Developing and supporting understanding of the meaning of multiplication and multiplicative relationships in students with mathematics learning disabilities requires carefully designed instruction that emphasizes strategic representation use. This article discusses three ways in which teachers can incorporate multiple representations within…

Progress monitoring focuses on individualized decision making in general and special education with respect to academic skill development at the elementary grades. Progress monitoring is conducted frequently (at least monthly) and is designed to: (1) Estimate rates of improvement; (2) Identify students who are not demonstrating adequate progress…

The purpose of this article is to inform teachers about the dangers of misalignment between core (Tier 1) instruction and Tiers 2 and 3 supplementary instruction for struggling readers and students with learning disabilities. Misalignment between core and supplementary instruction is problematic for students at risk of academic failure because it…

This article presents an interview with Janet W. Lerner, professor emerita of special education at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Lerner also serves as an adjunct professor in the Professional Assistant Center for Education (PACE) for Young Adults with Multiple Learning Disabilities at National Louis University and as…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) demonstrate significant academic deficits across content areas (Coutinho, 1986; Lane, Barton-Arwood, Nelson, & Wehby, 2008; Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith, 2004; Reid, Gonzalez, Nordness, Trout, & Epstein, 2004; Ruhl & Berlinghoff, 1992). Mathematics, however, appears to be especially…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 encourages schools to use interventions to ensure that students' literacy difficulties are not instructional problems before assuming a learning disability. The law frames these interventions in two ways: as a strategy for identifying students with learning disabilities--a measurement…

Students with high-incidence disabilities, including emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD), learning disabilities (LD), and mild intellectual disabilities (MID), demonstrate academic, social, and behavioral deficits to varying degrees, which places them at risk for school failure. Because students with E/BD face dire consequences, it is…

The performance of 79 elementary school students referred for learning disability evaluation was compared on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery (WJPEB). Pearson product-moment correlations were performed on the global…

RATE (Read and Then Evaluate) provides opportunities for learning disabled students to self-select appropriate reading materials, form and communicate opinions about their reading, and gain confidence in themselves as readers. Teachers' observations confirmed the effectiveness of the program, which was expanded to involve students sharing the…

The Spolin Theater Games consist of more than 200 games and exercises to encourage spontaneity, creativity, and interpersonal communication in group settings. This article describes the use of Spolin games in four classes of six- to nine-year-old educationally handicapped children and looks at changes that occurred, particularly in the way…

The history, job description, funding base, and effectiveness of modulators (advocate type individuals who provide direct services to learning disabled (LD) children as well as coordinate services by others) are reviewed. (CL)

A classroom teacher describes an approach to classroom organization for learning handicapped students in which the teacher is the hub and classroom activities radiate from him or her. Learning stations are located on the periphery, and spaces are designated for free time and time-out. (CL)

The performance of 60 learning disabled and normally achieving children (ages 9-12), either given minimal instruction to use organizing strategies or engaged only in practice with a free recall task, were compared. Factors underlying the unexpected finding that strategy use did not account for learning disabled students' poor recall are discussed.…

A learning disabilities program at the American Community School in Athens, Greece followed the procedures established by P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The 12 children (grades two through four) participating exhibited statistically significant growth in most academic and perceptual areas. The model was inexpensive as…

Discusses a historical pattern of disagreement among experts about the way to label children who have reading difficulties. Suggests that this lack of agreement has resulted in difficulties for students who end up being labeled as well as those who do not get help because they do not fit a label. (RS)