Working memory, executive functions, and cognitive processes associated with specific academic areas, are empirically identified as being the core underlying cognitive deficits in students with specific learning disabilities. Using Hebb's theory of neuroplasticity and the principle of automaticity as theoretical bases, this experimental study…

Interest in students who exhibit characteristics with difficulties in learning can be traced as far back as 1800. In order to better understand the complexities and causes of learning disabilities, many researchers (Bannatyne, 1968, 1974; Rugal, 1974) have investigated ways to better identify learners who struggle with academics. A strong argument…

An infant's ability to process auditory signals presented in rapid succession (i.e. rapid auditory processing abilities [RAP]) has been shown to predict differences in language outcomes in toddlers and preschool children. Early deficits in RAP abilities may serve as a behavioral marker for language-based learning disabilities. The purpose of this…

The current experiment compared the development of encoding preferences in learning disabled children and non-disabled children. Both learning disabled (LD) and non-learning disabled (non-LD) boys from grades 2 and 6 were given a false recognition task. To measure the relative dominance of attributes encoded by the two groups at the two ages,…

This study contrasted development of processing speed in 122 children between 7.5 and 11.8 years with learning disabilities and that of 206 nondisabled controls. No differences were found in relation to age in processing speed development in the two groups. Findings suggest that underlying etiologies for the normal developmental change in…

This study investigated taxonomic clustering and use of frequency associations as features in the semantic memory of children (n=30 in grades two and six) with learning disabilities (LD). Results suggested that, when individual child-generated word lists (i.e., meaningful) are used, children with LD may not be impaired in their ability to utilize…

A stages-of-learning model was used to examine effects of picture-word manipulation on storage and retrieval differences between disabled and nondisabled grade 2 and 6 children. Results showed that disabled students are poorer at memory tasks and in developing the ability to reliably retrieve information than nondisabled children. (Author/RH)

The relationship of lateral awareness and directionality with intellectual ability, academic achievement, and age was investigated with 288 first through third grade elementary school children. With the exception of first graders, Ss were administered three tests: the Lockavitch Test for Lateral Awareness and Directionality (LTLAD), the Short Form…

Receptive and expressive humor was investigated in learning-disabled (LD), mildly retarded, and nondisabled students (N=54) from primary (ages 7-10), intermediate (ages 10-13), and middle school (ages 13-16) grades. LD students did not display increased understanding at later ages and had more difficulty with phonological than with lexical or…

Examines, in 9- and 12-year-olds, two theories of disabled readers' memory deficiencies. Subjects were compared on diotic and dichotic listening tasks for recall of semantically organized, phonemically organized, and categorically unrelated wordlists. Dependent measures included free recall, serial recall, recall organization, and hierarchical…

This article responds to Sylvia Richardson (EC 602 667), noting a failure to address the definitional issues associated with dyslexia. A definition of dyslexia is offered that considers the nature of the processing limitation underlying the disorder as well as the developmental changes that occur in the manifestation of the disorder. (Author/DB)

A set of studies investigated the relative importance of operative schemes and figurative (rote) memory. In Study I, 60 concrete operational children from grades 1-4 were asked to reconstruct two types of stimuli from memory. In order to separate the effects of operative and figurative skill use, learning disabled children with poor figurative…

The findings provide evidence that the learning disabled develop most cognitive abilities in a manner similar to that of their normal counterparts, though perhaps slightly delayed, and that by adolescence, development in the learning disabled approaches that of normals. (Author/DLS)

Data from three studies identified the cognitive deficits associated with reading difficulties as distinct from attentional deficits. The studies found consistent cognitive deficits (especially naming and phonological awareness) associated with difficulty in reading. Deficits were consistent across samples, developmental levels, definitions, and…

The study is described which examined quantitative and qualitative differences among learning disabled (LD) subgroups and between LD and normal Ss in reasoning and problem solving behaviors. The research strategy involved (1) detailed analyses of the behavior of subgroups of LD adolescents and of matched normal achieving adolescents in a task…