The persistence of underperformance in schools within large urban districts remains a significant challenge in the U.S. K-12 education system. Education policymakers have enacted legislation aiming at improving these schools through "turnaround" initiatives. However, students attending underperforming schools face multifaceted challenges…

The Individuals with Disabilities Act mandates that all students with or without disabilities should be included in the regular education classroom to the greatest extent appropriate. Research shows the importance of the principal's ability to shape programs, policies and school cultures that are supportive of inclusion. Deploying a modified…

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating problems and their association with neurological and behavioural disabilities and growth among children born extremely preterm (EPC) at age 6 years. Method: A standard questionnaire about eating was completed by parents of 223 children (125 males [56.1%], 98 females [43.9%])…

Fourth graders with learning disabilities in transcription (handwriting and spelling), LD-TD, and without LD-TD (non-LD), were compared on three writing tasks (letters, sentences, and essays), which differed by level of language, when writing by pen and by keyboard. The two groups did not differ significantly in Verbal IQ but did in handwriting,…

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an approach to treating the behavioral deficits and excesses observed in children with autism spectrum disorders. The magnitude of improvement in the overall functioning of children receiving EIBI has stimulated additional research and widespread clinical dissemination through the publication…

Objective: To investigate associations between different indices of family socioeconomic position (SEP) and the use of specialty mental health services (SMHS) and whether the associations exist after adjusting for severity of mental problems. Method: Using data from a large longitudinal study of adolescents (N = 2,149; mean age = 13.6 years [SD =…

A questionnaire was developed to assess the reasons for teachers' attitudes on several aspects of special education and mainstreaming. Subjects were 267 regular classroom teachers from a large intermediate unit in Pennsylvania. (MP)

Discrepancies between ability and achievement were examined in second grade scores, and again in fifth grade test scores, for two groups of low achievers: learning disabled (n=20) and non-learning disabled (n=20). The two groups differed significantly in relative discrepancy scores in fifth grade, but not in second. (Author/JW)

The math achievement of third and fourth grade special education students has been identified as an area of concern within a public school located in a small rural town located on the east coast. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate whether or not the Touch Math strategy increased the math ability of third and fourth grade…

This study examined differences between Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scores for 40 elementary students with learning disabilities. WISC-III Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance scores were lower than comparable WISC-R scores by one-third to one-half a…

Differences in comprehension, production, and appreciation of humor were explored among a total of 47 second and fourth graders, of whom 26 fourth graders had learning disabilities or developmental handicaps. Although children without disabilities comprehended cartoons better, no production differences were observed. (Author/DB)

This study sought to determine if an increased knowledge of the physically disabled would affect the personal-space behavior of sixth-grade children on encountering a person who appeared to be disabled. A significant difference between the mean distances of the experimental and control groups was found. (Author)

This study examined the extent to which categorical differences exist in the instructional environment for students with mild handicaps. Subjects were 30 learning-disabled, 32 emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, 30 educable mentally retarded, and 30 nonhandicapped students in grades 2-4. Twenty-four special education teachers and 54 regular…

This study compared peer acceptance of 100 mainstreamed (mostly learning-disabled) elementary school students with acceptance of classmates of low, average, and high reading ability. Analysis found that mainstreamed and low-ability students were similar in peer acceptance, as were high-and average-ability readers. (Author/PB)

Results from administration of a standardized children's self-concept scale showed that 37 siblings (aged 7-14) of handicapped children did not differ from 37 children without handicapped siblings. Some children in both groups had poor self-concept scores, and some gender differences were identified. (Author/JDD)