The investigator compared the linguistic characteristics of Spanish and English language samples taken from English language learners (ELLs) diagnosed with an academic learning disability (LD) and ELLs in general education to determine if the errors and characteristics of their language use differ. There was a statistically significant difference…

This article provides a review of the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV), a general cognitive ability assessment tool for individuals' aged 4 year 0 months through 21 years 11 months with English language and/or communicative limitations. The test targets a population whose performance on intelligence batteries might be compromised by…

Sixty-one normally achieving and at-risk fifth-grade students (of whom three had learning disabilities), in three classrooms, were taught two 5-week science units via experimental or control conditions in which treatment order and unit of instruction were counterbalanced. In the control condition, students received typical instruction, with…

Objective: Few studies have examined the psychological benefits of physical activity in children with ADHD who may be at higher risk for mood and anxiety problems. This study explores the relationship between participation in physical activity and emotional functioning in children with ADHD. Method: Scores on parent-reported measures of mood and…

A year long Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program was developed for middle schools students on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) involving learning disabilities. The workshops were designed to encourage students both on IEPs and not on IEPs to explore STEM as a future career choice by building their knowledge and…

Fifth grade students with learning disabilities receive a ten-week unit on learning styles and the special education process as part of their transition to the middle school. Developed by a learning center teacher and guidance counselor, the program is derived from the literature on self-determination and from the work of Mel Levine. The…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of teacher biases with regard to identification of students with learning disabilities (LD). Factors related to teachers' gender, age, and experience, along with children's gender, were investigated. Results suggested that teacher gender is associated with biases with regard to…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 (IDEIA 2004), local educational agencies (LEA) were permitted to use a Response-to-Intervention (RtI) approach for identifying children with possible learning disabilities for special education. Furthermore, IDEIA 2004 no longer required LEAs to establish an…

Important legal and policy changes in recent years have made postsecondary education an increasingly viable option for students with learning disabilities. These include substantive changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) in the area of transition planning, research examining the importance of a college degree on…

Writing performance for a large number of adolescents, with and without learning disabilities (LD), in the United States is below the level required for success in college and in the world of work. Despite the importance of writing and students' with LD documented difficulties in this academic domain, writing intervention research for adolescents…

The changing job market requires a sophisticated array of literacy skills that adolescents with learning disabilities reading below grade level have not yet acquired. This summary of the research on reading comprehension highlights emerging findings and related instructional conditions necessary to achieve optimal student outcomes with limited…

Developmental dyslexia is associated with functional abnormalities within reading areas of the brain. For some children diagnosed with dyslexia, phonologically based remediation programs appear to rehabilitate brain function in key reading areas (Shaywitz et al., Biological Psychiatry 55: 101-110, 2004; Simos et al., Neuroscience 58: 1203-1213,…

This paper addresses how and why the musical intelligence can be used to aid students in the learning process. It explores the brain research, several short vignettes and an informal case study. Conceptually, the author suggests that music can and should be used to help students learn and retain curricular content, may be matched to tasks in…

The normal development of humor in children has been well documented with a predictable course that is tied to social, cognitive, and linguistic development in children. This study explored humor comprehension in children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD). Children with NVLD were compared with children with reading disabilities and a…

Schools are increasingly using curriculum-based measurement reading procedures to conduct universal screenings as a means of identifying students whose level and rate of growth are discrepant from peers. Despite abundant evidence supporting the reliability and validity of curriculum-based measurement-reading procedures, researchers have not fully…