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…

Twenty-seven low performing learning disabled fourth through sixth graders participated in two types of narrative and expository training sessions (generative-learning and scheme-based interventions). Following training, scores on comprehension measures were significantly higher. The only significant difference between treatments favored the scema…

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…

Students (N=147) referred for special education evaluation by curriculum-based and traditional methods were compared. Numbers referred through each method were similar. Academic achievement was almost the sole criterion in teacher referral and Ss referred through weekly achievement measurements were as likely as teacher referred Ss to demonstrate…

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often experience difficulties in writing fluently and using a diversity of words. To help these students, specific and effective writing strategies must be incorporated into instruction and demonstrated to them through modeling. This study examined the effectiveness of using a story map and story map…

Examines the effect of feedback on helping poor readers improve their comprehension. Compares the effects of instruction about text-based inferencing using explicit, process-explaining feedback to effects of using feedback that did not describe how to draw inferences. Finds that both instructional conditions boosted overall comprehension, but…

Reported is an evaluation study involving learning disabled (LD) children (6 to 13 years old) in 23 LD programs in which children with successful outcomes were compared to children with unsuccessful outcomes. Among conclusions discussed are that Ss in the successful outcome group did not differ from those in the unsuccessful outcome group in age,…

Comparison of community children referred for learning disability evaluation (CR, n=17) with children not-referred in community general education (CGE, n=161), community special education (CSE, n=30), or from outpatient hospital referrals (HR). CR group performance was equivalent to that of CSE and HR groups. Results suggest conceptualizing…

A prereferral intervention system was implemented in three schools (two elementary, one junior high) in which consultation, observation, and intervention occurred before a student entered the typical referral-for-assessment phase. A survey assessing teachers' beliefs about special services and teachers' expectations and preferences about the…

The author describes an assessment model which applies a databased, criterion-referenced formative testing approach to define learning problems, determine teaching strategies, and evaluate progress in learning disabled students. Three case studies illustrate the procedures for implementing the approach. (SB)

Outlines the classification of children who experience difficulty reading into two categories - poor readers with learning disabilities and poor readers without disabilities. Examines the validity of this form of classification and offers a new approach for dealing with children with reading problems. Explains that the proposed approach utilizes a…

Students (n=210) in learning disabilities research centers were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised. A model considering the reliability of each measure identified learning disabilities three times more often than a regression analysis model. The regression…

Distinguishes between full inclusion and optional inclusion for children with language-learning disabilities (LLD), reviews studies on the outcomes of inclusion, describes a university-school partnership model for educational restructuring, and outlines six reasons why innovative changes, such as inclusion and integrated learning, are difficult to…

An instructional and mainstreaming model for programming severely learning disabled (LD) elementary students is described, in which students receive instruction for one half of the school day in an LD classroom and are successfully mainstreamed in general education for the remaining part of the day is described. It is explained that components of…

Describes innovative, inclusive models for providing special education services for learning-disabled students developed by three universities and funded by the Office of Special Education. The projects, involving considerable financial and professional resources, were implemented at six restructuring elementary schools. Findings suggest that…