This literature review examines the use of text-to-speech (TTS) software as an accommodation for students with learning disabilities and its impact on improving reading comprehension. As the development and availability of TTS tools and assistive technologies have increased over the past decade, it is significant to explore how they are used to…

For many students with cognitive acquisition difficulties, cognitive notation is often challenging. Since the interpretation of symbols to extract the meaning from the visual notations is an essential part of a student's educational it is important for educators to find meaningful ways of achieving this goal. The purpose of this paper is to…

This paper describes how some children with learning problems feel about themselves; points out some possible witches' tales regarding understanding and communication with such children; and discusses some clinical opinions that have been developed at the Child Center, Kentfield, regarding these children. The contents of the paper include: a…

This study examined several aspects of Passage Reading Fluency (PRF) including performance variability across passages alternative designs for measuring PRF gain, and effects on PRF level from retesting with the same passages. Participants were 33 students from grades 2 to 10 attending a school for students with learning disabilities. PRF was…

Investigates whether improved fluency and comprehension across different stories in repeated reading depend on the degree of word overlap among passages and whether repeated reading is more effective than an equivalent amount of nonrepetitive reading. (HOD)

Results from a study to determine whether the effects of repeated readings are comparable for learning-disabled (LD) and nondisabled readers (N=50) indicate that, regardless of classification (LD or nondisabled) or level of functioning (instructional- or mastery-level), repeated readings produced more fluent reading and greater recall. (IAH)

This document describes the WORDS software, a computer program designed to evaluate a reading disabled student's sight word vocabulary using an Apple II microcomputer. A brief discussion of various methods of addressing reading difficulties precedes a detailed description of the WORDS program and its use. This description covers: (1) the…

A program was developed for improving the reading abilities and student attitudes toward reading of kindergarten- through third-grade learning-disabled students in a northwest suburban elementary school community, located in northern Illinois. The problem was originally observed by the teaching staff who found students lacking in prerequisite…

The papers in this volume represent both theory and application in reading research. The topics are as follows: research on programs for poor readers; a method for teaching children who have reading difficulties even though they have learned decoding skills; a decade of research on reading and learning disabilities; children's understanding of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the more effective decision rule set between the goal oriented and the treatment oriented approach within the context of alterable and unalterable elements of instruction. Students (n=343) identified as learning disabled by their schools from grades 1 through 6 in 35 schools in a large city school…

The thesis presents a literature review of selected characteristics of learning disabled children and the relationship between these characteristics and reading. Thirty-three characteristics are discussed, divided into three categories: selected cognitive abilities, speech and language development, and selected behavioral and emotional-social…

This report discusses the effectiveness of strategy-based writing instruction for adolescents with language-based learning disabilities. The instruction is being provided to Canadian students in grade eight who are at least two grade equivalents below their peers in reading and writing ability. The students are taught a paraphrasing strategy that…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of an experimental program for reluctant readers on reading ability, writing ability, and self-concept; (2) the effects of a cross-age tutoring…