Researchers are increasingly interested in working memory (WM) training. However, it is unclear whether it strengthens comprehension in young children who are at risk for learning difficulties. We conducted a modest study of whether the training of verbal WM would improve verbal WM and passage listening comprehension and whether training effects…

Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in…

Visuospatial working memory and its involvement in arithmetic were examined in two groups of 7- to 11-year-olds: one comprising children described by teachers as displaying symptoms of nonverbal learning difficulties (N = 21), the other a control group without learning disabilities (N = 21). The two groups were matched for verbal abilities, age,…

The current study examined the development of two effects that have been found in single-digit multiplication errors: relatedness and distance. Typically achieving (TA) second, fourth, and sixth graders and adults, and sixth and eighth graders with a mathematics learning disability (MLD) performed a verification task. Relatedness was defined by a…

Analogical reasoning--perceiving similarities in different situations and the transfer of such information--facilitates learning and understanding. However, children with learning disabilities (LD) typically demonstrate deficits in such information processing strategies. In this study, we investigated the analogical problem-solving differences…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of an intensive psychosocial intervention on the executive functioning (EF) in children with ADHD. The treatment was carried out in a coordinated manner over a period of 10 weeks with 27 children with ADHD aged 7 to 10, their parents, and their teachers. A battery of neuropsychological tasks was…

Teenagers with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have difficulty with fine-motor coordination, which may relate to the novelty of the task or the lack of "self-talk" to mediate action. In this study, we required two teenagers with NLD and two control group teenagers to touch the thumb of each hand firmly and accurately to the fingertips of the…

The paper describes an instructional material evaluation model that is based on R. Mager's approach to task analysis and may be applied to the selection of materials for learning disabled children. Procedures for listing specific objectives are reviewed, and steps for using the model to evaluate materials are presented. (SBH)

Effectiveness of the MECCA program (Make Every Child Capable of Achieving--in which a learning disabilities specialist collaborates with a classroom teacher using a task analysis approach) was examined with 14 kindergarten age children in four MECCA classes, 17 children in four referral classes, and 37 controls. (SBH)

An example is given of the use of task analysis and functional analysis to pinpoint the environmental cause of what appeared to be a perceptual handicap in an elementary grade girl. (DB)

For the purpose of developing a diagnostic and prescriptive program for children with learning problems in mathematics, task analysis is employed to develop a hierarchy of skills which identifies a terminal task and prerequisite skills. (Author/DB)

A study involving 190 learning disabled (LD) children (ages 7 to 13 years) and 38 of their teachers was conducted (1) to demonstrate that product and process teaching are complementary strategies, (2) to illustrate a framework that assists teachers in determining if the process components of a task are related to pupil failure, and (3) to validate…