A survey of 128 British families of children with autism found progress over the last decade in the shorter time for referral to specialists, younger age at diagnosis, and younger age at receipt of special education services. Difficulties remain in obtaining initial professional advice and support, correct diagnosis, and appropriate help in the…

A survey of 312 Illinois elementary schools found that 178 had intervention assistance teams. Questionnaires completed by 83 schools provided information about team effectiveness, team composition, strategies and supports, team process, and inservice training and development. Teams met the needs of 59% of students without resorting to formal…

This study examined the development of phonological and reading skills in 171 students from the beginning of first grade (Time 1) to the end of second grade (Time 4). The study found that reader group membership (nondisabled, reading disabled, or poor reading) at Time 4 could be very accurately predicted from students' Time 1 scores. (Author/DB)

This article recommends that, to comply with federal legislation, a multilevel, multimodal approach be used for assessment and identification of students with attention deficit disorder (ADD). It identifies several purposes of ADD assessment, explains various instruments and procedures, and offers guidelines for using assessment to determine…

This article reviews the literature regarding the diagnostic criteria, causes, assessment, and treatment of selective mutism in school-age children. The most successful treatments have included various forms or combinations of behavior modification, though these may not address the underlying problem. (Author/DB)

Emotional factors were studied in 30 adults with Down's syndrome, 18 controls with Alzheimer disease, and 25 elderly controls without mental retardation. Primary emotional factors separating Down's syndrome and Alzheimer disease groups from elderly control subjects without mental retardation were indifference, pragnosia, and inappropriateness.…

This article explores differences in language development, experience, and use by various cultures. The paper contends that a lack of understanding of multiple views and the characteristics of various languages can result in both misdiagnosis and inappropriate instruction for many individuals labeled "learning disabled." (Author/JDD)

This article discusses complex ways in which reading, attentional, and affective disorders may be related: a primary problem in one area may result in problems in another; one disorder may look like another; or a child may simultaneously present two or all three primary disorders. Clinical practice and research are presented to aid differential…

The authors of EC 609 935, a paper comparing characteristics of children with high functioning autistic disorder (H-F AD) with those of children having mild disabilities, reflect on difficulties in accurately identifying and programming for H-F AD children. Educators are urged to evaluate such students in terms of learning style, behavioral…

In examining the disproportionate representation of minority groups in special education, this article recommends the inclusion of philosophical and ethical perspectives to broader theoretical paradigms and the open acknowledgement in research efforts that issues related to ethnicity, race, and language background are highly contentious in our…

A study involving 11,804 British children (age 10) found that when specified criteria for dyslexia were used, 269 children qualified as dyslexic. These included 223 boys and 46 girls, for a ratio of 4.51 to 1. Difficulties in interpreting these data are discussed and a defense of the criteria is provided. (Author/CR)

A study involving 48 undergraduates found a link between motion detection and letter-position encoding and a positive relationship, albeit a nonlinear one, between motion detection threshold and the likelihood of making letter errors. This result held when age, IQ, reading age, and phonological awareness were taken into account. (CR)

This study examined developmental characteristics of 82 deaf and hard-of-hearing children identified through the high-risk registry in Colorado either before or after 6 months of age. Children identified early and receiving intervention two to three months after identification had significantly higher levels of receptive and expressive language,…

A survey of 53 early-childhood special-education teachers in Korea found that children ages 3 to 7 were the group most frequently served, teachers reported infrequent assessment and scarcity of curriculum resources, most use a self- or school-developed curriculum, and confusion exists regarding the concept and use of the Individualized Education…

Examines the reasons and myths surrounding the Ebonics controversy, which concerns the use of the English dialect spoken by many African-American children in Oakland, California, schools as a strategy for teaching Standard American English. Implications for diagnosing and educating special-education students whose primary dialect is Ebonics are…