Parents play a vital role in supporting children with learning disabilities, but little is known about their understanding of this diagnosis. The experiences of parents with the diagnostic process and the services their children receive post-diagnosis vary widely. Parents who participated in this study reported that they understand learning…

Advances in neurobiological research have created new opportunities for understanding and exploring dyslexia. The purpose of this article is to (a) provide a straightforward, although not overly simplified, overview of neurological research on dyslexia and (b) make connections between neurological research and classroom interventions for students…

Aim: Research suggests important links between motor coordination and executive functions. The current study examined whether motor coordination predicts working memory, inhibition, and switching performance, extending previous research by accounting for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and other confounding factors,…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the various neurocognitive processes concomitant to reading by attempting to identify various subtypes of reading disorders in a referred sample. Participants were 216 elementary school students in grades two through five who were given select subtests of the Woodcock Johnson-III Tests of…

In the last article, the author covered the social and psychological causes to learning difficulty that can be created by epilepsy. Over the last two articles, the author gained a fairly complete picture of problems that may be due to the physical disorder of epilepsy and problems due to its unique impact on the social aspects of the classroom. In…

Objective: Studies of healthy individuals and those with cerebellar damage have implicated the cerebellum in a variety of cognitive and behavioral processes. Decreased cerebellar volume has been found in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and differentially related to behavioral outcomes. The present study investigated…

Genetics contributes importantly to learning abilities and disabilities--not just to reading, the target of most genetic research, but also to mathematics and other academic areas as well. One of the most important recent findings from quantitative genetic research such as twin studies is that the same set of genes is largely responsible for…

Aim: To compare the occurrence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in children with specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills (SDDSS) and normal children. Methods: 36 cases of SDDSS were compared with 30 control children regarding sociodemographic and clinical variables and neurological soft signs. Results: Children with SDDSS had…

Students with strong executive function skills hold the keys to school and social success--from attention and impulse control to time management and organization. Now K-12 teachers have a practical, highly readable guide to enhancing these critical skills for "all" students, with and without learning disabilities. Through the author's memorable…

Background: Developmental dyscalculia is a heterogeneous disorder with largely dissociable performance profiles. Though our current understanding of the neurofunctional foundations of (adult) numerical cognition has increased considerably during the past two decades, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the developmental pathways of…

Despite several decades of research suggesting the importance of both genetic and environmental factors, these findings are not well integrated into the larger educational literature. Following a discussion of quantitative and molecular genetic methods, this article reviews behavioral genetic findings related to cognitive and academic skills. This…

As part of a multidisciplinary study, the rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disability (LD), and brain abnormalities was examined in 20 participants (12 males, 8 females; age range 8mo-17y, mean age 8y 1mo) diagnosed as falling within the oculoauriculovertebral spectrum (OAV). A neuropsychiatric examination was performed, including…

Twin-study research suggests that many (but not all) of the same genes contribute to genetic influence on diverse learning abilities and disabilities, a hypothesis called "generalist genes". This generalist genes hypothesis was tested using a set of 10 DNA markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) found to be associated with early reading…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 1997) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) define specific learning disabilities in a similar manner. "The term "specific learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in…

The Child Development & Behavior (CDB) Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks to improve the health and well-being of individuals from infancy through early adulthood by supporting research into healthy growth and development, including all aspects of child development. The study of typical child…