Relates the story of a ninth-grade student who worked to convince the school board to allow changes in policy to adapt to his best friend's strong reaction to bright lights which handicapped his friend's efforts to learn. Urges teachers to experiment with learning styles and add to the existing body of research. (SR)

While conceptualizations of learning disabilities vary between brain deficit and brain difference, teachers, counselors, and clinicians should consider the degree and nature of the match that exists between the child's abilities and both the classroom methods and materials. (Author)

In this interview, 16-year-old Samantha Abeel, who is learning-disabled in math, describes the frustrations of dealing with seventh-grade responsibilities like locker combinations, unfamiliar teachers, and algebra. Sam is gifted in writing but didn't receive special help with math until entering a special education class in eighth grade, where a…

In this paper I comment on recent recommendations that students' responsiveness to instruction (RTI) provides a basis for identification of students as learning disabled. I repeat an earlier argument (Gerber & Semmel, 1985) that teachers embedded in schools are naturally variable in their capacity to respond to differences in students' response to…

The growing move to reintegrate special education within the general education system forms the background and rationale for this paper's proposals. Discussion includes the suggestion that general education students can benefit from explicit instruction in learning strategies which have been primarily used with only learning disabled students.…

What makes the surge in learning disabled (LD) children disturbing is that no one clearly understands what LD really means. LD is usually defined in terms of disability, deficiency, and disadvantage--rather than ability, asset, and advantage. Studies now reveal that LD children actually possess positive learning styles and abilities that were…

Encouraging learning-disabled adolescents to find their own successful style of learning requires: (1) breaking down preconceptions about education; (2) breaking down preconceptions about self; and (3) reinforcing such principles as individual responsibility for choices. (DB)

The cognitive apparatus of disturbed children is discussed. An analysis of its relation to the emotional, sensory, and logical experiences and the effect on the child's learning ability is offered. (JMF)

Tells the story of "Sally Osbourne," a gifted teacher who graduated from high school and college without being able to read and write. Finally diagnosed as dyslexic at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Sally became literate and furthered her knowledge of diverse learning needs and strategies. (MLH)

An information processing approach to the assessment of learning disabled students' intellectual performance is presented. The model is based on the assumption that intelligent behavior is comprised of a variety of problem- solving strategies. An account of child problem solving is explained and illustrated with a "thinking aloud" protocol.…

There is much more to a learning disabled (LD) child's successful learning than part-to-whole or whole-to-part instruction. Among the many factors to be considered are his/her learning style, interests, abilities, aptitudes, health, and parental support. Instructional programs for learning disabled children should be based on the students'…

The computer's role in matching instructional content and method to the learning disabled student's individual cognitive style is examined for the four phases of instructional delivery: assessment, prescription, evaluation, and instruction. (DB)

Suggests ways that teachers can identify students with mild learning problems, determine the assistance the students require, and alter their own teaching style to accommodate the students' learning needs. Recommends instructional techniques to address poor organizational skills, poor writing skills, long- or short-term memory problems, and…

This rejoinder to Carbo (EC 602 673) reiterates the author's premise in EC 602 672 that the learning style approach to teaching reading is similar to discredited process approaches. Carbo's documentation is criticized as being unscientific because of being based on testimonials, opinion, unpublished research, and unproven cause and effect.…

This paper proposes that mild learning disability may often be more the result of teaching which ignores individual differences in learning style than the result of psychological processing and/or central nervous system disorders that are characteristic of true learning disabilities. A brief overview of learning disability identification explains…