Ninety-one Finnish preschoolers were assessed prior to receiving formal reading instruction. Verbal and nonverbal measures were used as predictors for the time of instruction required to accurately decode pseudowords. Phonological awareness differentiated precocious decoders from early decoders and ordinary decoders. Late decoders differed from…

This article examines the legal requirements of assessing students with disabilities, especially students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). It reviews assessment legislation and litigation in special education and explains specific requirements for assessing students with EBD. The article also examines school districts' obligations…

This article is the first of a 2-part synthesis of an international seminar on the classification of children with disabilities. It synthesizes 6 papers that address broad questions relating to disability classification and categorization, cross-national comparisons on disability in education, the World Health Organization's "International…

Dynamic assessment uses a test-teach-retest approach that can assist clinicians in differentiating between children with learning disabilities and children with learning differences. This article describes a model of dynamic assessment of narratives and its use with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Case studies…

Stuttering has been considered a heritable disorder since the 1930s. There have been different models of transmission that have been proposed most involving a polygenic component with or without a major locus. In spite of these models, the characteristics being transmitted are not known. This study used two different tasks--a tapping task that is…

This paper describes a study evolving out of a collaboration between university researchers, special educators, classroom teachers, speech pathologists, and division-level administrators who were responding to a call from provincial administrators concerned with meeting the needs of children with reading disabilities. The primary goal of the study…

Background: The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC; Bishop, 1998) is a questionnaire that was developed to measure pragmatic language use and may be completed by parents and teachers. Two studies are reported, which were designed to investigate: (1) whether children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) encounter pragmatic…

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a technique that enables imaging of the distribution of radiolabeled tracers designed to track biochemical and molecular processes in the body after intravenous injection or inhalation. New strategies for the use of radiolabeled tracers hold potential for imaging gene expression in the brain during development…

Children and adolescents with disabilities are an extremely heterogeneous group of diverse learners, each with unique learning strengths and needs. Often misunderstood and frequently less served by the counseling profession, these children and adolescents need counseling services just as much as, if not more than, other children. Federal…

This study examines the associations among substance use and psychiatric disorders on arrests in a sample of 187 former recipients of Supplemental Security Income for drug addiction and alcoholism. Participants were interviewed at baseline and at 12, 18, and 24 months. Primary measures included urine tests for recent drug use, psychiatric and…

This study provides concurrent and predictive validity and test-retest reliability evidence for scores from the preschool teacher-completed Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 2002) using two regional samples of preschool children aged 3 to 5.5 years (Ns of 61 and 70). Teacher ratings of social skills…

Responding to disruptive or troubled pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) remains a highly topical issue. The challenges these children present relate to wider issues of continuing political concern: the perceived declining discipline in schools; school and social exclusion; the limits to inclusion for children with special…

Understanding the criteria and process for determining a student's eligibility for special education services is critical for any educator in an inclusive school environment. Based on the current reauthorization of IDEA 2004, this timely resource offers teachers and administrators an overview of each eligible disability and clear, specific…

The information needs of regular elementary teachers concerning the special needs of students who have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) were assessed. A literature review covers means of identification of these disorders, intervention, effective instructional strategies, and issues involved with FAS and FAE.…

This parent guide provides information concerning the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), explains how parents can be involved in diagnosis, and examines possible concerns of parents. Two case studies are included. Possible signs of ADD or ADHD are identified, as are additional criteria…