Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges yet it is defined and diagnosed by the absence or presence of behaviors described in, for example, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5. Descriptions of the disorder include symptoms such as intellectual…

Attention and executive function (EF) dysregulation are common in a number of disorders including autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Better understanding of the relationship between indirect and direct measures of attention and EF and common neurodevelopmental diagnoses may contribute to more efficient and effective…

Objective: ADHD and autism are complex and frequently co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions with shared etiological and pathophysiological elements. In this paper, we attempt to differentiate these conditions among the young people in terms of intrinsic patterns of brain connectivity revealed during resting state using machine learning…

The concept of moderate learning difficulties (MLD) is not clearly understood in its definition and in its general use. Nevertheless, as a distinct area of special educational needs (SEN) this category has constituted about a quarter of all of those pupils identified as having SEN in England. This paper reports the analysis of findings from an…

We report an investigation of the validity of teachers' ratings of children's progress in "phonics" as a screener for dyslexia. Seventy-three 6-year-olds from a whole school population were identified as "at risk" of dyslexia according to teacher judgements of slow progression through phonic phases. Six months later, children's attainments in…

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between being labelled either as having dyslexia or as having general special educational needs (SEN) and a child's self-esteem. Seventy-five children aged between 8 and 15 years categorised as having dyslexia (N = 26), as having general SEN (N = 26) or as having no learning difficulties (N…

The study investigated the effectiveness of three instruments in discriminating 20 autistic from 20 trainable mentally retarded children (ages 3-12): Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (ASIEP), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Diagnostic Checklist for Behavior Disordered Children. The CARS and ASIEP provided for a…

The performance of 90 children between the ages of four and six years on two language screening tests was compared with their performance on Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) to determine the accuracy of these screening tests in identifying language impairments. The Bankson Language Screening Test was generally accurate in the identification of…

Standardization of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) on 288 babies raning in age from two to 54 weeks in Yucatan, Mexico, yielded such findings as that subtest scores increased with age, and that the DDST failed to identify a "questionable" 16 or 17 babies with borderline scores on the Bayley Motor Scale. (Author/MC)

Arguments between response to intervention (RTI) with curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and traditional, individual psychoeducational assessments encourage a false dichotomy between alternatives that are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. This article discusses strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, touches on current legislative…

The degree of correlation of the "concept" subtest of the Developmental Indicators of the Assessment of Learning (DIAL) with the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) was studied with 95 beginning kindergarten children. Both measures were highly correlated, indicating the evaluation of similar abilities. (Author/SEW)

The response to intervention (RTI) of English language learners identified as at risk for reading difficulties in the fall of first grade was examined at the end of first grade and at the end of second grade. Students at risk for reading problems were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Intervention students received supplemental…

Examined the relationships between the McCarthy Scales General Cognitive Index, the McCarthy Screening Test, Kaufman's McCarthy short form, and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test using a sample of elementary students. Found the Estimated General Cognitive Index by Kaufman's short form was virtually identical to the McCarthy Scales Index.…

Examines differences between 45 learning disabled, mentally retarded, and Title I elementary students on intelligence, academic achievement, and behavior measures. Indicates that such students perform similarly on academic achievement and behavior measures. Learning disabled and Title I students were similar on an intelligence measure; mentally…