A risk to develop a learning disability has been shown to run in families. Having a positive family history of learning disability seems to account for mean differences in achievement outcomes (reading, math) in that children with a positive family history score significantly lower compared to their peers with no such family history. However, the…

Background: To what extent do genetic and environmental influences on reading disability overlap with those on mathematics disability? Multivariate genetic research on the normal range of variation in unselected samples has led to a Generalist Genes Hypothesis which posits that the same genes largely affect individual differences in these…

The author discusses controversial issues in the field of learning disabilities (LD). Among topics addressed are conflicting definitions of LD and the impact of the operational definition accepted by the US Government; etiological questions concerning the separation of neurological, environmental, and emotional factors; approaches used in training…

The article reviews the literature on environmental causes of learning disabilities, and the appropriate remedial measures. (Author/DLS)

The development of a new definition of learning disabilities accepted by organizations comprising the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities in 1981 is reviewed including reasons for a new definition, procedures followed in its development, the Committee's intended meaning for each phrase, and the current status of the definition. (DB)

Focuses on environmental issues that affect learning disabilities and provides a rationale for learning disabilities as a public health and economic-risk issue. The link between learning disabilities and poverty and the impact of low birth weight and lead poisoning are discussed. Action steps are provided. (CR)

This article reviews recent research in the field of learning disabilities and, in particular, dyslexia. It summarizes findings from numerous studies employing widely divergent methodologies that have attempted to establish the neurobiological correlates of learning disabilities and concludes that it is impossible to deny a neurobiological basis…

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)

Theories regarding organic determinants of learning and behavior disorders are reviewed historically. Cases illustrating how a bio-ecologic examination can isolate the substances to which a person reacts and some of the reasons for those reactions are presented; and the role of various disorders in relation to the central nervous system is…

This report considers potential effects of the 1986 nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear reactor. Approximately 17 million people, of whom 2.5 million were below the age of 5, are thought to have suffered some radioactive contamination. Many of these children are at high risk for mental retardation and learning disorders.…

In an examination of 1,046 children from kindergarten through high school, low income children had more minor physical anomalies (MPAs) than those from middle income; while middle income children with behavior disorders had as many MPAs as low income pupils. Learning disabilities and emotional illness were associated with increasing MPAs.…

Contents include a definition of brain injury and cerebral palsy, discussions of the pathology of cerebral palsy, incidence and prevalence of cerebral palsy, mental retardation, epilepsy, behavioral disorders, dyslexia, and a summary and conclusions on the problem of brain injury. Attention is also given to the controversy over brain injury as a…

Selected studies of infant development concern biological rhythms, pattern preferences, sucking, and Negro-white comparisons. Sex, age, state, eye to eye contact, and human symbiosis are considered in mother-infant interaction. Included in pediatrics are child development and the relationship between pediatrics and psychiatry. Environmental…

The proceedings include 33 papers and two addresses on the psychopathology of mental development. The following six subject areas are considered: genetics and neurophysiology, socio-cultural and paranatal factors; epidemiology; behavior characteristics and learning; observational techniques and measurement of intelligence; and diagnosis and…

WRITTEN FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND OTHERS WHO WORK DAILY WITH BRAIN INJURED CHILDREN, THE BOOK INCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF THE SYMPTOMS OF BRAIN DAMAGE, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES AND PERSONNEL, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF TREATMENT TECHNIQUES THAT HAVE PROVED EFFECTIVE AT HOME AND IN THE CLASSROOM. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BRAIN INJURED CHILD…