Reviews the increased use of Ritalin in the United States and offers some reasons for its growing use. These include public misconceptions about the benign nature of the drug, the political and medical clout of organizations promoting its use, unclear concepts of attention-deficit disorder, and a desire to have children behave compliantly in…

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) was studied in 233 students (ages 6-16) newly identified with behavioral disorders. Overall, 53.2 percent met at least one LD definition, ranging from 15.9 percent for low achievement to 42.9 percent for regression. Almost one-quarter showed overlapping between low achievement and discrepancy…

Several experiments were carried out to determine: (1) whether learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered (BD) students exhibit deficiencies with respect to appropriate test-taking strategies and (2) if so, whether these strategies could be successfully trained. In the test-training evaluation, 92 LD or BD elementary-age students…

A comparison between teacher and computer delivered instruction was conducted with 17 children (ages 4 to 14 years) with severe learning and behavior problems. The investigation was intended to analyze the stimulus functions of the presence of a teacher in the task-demand situation. The task employed was a two-choice discrimination that became…

A curriculum in affective education was developed for learning disabled and emotionally impaired high school students. The initial course in the curriculum was one on personal growth (in which students were encouraged to become more aware of identity, competencies, preferences, influences, and body). Objectives were written for three major subject…

Two experiments compared cross-age and peer tutoring interventions within special education settings. In experiment 1, 47 elementary age learning and/or behaviorally disordered (LD/BD) students acted as tutors of younger LD and BD students. In experiment 2, 31 same-age LD and BD students alternated tutor and tutee roles. In both experiments,…

A language therapy program designed for use with behavior-disordered adolescents was also used with language/learning-disabled adolescents. Line drawings of facial expressions were used to teach the concepts of feelings and identify ranges of similar emotions as well as to introduce new vocabulary. Special behavior considerations with the behavior…

A behavior management support group involving a psychologist and other school staff uses video recordings of students to help deal with the behavior problems of pupils with severe learning disabilities. (CL)

Resource and special class teachers of learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered elementary and secondary students rated behaviorally disordered Ss as exhibiting more of five patterns of deviant behavior than LD Ss. Secondary Ss exhibited more rule breaking than elementary Ss; and special class Ss, more anxious, fearful behavior than…

The study compared adaptive behavior, social adjustment and academic achievement of educable mentally retarded, learning disabled, behavior disordered, and regular class elementary children (N=120). Significant differences were found in adaptive behavior, social adjustment, and academic achievement among the four groups; none of the instruments,…

Correlational analysis of observed reciprocal interactions of 15 students from each group of learning disabled, behavior-disordered, and regular elementary students, and their peers, teachers, and classroom aids indicated that negative peer-student interactions were reciprocal and that positive or negative teacher-student interactions were not…

Discusses the potential uses and abuses of psychopharmacologic therapy with children or adolescents who display learning, emotional, or behavioral disorders. Explores the indications and contraindications of such therapy and enumerates the known side effects of the most frequently prescribed medications, including psychostimulants,…

The discussion of elementary or secondary school study skills programs for general or special education looks at the skills to be included in such a program and implementation strategies, including programing for individual student skill needs. (MSE)

A survey of general educators (n=194) revealed a general willingness to accept students with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, contingent on mainstreaming modifications (such as availability and effectiveness of support personnel) and their participation in decision making. (Author/DB)

This study examined the categories of objectives in the Individualized Education Programs of children with behavior disorders, learning disabilities, or mild mental retardation in five states. The study found differences among disability groups in objective categories (academic, career/vocational, behavior, and basic living skills) but less…