading Disability: Separate but Often Overlapping Disorders
Authors: Dykman Roscoe A. , Ackerman Peggy T.
Published: December 2008

Within a large (N = 182) heterogeneous sample of clinic-referred children with DSM-III-diagnosed attention deficit disorder (ADD), three behavioral subgroups were identified via cluster analysis of teacher ratings: 40% of the children had ADD with hyperactivity (ADDH), 30% had ADD with hyperactivity and aggressivity (ADDHA), and 31% had ADD without hyperactivity or aggressivity. Proportionally more girls were in the ADD-only subgroup. Over half the sample (n = 94) were poor readers, with 82 meeting discrepancy criteria for specific reading disability (RD). Proportionately more boys than girls met the RD criteria (9.2:1.0), whereas the sex ratio of males to females for the whole sample was 5.1 to 1.0. Focusing just on white males, the three behavioral subgroups were significantly different on convergent validity measures, such as other teacher ratings, parent ratings, and interview-elicited ratings of externalizing behavior, but were not different on such divergent validity measures as IQ and achievement scores, self-ratings, and laboratory performance tasks. Boys in the ADD sample who did not meet criteria for RD had significantly higher IQs than those who did, but subgroups with and without RD still differed significantly on WRAT-R reading and spelling scores with IQ covaried out. Both groups with and without RD could be differentiated from a control group on laboratory measures of sustained attention and impulse control. Methylphenidate benefited all subgroups equally, whether RD or not, and whether given a low (0.3 mg/kg) or high (0.6 mg/kg) dose.
Cognitive Event-Related Potentials in Attention Deficit Disorder
Authors: Klorman Rafael
Published: December 2008

Cognitive event-related potentials (ERPs) have been used to aid in the interpretation of findings that children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) make more errors and react more slowly than nondisabled controls in tests of sustained attention. Coincident with their abnormally poor performance, children with ADD have smaller late positive components of the ERP (especially a wave known as P3b) than their peers with psychiatric diagnoses. Notably, stimulant administration improves the performance of children with ADD and enlarges the amplitude of the late positive waves of their ERPs. These findings are interpreted as reflecting reduced capacity allocation, which, in turn, is increased by stimulant medications. Research on memory scanning suggests that children with ADD are deficient in energetic aspects of information processes and that their excessive slowness in reaction time tests involves stages following memory search and decision, that is, motor processes. The same factors seem to be involved in the amelioration of performance by stimulants, which speed up motor responses but do not affect the latency of P3b. Research on ERPs during selective attention also points to possible disturbances in this aspect of processing, but further research in this area is needed.
Stimulant Medication and Parent Training Therapies for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Anastopoulos Arthur D. , DuPaul George J. , Barkley Russell A.
Published: December 2008

The present article provides a brief overview of the clinical use of two of the most commonly used and effective therapies for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children: stimulant medication treatment and training parents in child behavior management skills. The clinical issues involved in the use of each treatment, as well as their limitations, are reviewed, along with evidence for their efficacy. It is concluded that ADHD is a developmental disorder of attention, impulse control, and regulation of activity level that requires multiple treatment methods, which must be applied over long time intervals if they are to produce an impact on the outcome of children with ADHD.
Response Patterns of Children with Learning Disabilities: Is Impulsivity a Stable Response Style?
Authors: Harrison Kelley A. , Romanczyk Raymond G.
Published: December 2008

A correlational analysis was conducted to assess the relationship among various assessment instruments, including Kagan, Rosman, Day, Albert, and Phillips's (1964) Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), and actual classroom performance vis-$aG-vis impulsive responding. Subjects were 22 children (16 male, 6 female), ages 5 to 11 years, enrolled in an academic remediation program. The results do not support a relationship between impulsivity, as measured by the MFFT, and academic progress in a classroom setting. Implications for task-specific measures of impulsivity and remediation are discussed.
Curricular Interventions for Teaching Higher Order Thinking to All Students: Introduction to the Special Series
Authors: Carnine Douglas
Published: December 2008

Editor's Comment: The articles in this special series on curriculum make significant contributions, first, by proposing that the curriculum employed for all students, including those with learning disabilities, should emphasize thinking, problem solving, and reasoning, a point few would disagree with, given the complexities of life in this postindustrial-information age. The authors also provide some evidence that students with learning disabilities can learn and apply sophisticated concepts, rules, and strategies. Furthermore, the authors describe one instructional process that emphasizes higher order thinking, that is, "sameness analysis." This process facilitates the integration of concepts, rules, strategies, schema, systems, heuristics, and algorithms. The authors believe that sameness analysis fosters a holistic understanding of a content area. Over the last several years this journal has contained numerous articles that cogently argued for a more holistic approach to education. Sameness analysis is one that lends itself to the holistic approach. Finally, the series of articles quite appropriately addresses the importance of efficient teaching. Some recent research indicates that students with learning disabilities may be receiving less instruction than their nonhandicapped peers-this despite the fact that they have problems in learning. Efficient teaching takes on increased importance with the recent call (by some) for increased or total integration of students with learning disabilities into general classrooms.---JLW
The Search for a Unified Social Studies Curriculum: Does History Really Repeat Itself?
Authors: Kinder Diane , Bursuck William
Published: December 2008

A bulwark of democracy is an informed electorate. Recently, disturbing evidence has been presented indicating that young Americans lack the knowledge of democratic principles and history required by our democracy. One explanation for this complex problem concerns the nature of the social studies instruction that our children are receiving. In this article, common practices in social studies instruction are described and critiqued, and an alternative, more conceptually based model of history instruction that is of potential benefit to students with learning disabilities is proposed.
Making Connections in Mathematics
Authors: Engelmann Siegfried , Carnine Douglas , Steely Donald G.
Published: December 2008

Math textbooks, which usually represent the mathematics curriculum, seem to be linked to the poor math performance of U.S. students. The major shortcomings of math textbooks are described in this article; then an alternative perspective is offered (the sameness analysis), along with research conducted with students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. The article then presents a detailed illustration of the sameness analysis---how to teach the addition-subtraction and multiplication-division relationships and their interrelationships in the context of solving word problems in mathematics.
Instructional and Curricular Requisites of Mainstreamed Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Simmons Deborah C. , Fuchs Douglas , Fuchs Lynn S.
Published: December 2008

The successful integration of students with learning disabilities into mainstream reading classes may require teachers to adapt instruction and curricula in major ways. In this article, we discuss the relation between the instruction prescribed by standardized commercial curricula and the reading achievement of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities and other low-performing nonhandicapped students. An instructional template designed to complement commercially published reading lessons is described and its effects on the reading achievement of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities examined. Next, the limitations of generic instructional procedures to rectify the deficiencies of mainstream curricular programs for students with greater-than-average instructional needs are reviewed. We conclude with a discussion of the complexity of educating instructionally needy learners in mainstream settings and the significance of well-designed instruction.
Vocabulary Training for Children with Dyslexia
Authors: Fawcett Angela J. , Nicolson Roderick I.
Published: December 2008

A vocabulary training program, using the parents as sole instructors, led to significant and lasting improvements in word knowledge and lexical access speed for I3 adolescents with dyslexia. Furthermore, when the trained words matched the current vocabulary age of the child, the improvement generalized to untrained words.
Students with Learning Disabilities and Hearing Impairment
Authors: Roth Vicki
Published: December 2008

Although the number of students with both learning disability and hearing impairment (LDHI) currently enrolled in secondary and postsecondary programs has not been precisely determined, it is clear that these students are currently receiving inadequate assessment and support in many institutions. The best route for serving these students would seem to be collaborative efforts between deaf educators and learning disabilities specialists, yet serious gaps exist between these two professions in regard to interpretation of laws governing special services, training of professionals, and locations of educational programs. The difficulties of developing collaborative work have been compounded by controversies within each field and the heterogeneity of the populations served by both disciplines. Those interested in creating good LDHI assessments should begin by considering the qualifications needed by those conducting evaluation procedures. The inadequacies of current formal assessment devices for this population need to be recognized; informal procedures, such as teacher observation and curriculum-based assessments, are still some of the best tools available for identification and educational planning.
Goodness of Fit in the Home
Authors: Feagans Lynne V. , Merriwether Ann M. , Haldane Diane
Published: December 2008

This study examined whether a “goodness of fit” theoretical model, applied to families with and without children with learning disabilities, would be valuable in understanding the children's performance in school. A home interview was conducted with 63 families with a child with learning disabilities and 53 families with a comparable child without learning disabilities. The mothers were asked to rate how their own child fit into the family's expectations for children. It was found that, for both groups of families, children who were rated as a “poor fit” in the home demonstrated less positive behavior in the classroom and poorer achievement over the elementary school years. There was some evidence that poor fit in the home was even more negatively related to outcomes for children with learning disabilities. Discussion is centered on the importance of this theoretical model for understanding the importance of the home on successful school function.
Promoting Strategy Generalization Through Self-Instructional Training in Students with Reading Disabilities
Authors: Chan Lorna K.S.
Published: December 2008

Twenty Grade 5 and 6 students with reading disabilities, 20 average readers in Grade 3, and 20 average readers in Grades 5 and 6 were taught to use a self-questioning strategy for the identification of main ideas. They were randomly assigned to either a standard instruction or a generalization induction condition. In the latter, informed training and self-instructional training techniques were employed to promote generalization of strategy use. Subjects were posttested under both a cued and an uncued condition in their homerooms. Results indicated that the self-instructional training succeeded in facilitating the identification of main ideas among students with reading disabilities and in helping them to maintain their improved performance when they were no longer prompted to use the strategy in a transfer setting.
Conversational Engagement of Children with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Mathinos Debra A.
Published: December 2008

This study was designed to characterize the conversational engagement techniques employed by children with and without learning disabilities while in a dyadic interaction. Engagement was defined and measured in terms of the degree to which utterances provided information and evidenced responsiveness to one's conversational partner. Sixty (30 with learning disabilities and 30 nondisabled) 9- to 13-year-old subjects participated. Analyses indicated that the subjects with learning disabilities (LD) could and did employ engagement-related techniques similar in levels of sophistication to those of their nondisabled peers, although they did so less consistently and frequently. Further, the relationship between affective measures and the engagement-related techniques used by the subjects with LD differed markedly from those of the nondisabled subjects. The results are interpreted from a motivational standpoint and suggest that future research should focus on the knowledge and application of engagement-related techniques of the children with LD, across settings and conversational partners.
A Comparison of Three Methods of Reading-While-Listening
Authors: van Bon Wim H.J. , Boksebeld Lidwien M. , Font Freide Tonneke A.M. , van den Hurk Ardine J.M.
Published: December 2008

This study tries to distinguish between the effects of spoken text in reading-while-listening (RwL) and those of text repetition by determining whether repeated RwL of the same text leads to better results than RwL of different texts. Moreover, it is investigated whether the results of RwL can be improved by asking the reader to detect mismatches between written and spoken texts. Subjects were 36 young backward readers (25 boys, 11 girls) from the Netherlands. Mean age was 111 months. With all three methods a practice effect was found for texts as well as for single words. Reading the same text, however, did not lead to better results than reading different texts. Nor were the effects of RwL of different texts improved by mismatch detection. Only the reading speed for the training texts increased following text repetition and mismatch detection.
Prevalence of Adoptees Among Special Education Populations
Authors: Brodzinsky David M. , Steiger Cynthia
Published: December 2008

A statewide survey of public and private schools was conducted to determine the prevalence of adoptees among children classified for educational purposes as neurologically impaired (NI), perceptually impaired (PI), or emotionally disturbed (ED). Results indicated that adopted children were overrepresented in these special education populations, accounting for 6.7% of NI students, 5.4% of PI students, and 7.2% of ED students. Implications of the findings for educational and clinical intervention are discussed.
Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities: The Effect of Implementing Statewide Guidelines
Authors: McLeskey James , Waldron Nancy L
Published: December 2008

Methods for identifying students with learning disabilities continue to be an area of controversy. The present investigation examined the impact of implementing statewide guidelines for the identification of these students. Data were collected from multi-disciplinary team reports on 718 students with learning disabilities who were referred and labeled during the 1983-84 school year (before implementation of statewide learning disability guidelines) and 790 students who were identified during 1987-88 (after implementation of the guidelines). The results of the study revealed that the statewide guidelines significantly changed the characteristics of students who were identified. After the implementation of the guidelines, students with much more severe academic problems were identified. These students were much more likely to have a severe discrepancy and be chronically failing in the regular classroom. However, even with explicit, widely accepted guidelines, approximately one third of all students identified in 1987-88 failed to meet the stated criteria for identification. The implications of these findings for professional practice and future research are discussed.
Matching Three Classifications of Secondary Students to Differential Levels of Study Guides
Authors: Horton Steven V. , Lovitt Thomas C. , Christensen Charles C.
Published: December 2008

This study examined the effectiveness of matching three classifications of secondary students (17 with learning disabilities, 18 remedial, and 47 nondisabled) to differential levels of study guides. The students, 45 males and 37 females, were enrolled in science and social studies classes in middle school and high school. In one treatment, students were assigned multilevel study guides containing different levels of referential cues, with the guides implemented through three instructional groups: teacher-directed, dyadic, and independent. In another treatment, the same students were assigned single-level study guides that did not contain referential cues, with the guides implemented as an independent activity. An equivalent time samples design was arranged, with six multilevel and six single-level treatments randomly assigned in two-session blocks. The dependent measures consisted of two types of test items, factual and interpretive. The results of group analyses indicated that multilevel study guides were more effective than single-level study guides in all classes and overall on factual questions, with individual analyses verifying that the greatest benefit occurred for the teacher-directed students. On interpretive test items, the results of group analyses favored the multilevel study guides in high school social studies and overall, with individual analyses revealing few remarkable differences for students in any instructional group. A trend analysis revealed little practice effect over time in either treatment. Several methodological and clinical issues involved in matching heterogeneous students to differential levels of textbook instruction in secondary programs are discussed.
Methodological Issues and Learning Disabilities Diagnosis in Clinical Populations
Authors: Kamphaus Randy W. , Frick Paul J. , Lahey Benjamin B.
Published: December 2008

Previous research suggests that the diagnosis of a comorbid learning disability is dependent on the method used for making the LD diagnosis. This study investigated that proposition by studying the effects of using three approaches to the assessment of learning disabilities in a sample of 177 six- to thirteen-year-old boys referred to outpatient mental health clinics for behavior problems. The use of these three procedures to diagnose comorbid learning problems produced significantly different results. All methods identified significant numbers of children in the clinical population as learning disabled; however, each method identified children with differing characteristics. Consistent with predictions from measurement theory, the commonly used simple standard score discrepancy method was more likely to identify children with above-average IQs as learning disabled, whereas a regression approach identified learning disabilities more consistently across the ability range. These results were interpreted as supporting the use of regression approaches to diagnose co-occurring learning disabilities, as that method is less likely to be biased by the child's intelligence test score. The implications of the use of each method in research investigations is also discussed.
Neuropsychological Classification and Treatment of Dyslexia
Authors: Bakker Dirk J.
Published: December 2008

Evidence shows that initial and advanced learning to read are predominantly mediated by the right and left cerebral hemispheres, respectively. Premature reliance on left-hemispheric reading strategies may result in L-type dyslexia, characterized by hurried and inaccurate reading. P-type dyslexia, characterized by a slow and fragmented style of reading, may result from the inability to shift from the predominant generation of right-hemispheric reading strategies to the predominant generation of left-hemispheric reading strategies. Results of investigations concerning the validity of the L/P-typology are discussed, as are the reading effects of hemisphere-specific and hemisphere-alluding stimulation in children with L- and P-type dyslexia.
A Developmental Index Using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
Authors: Bowers Thomas G. , Risser Marcia G. , Suchanec John F. , Tinker Dorris E. , Ramer Jeanette C. , Domoto Mark
Published: December 2008

The possible utility of Wechsler's Deterioration Index (WDI) in analyzing children's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) results was explored in this study. Clinical records of children with learning disabilities (LD) and children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were reviewed to determine if the WDI predicted the presence or severity of the disorders. The ages of the children ranged from 6 to 14. In two independent samples of children with LD (n=35 and n=26), the WDI did not predict LD status or severity. The LD samples were mostly male—85% and 57%, respectively. However, the WDI scores did significantly distinguish children with ADHD (n=10) from nondisabled children (n=10). The results were cross-validated on an independent sample of children with ADHD (n=17) when compared to non-ADHD children (n=22) who experienced significant behavioral difficulties. The ADHD samples were also mostly male—90% and 89%, respectively. The WDI classified only 59% of the children with ADHD and 86% of the non-ADHD children correctly. It is recommended that the WDI be considered a developmental index rather than a deterioration index in children. It is also recommended that significant WDI elevation (>.20) be considered to raise the question of ADHD, rather than simply yielding a diagnosis of ADHD.
Computer-Based Reading and Spelling Practice for Children with Learning Disabilities
Authors: van Daal Victor H.P. , Leij Aryan van der
Published: December 2008

To examine the effects of computer-based reading and spelling practice on the development of reading and spelling skills, a pretest-training-posttest experiment was conducted in The Netherlands. Eleven girls and 17 boys with written language disorders (on the average, 9 years, 7 months old and performing 2 grades below age expectancy) practiced hard-to-read words under three conditions: reading from the computer screen, copying from the screen, and writing from memory after presentation on the screen. For all words, whole-word sound was available on call during practice. To assess learning effects, both a dictation and a read-aloud task were administered in which nonpracticed control words were also presented. During training, the computer kept record of several aspects of the pupils' learning behavior. It was found that copying words from the screen resulted in significantly fewer spelling errors on the posttest than writing words from memory, and that both forms of spelling practice led to fewer spelling errors than only reading words during practice. All three forms of practice improved to the same degree both the accuracy and fluency of reading the practiced words aloud. The way in which spelling and reading practice, in combination with speech feedback, support the development of phonological skills in children with written language disorders is highlighted in the discussion.
The Challenges of Componential Analysis
Authors: Hutchinson Nancy L.
Published: December 2008

Recent research demonstrates the effectiveness of process instruction in academic domains for children and adolescents with learning disabilities. The articles in this series attest to the gains that have been made by using cognitive process-based instruction to teach for acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of knowledge essential to success in the classroom. However, many of these studies use individual instruction, and, while they are effective, they could not be described as efficient.
School Reform
Authors: Ward Betty J.
Published: December 2008

The newly articulated goals for education in the United States, many of which are set forth in America 2000: An Education Strategy, cannot be achieved without important school reform. The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) joins with others in calling for school reform and for the development of strategies to improve education. The NJCLD urges that the needs of students at risk for school failure, including those with learning disabilities, be addressed when setting new goals, policies, and practices. This is essential if schools are to meet the diverse learning needs of these students, optimize their achievement, and ensure effective educational outcomes. To ignore the abilities and potentially rich contributions of students with learning disabilities will create imbalance and inequity within the educational system, restrict the quality of life for individuals, and diminish the nation's competitive status within a global economy.
A Reading Level Match Study of Nonword Reading Skills in Poor Readers with Varying IQ
Authors: Felton Rebecca H. , Wood Frank B.
Published: December 2008

This study evaluated the hypothesis that poor readers are characterized by poor nonword reading skills, but that a specific deficit, as opposed to a developmental lag, in nonword reading will be found only in subjects whose reading is discrepant from intellectual ability. To test this hypothesis, we measured nonword reading skills in 93 (64 male, 29 female) third-grade poor readers and 54 (37 male, 17 female) fifth-grade poor readers (with and without reading/IQ discrepancies) who were matched to 147 (81 male, 66 female) nondisabled first graders on word identification skills. Results showed third- and fifth-grade poor readers to be significantly more impaired than word-identification level match first graders on all measures on nonword reading. These findings were not related to the verbal IQ level within the poor reader groups and, thus, provide strong evidence for a deficit in nonword reading skills that is not explained by verbal intelligence.
The Success of College Students with Learning Disabilities: Factors Related to Educational Attainment
Authors: Vogel Susan A. , Adelman Pamela B.
Published: December 2008

This study reports on the educational attainment of 62 college students with learning disabilities as compared to a sample of 58 peers matched on gender and ACT composite score ($pL1 point or exact match). All students were native English speakers and were enrolled as degree candidates in a small, competitive, private, midwestern college. Groups were compared on age, high school preparation and performance, college grades, GPA at the end of each year of study, graduation and academic failure rate, and time taken to complete degree. Factors that may have influenced outcomes are discussed as are implications for college admissions officers, college students with learning disabilities, service providers, and academic advisors.
Learning Disabilities and Vocational Rehabilitation
Authors: Dowdy Carol A. , C. Smith Tom E. , Nowell Carl H.
Published: December 2008

Students with learning disabilities have received services in special education programs for many years. Unfortunately, many of these students continue to need services after they exit high schools. Vocational rehabilitation has begun to provide services for young adults with learning disabilities; however, there continues to be a discrepancy between the number of adults with learning disabilities who need vocational rehabilitation services and those who are receiving them. This article describes the definitions and eligibility criteria used by vocational rehabilitation agencies to serve adults with learning disabilities. By understanding the vocational rehabilitation system, teachers, it is hoped, will be better able to access these services for their students with learning disabilities.
Adults with Learning Disabilities: Current and Future Research Priorities
Authors: Gajar Anna
Published: December 2008

This article presents a review of current research, or what is currently known about adults with learning disabilities. The review is organized under different settings, including the community, postsecondary, and employment environments, and is followed by a review of longitudinal studies. Based on the review of the current status of the literature, research priorities for the 1990s are presented, including (a) identifying and conducting research with specific individuals or samples within the adult (LD) population; (b) identifying successful intervention techniques within the cognitive, social, personal, and vocational domains; (c) conducting research in a variety of environments, including community, employment, and postsecondary settings and across critical periods of an individual's lifespan (such as movement from postsecondary environments into employment and from employment to retirement); and (d) examining alternative methodologies, such as single-subject, case study, group research, and so forth, in future investigations. The priorities are followed by a description and comparison of various research methodologies.
Specific Reading Impairments—Are They to Be Associated with Emotional Difficulties?
Authors: Lamm Oren , Epstein Rachel
Published: December 2008

The assumption that specific learning disabilities are not causally related to emotional disturbances is crucial for the cognitive research approaches that endeavor to isolate specific malfunctioning cognitive-computational processes. Because there are conflicting data regarding the emotional status of subjects with learning difficulties, the purpose of this study was the evaluation of the emotional status of subjects with specific learning difficulties in comparison with that of subjects from several relevant control groups. The HSCL-90 profiles of 38 subjects suffering developmental dyslexia, 28 subjects with subjective complaints regarding general concentration and reading comprehension difficulties, and 23 psychiatric patients were compared with those of 44 skilled readers without any known emotional difficulties. All subjects were adolescents and young adults (age range = 15 to 23). A cluster analysis of subjects' HSCL-90 profiles did not reveal any significant differences between subjects with dyslexia and control subjects. Both groups, on the other hand, were easily differentiated from psychiatric patients. Subjects with severe deficits in their ability to remember details of a text, and with subjective complaints regarding concentration difficulties, tended to generate emotional profiles that testify to a high level of anxiety. Although these subjects, as well as individuals with dyslexia, may be regarded at the functional level as inefficient readers, the two groups seem to clearly differ regarding the failure factors that underlie their phenotypic difficulties.
An Evaluation of the Discrepancy Definition of Dyslexia
Authors: Siegel Linda S.
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with dyslexia, that is, children whose reading levels were significantly lower than would be predicted by their IQ scores, constituted a distinctive group when compared with poor readers, that is, children whose reading scores were consistent with their IQ scores. The performance of children with dyslexia, poor readers, and normally achieving readers was compared on a variety of reading, spelling, phonological processing, language, and memory tasks. Although the children with dyslexia had significantly higher IQ scores than the poor readers, these two groups did not differ in their performance on reading, spelling, phonological processing, or most of the language and memory tasks. In all cases, the performance of both reading disabled groups was significantly below that of nondisabled readers. The findings were similar whether absolute difference or regression scores were used. Reading disabled children, whether or not their reading is significantly below the level predicted by their IQ scores, experience significant problems in phonological processing, short-term and working memory, and syntactic awareness. On the basis of these data, there does not seem to be a need to differentiate between individuals with dyslexia and poor readers. Both of these groups are reading disabled and have deficits in phonological processing, verbal memory, and syntactic awareness.
The Write—Say Method for Improving Spelling Accuracy in Children with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Kearney Christopher A. , Drabman Ronald S.
Published: December 2008

We evaluated a teaching strategy designed to improve spelling accuracy in children with learning disabilities. The write-say method provides immediate feedback to dual sensory modalities (i.e., visual and auditory) following the administration of a daily spelling test. Tour males and three females (mean age = 11.61 years) with learning disabilities were introduced to the write-say procedure within a multiple-baseline design. Compared to control conditions (i.e., studying words on one's own), experimental procedures significantly enhanced subjects' spelling accuracy in a brief period of time. The write-say procedure was also advocated as a cost-effective method of spelling instruction for small classroom settings.
School Reentry for the Child with Chronic Illness
Authors: Sexson Sandra B. , Madan-Swain Avi
Published: December 2008

Chronic illness affects up to 20% of children in the school-age population, 10% of whom are severely compromised. Reintegrating these children is a growing problem for schools, children and their families, and health care professionals, as it has become apparent that school adjustment is highly significant in the children's overall adjustment. This article focuses on the issues of reintegrating the chronically ill child into the school setting, the types of school problems encountered, the process of school reentry, with illustrative case material, and the implications for the school and family of returning the chronically ill child to school.
Traditional IQ Is Irrelevant to Learning Disabilities—Intelligence Is Not
Authors: Naglieri Jack A. , Reardon Sean M.
Published: December 2008

This investigation examined the relationship between intelligence and phonological coding when ability was redefined according to the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) cognitive processing model. This study directly tested the hypothesis that traditional IQ tests may be irrelevant to the definition of learning disabilities, but a different theory of intelligence may be more sensitive to deficiencies related to reading failure. Normally achieving students (n=30) and students with reading disabilities (n=30) ranging in age from 7.7 years to 15.3 years (mean = 11.9 years, SD = 2.4 years) were administered measures of the PASS cognitive processes, the Woodcock-Johnson Pyscho-Educational Battery-Revised pseudoword reading, and the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) reading recognition tests. Results showed that the sample with reading disabilities earned significantly lower scores on the WRAT-R Reading (mean = 69.3) than the nondisabled subjects (mean = 91.4) and, similarly, on pseudowords those with reading problems earned a mean of 78.9 while the nondisabled earned a mean of 96.3. For the sample with reading disabilities, pseudoword reading scores were significantly predicted by successive processing scores (R 2 = .267), but no other processing variable added to the prediction; successive scores (R2 = .212) and the combination of successive and planning (R2 = .296) were significant predictors of WRAT-R Reading scores.
Adolescents with Learning Disabilities at Risk? Emotional Well-Being, Depression, Suicide
Authors: Huntington Deborah D. , Bender William N.
Published: December 2008

As recently as 5 years ago, very little information on the emotional well-being of adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) was available. However, a great deal of research has been conducted recently and some of the implications are unnerving. Research on self-concept, attributions, anxiety, depression, and suicide among adolescents with LD is examined for the purpose of detecting consistency of indicators concerning these emotional and developmental variables. The research indicates that the emotional development of many adolescents with LD is not notably positive, and these students appear to be at increased risk for severe depression and suicide. The discussion highlights methodological pitfalls and developmental issues. Practical implications are suggested.
Which Motoric Condition Is Most Effective for Teaching Spelling to Students With and Without Learning Disabilities?
Authors: Vaughn Sharon , Schumm Jeanne Shay , Gordon Jane
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of three motoric conditions (writing, tracing, and computer keyboarding) on the spelling performance of 24 third- and fourth-grade students without learning disabilities (NLD) (15 males, 9 females) and 24 third- and fourth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) (16 males, 8 females). This study applied empirically based procedures for teaching spelling, examined student performance over time, and incorporated student interviews concerning their preference for motoric condition. For number of words spelled and proportion of bi-grams (correct letter sequences) used correctly, significant differences were found between the LD and NLD groups, both at posttest and follow-up, with the NLD students learning to spell more words and apply more correct bi-grams than the students with LD. There was no significant effect for condition for either words spelled or bi-grams, indicating that students did not learn significantly more words in the writing, tracing, or computer condition. There was also a significant time effect indicating that the accuracy of both groups decreased over time from posttest to follow-up for both words and bi-grams. Interviews revealed that students in both groups preferred the computer condition; however, they believed that they learned best in the writing and tracing conditions.
Early Reading Performance
Authors: Kenny Dianna T. , Chekaluk Eugene
Published: December 2008

An unresolved question in early screening is whether test-based or teacher-based assessments should form the basis of the classification of children at risk of educational failure. Available structured teacher rating scales are lacking in predictive validity, and teacher predictions of students likely to experience reading difficulties have yielded disappointing true positive rates, with teachers failing to identify the majority of severely disabled readers. For this study, three educational screening instruments were developed: (a) a single teacher rating, categorizing children into three levels of reading ability (advanced, average, poor); (b) a 15-item teacher questionnaire designed to measure students' cognitive and language ability, attentional and behavioral characteristics, and academic performance; and (c) a battery of language and reading tests that are predictive of, or correlate with, reading failure. The concurrent validity of each instrument was assessed in a sample of 312 Australian schoolchildren from kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Students were assessed at the end of the 1989 school year after having completed 1, 2, or 3 years of schooling. The results suggest that the nature of the skills required for success in reading changes in the first 3 years of schooling. Both teachers and tests concur more closely as children progress through the elementary years and as the risk behavior (reading) becomes more accessible to direct measurement. Carefully focused teacher rating scales may be a cost-effective means of identifying children at risk of reading failure. Improved teacher rating scales should be developed and used to assist in the early screening process.
The Effects of Tape-Recorded Self-Instruction Cues on the Mathematics Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Wood Dorothy Ann , Rosenberg Michael S. , Carran Deborah T.
Published: December 2008

The effects of tape-recorded self-instruction cues on the mathematics performance of students with learning disabilities (LD) were investigated. Nine students were assigned to one of three conditions: an experimental condition, in which students attended two training sessions in self-instruction (SIT); an observer condition, wherein students observed SIT but did not participate; and a control condition, wherein students received neither training nor the opportunity to observe. Using a multiple probe design, data (problems attempted, problems completed correctly, and time for task performance) were collected across two baseline phases, two brief instructional periods, and two generalization phases. Without access to taped cues, experimental and observer students did not successfully utilize the SIT after the first self-instructional training. However, when experimental students were trained to use taped cues, they demonstrated the ability to accurately solve their problems. More important, they were able to successfully use SIT procedures when the taped cues were faded.
The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities and Persisting Delinquency
Authors: Waldie Karen , Spreen Otfried
Published: December 2008

Recidivism of delinquency in juveniles with learning disabilities (LD), the focus of the present study, has been virtually unexplored in previous research. Data from a longitudinal study initiated in 1978 are examined. Sixty-five subjects with LD (47 males and 18 females) who had been diagnosed and assessed between the ages of 8 and 12 years were located and, during a personal structured interview at the median age of 18 years, reported police contact. This population was subdivided into two groups on the basis of whether police contact had continued or discontinued, as reported in a second personal interview at the age of 25 years. Discriminant analysis on parent and subject variables correctly classified 75% of the subjects and revealed that certain personality characteristics, such as impulsivity and poor judgment, discriminate between persisting and nonpersisting delinquency in youth with learning disabilities.
Use of Constant Time Delay in Teaching Multiplication Facts to Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Koscinski Susan T. , Gast David L.
Published: December 2008

This study investigated the effectiveness and efficiency of a constant time-delay procedure in teaching multiplication facts to three male and two female elementary school students, aged 9 years 6 months to 12 years 5 months, identified as learning disabled. The five students were taught unknown facts using a 4-second constant time-delay procedure. Data were collected on generalization to a paper-and-pencil task, to a horizontal display orientation, and to the reverse fact, as well as incidentally acquired ability to solve missing-factor problems. Results indicated that the near-errorless learning procedure was effective and efficient in teaching multiplication facts to students with learning disabilities. Learning generalized to a paper-and-pencil task, to a different presentation orientation, and to the reverse fact.