More than 20 years ago, psychologists first described gifted students with learning disabilities (LD). In the past decade, several sets of identification criteria have been proposed for this population. Many of the suggested assessment practices are unsupported by research in psychoeducational assessment, and some have been directly contradicted…

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention.…

Research articles (n=174) published in the "Journal of Learning Disabilities" from 1989 through 1993 were analyzed and coded by type of research design and statistical technique used. Eighty percent of the research designs were nonintervention methods; 55% of all statistical techniques were coded as primary, 32% were intermediate, and…

All available suicide notes (N=27) from 267 consecutive adolescent suicides were analyzed for spelling and handwriting errors and then dictated to adolescents with and without LD. Results indicated that 89% of the 27 adolescents who had committed suicide had significant deficits in spelling and handwriting similar to those of other adolescents…

Eighty-six adults (mean age 26 years) with learning disabilities were evaluated clinically using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). Significant relationships were identified between subjects' WAIS-R intelligence quotients and scaled scores and job success. (Author/DB)

Comparison of 38 learning disabled and 38 normally achieving eighth graders on a vocabulary learning task indicated that the two groups did not differ in observable learning strategies used during the study period and that strategy use did not account for vocabulary learning score. (Author/DB)

This study compared students with (n=20) and without (n=40) learning disabilities (LD) on their recall of academic information and information encountered in their everyday lives. Students with LD performed poorly on both types of recall, suggesting that they may have problems with retrieval and working memory. The availability of cues…

Microanalysis of problem-solving activities of 10 learning-disabled and 10 normally achieving children (ages 10-12) found that, although normally achieving subjects reached more sophisticated levels of strategy use, there was no evidence that the learning-disabled subjects were inactive, passive, or maladaptive in their problem-solving attempts.…

Comparison of alpha amplitudes of 12 children with learning disabilities and 12 normally achieving controls in three task situations found no significant differences between groups in alpha amplitude but a significant task effect with the vigilance, story comprehension, and rehearsal conditions showing decreasing alpha amplitudes in both groups of…

The article reviews literature on the information processing model with learning disabled children. Assumptions concerning the role of automaticity, prior knowledge, and executive functioning are questioned. Also discussed are procedures for identifying common denominations, subgrouping, isolating mental components underlying academic change, and…

Comparison of twins (40 identical and 23 fraternal) for mathematics deficits (MD), in which at least one member had a mathematics disability, found evidence for a significant genetic etiology. However, tests for the differential etiology of MD as a function of reading performance level were nonsignificant. (Author/DB)

Experimental studies and clinical observations have indicated that right-hemisphere lesions produce impulsive talkative behavior. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate whether right-cerebral dysfunction would be evident in the intelligence test scores of talkative students with learning disabilities. The study with 28 children (ages…

Comparison of scores on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised of 67 students (ages 6-12) referred for possible learning disabilities found strong relationships among all the global standard scores on both instruments with different score patterns for those with severe disabilities.…

This study examined the conversational engagement techniques employed by children with and without learning disabilities in dyadic interactions. Analysis indicated that the 60 learning-disabled subjects (9-13 years old) employed engagement-related techniques as sophisticated as those of their nondisabled peers, though they did so less consistently…

The ability to identify six facial expressions was studied in 48 nondisabled children and 76 children with learning disabilities (LD) ages 9 through 12. Overall, the nondisabled group had better interpretive ability. Among LD children, those with verbal deficits had better ability than either those with nonverbal deficits and or those with both…