The study with five learning disabled students (grades 6-8) found that a self-monitoring intervention resulted in reduced adult initiation of assistance, decreased student-adult interaction during independent seatwork, and maintenance of high levels of student attention without adult assistance. (Author/DB)

This study examined effects of simple switch-activated toy use and switch-activated computer program use with two children (ages 2 and 3) with severe and profound disabilities. Highest independent switch activation, orientation to the stimulus, and attention to the stimulus were found for both subjects when both the computer programs and the toys…

Four experiments involving 42 Harvard University students and 35 subjects addressing the role of attention in phonetic perception demonstrate that attention influences the signal-to-noise ratio in the phonetic encoding of acoustic cues. Implications for understanding speech perception and general theories of the role of attention in perception are…

Three preschoolers with mental retardation were taught object labels using an elicited-production method, under two conditions: following the child's lead and recruiting the child's attention toward the target object. Results indicated that object-label teaching was more efficient under the following-the-child's-lead condition. (Author/JDD)

Examined visual fixation in infants 6 months to 2 years old for fit with theory of attentional inertia. Found that fixations had lognormal distribution, heart rate decreased during a look, and heart rate returned to prestimulus levels immediately before look offset. Older children showed different looking patterns to two types of stimuli; younger…

Direct observational data were collected on the behavior of 26 elementary school-age boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most prevalent inherited cause of mental retardation, during classroom academic activities. Findings indicated classroom engagement comparable to that of peers and not related to intrasubject variables such as severity of…

An ethnographic study examined the engagement and learning of five students with learning disabilities participating in Guided Inquiry supporting Multiple Literacies (GisML). A case study illustrates how GisML helped one 4th grader achieve positive outcomes, how GisML also revealed his learning problems, and how contextual features served both to…

Thirty-six adults with moderate to severe mental retardation received either general case programming, rule learning, or attention control instruction in a table-setting learning task. General case programming and rule learning were successful in promoting generalized table setting. Only general case programming facilitated maintenance of…

This article discusses the nature of joint attention, its measurement, and why this behavior domain is important for diagnosis and research with individuals with autism. Criteria in the current nosology related to the assessment of joint attention skills are reviewed and recommendations are made for assessment and intervention. (Contains…

The unique relations of effortful control and impulsivity to resiliency and adjustment were examined when children were 4.5 to 8 years old, and 2 years later. Parents and teachers reported on all constructs and children's attentional persistence was observed. In concurrent structural equation models, effortful control and impulsivity uniquely and…

Attention is a term that has been used to describe a broad range of topics in the sport and exercise literature (Nougier, Stein, & Bonnel, 1991). Research focusing on attention has included studies on selectivity, concentration, mental set, visual search, arousal, and information processing (Abernethy, 2001), and a variety of techniques (e.g.,…

This article reviews research on the spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity effects. Research on these instructional design effects has focussed on the instructional benefits for novices of reducing split attention between spatially or temporally disparate but related elements of information. Meta-analytic techniques were applied to 50…

Three groups of 12-month-old infants (10 deaf infants with hearing parents, 10 deaf infants with deaf parents, and 10 hearing infants with hearing parents) were videotaped during free play with mothers. Infant attention state was coded, identifying periods as: (1) unengaged, (2) onlooking, (3) object-attend, (4) person-attend, (5) supported joint…

Intended for educators, the booklet presents information on Tourette's Syndrome (TS), an inherited neurological disorder characterized by involuntary multiple motor and vocal tics. The first section describes Tourette Syndrome--its causes, symptons, and treatments. In the second section, suggestions are provided to help teachers and school…

Discusses research efforts at the University of Windsor focusing on the question of whether it is the case that some or all of the deficits exhibited by children who are classified as learning disabled are due to cerebral impariment and suggests that a neuro-psychological approach can provide a useful heuristic framework. (Author/JM)