All but seven U.S. states have laws that govern some aspects of dyslexia screening, intervention, or teacher training in public schools. However, in the three states that mandate child-level reporting, data indicate lower than expected rates of dyslexia identification when compared with commonly accepted dyslexia prevalence rates. To better…

Programmatic, multidisciplinary research provided converging brain, genetic, and developmental support for evidence-based diagnoses of three specific learning disabilities based on hallmark phenotypes (behavioral expression of underlying genotypes) with treatment relevance: dysgraphia (impaired legible automatic letter writing, orthographic…

The study examined the demographic distribution of 102 subjects with attention deficits in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised standardization sample. Although neither age nor occupational status were significant, males and female residents of the West were overrepresented. (Author/DB)

This study of 640 twins with reading disability and 436 controls (mean age 12) examined external validity of the distinction between specific reading retardation and reading backwardness, in 3 domains: genetic etiology, sex ratio and clinical correlates, and neuropsychological profiles. There was no evidence of differential genetic etiology of the…

Two-hundred and eighty college students were asked to establish priorities for assigning tutorial help to children failing in school. (Author)

Twenty-two studies are reviewed that report the effects of social skills training and intervention with 572 children (ages 5-19) with learning disabilities. Characteristics examined, along with intervention effectiveness, include age and sex of subjects, grade grouping, group size, intervention duration, intervention procedures, subject selection,…

The study found that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was valid in predicting reading, mathematics, and written expression for Black, Hispanic, and White male students referred for special education services. The K-ABC scores were not valid predictors, however, of written language achievement for referred females. (Author/DB)

The time required for 96 children (ages 8-15) with and without learning disabilities to interpret emotions based on from facial expressions, and the accuracy of those interpretations, were investigated. Children with learning disabilities were less accurate and spent more time identifying specific emotions. Both age and sex influenced response…

The article summarizes the four preceding articles on specific reading disability and emphasizes the presence of variability in all discussions of the topic. (DB)

Both German and American children with learning disabilities performed significantly poorer than their age-level controls on semantic, syntactic, auditory memory, and word retrieval tasks. The majority of the language tasks also differentiated the two age levels (7- to 8- and 12- to 13-year olds) for both groups. (Author/CL)

A study applied the polygenic threshold model to previously reported differences in gender ratios among children with reading disabilities and close family members with similar disabilities. The results were found to be predictable with the model. (MSE)

The proposed merger of special and regular education is analyzed relative to conditions of mild handicap and the capability of the regular education system to serve all pupils effectively. Conditions necessary for restructuring include support for research and evaluation, the study of programs as well as individuals, and multiple program models.…

The study investigated whether learning-disabled (LD) boys (N=30) differed from nondisabled (NLD) boys in strategies and goals they independently formulate in interpersonal situations. Analysis of responses of boys (eight to nine and 11 to 13 years old) indicated that LD boys' goals were less sophisticated than those of NLD boys. (Author/DB)

The importance of understanding individual differences in learning styles and temperament for developing special education programs is considered in the context of K. Lewin's theories of the interaction between behavior, personality, and environment. (DB)

The study was designed to investigate scatter produced by 105 learning disabled (LD) children (6 to 16 years old) and to compare Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scatter with that produced by A. Kaufman's (1976) normal population. Range of scaled scores (i.e., scatter) was significantly greater for the LD group. (SBH)