Uses the example of a 12-year-old nonreader to review fundamental principles essential to teaching seriously disabled preadolescent nonreaders. Argues that teachers must begin with an acute awareness of how students feel; accurately access strengths and weaknesses; find starting points that will guarantee initial success; be clear about time…

A review of learning disabilities in gifted children provides definitions of "learning disabilities" and "giftedness", a classification of gifted students with learning disabilities, the importance of a multidimensional approach to identifying students with gifts/learning disabilities, characteristics, programming guidelines, teaching strategies,…

This article discusses the characteristics of the medical students and physicians who have been diagnosed as having learning disabilities and/or attention deficit disorders and suggests appropriate accommodations that should be made by medical schools and testing agencies. The organization Medical H.E.L.P. (Higher Education for Learning Problems)…

Provides background information related to the use of computers in classrooms that have diverse populations including students with disabilities. Offers a rationale for examining structured approaches to teaching computer skills to young children. Describes one such structured approach. (TJQ)

This study examined the use of dynamic mediation procedures for assessing language modifiability of Spanish-speaking students with learning disabilities. Pre- and post-mediation measures included language scores and behavioral observations of language learning and modifiability during mediation. Results indicated significant improvement in…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for learning disabilities first suggests the flying buttress, which becomes integrated into a new structure, as a better metaphor. It suggests that scaffolded instruction depends on sophisticated shared assumptions about the conversational process. Evidence that some children…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field urges that all available literature, rather than a particular metaphor, should be used to evaluate the efficacy of instructional procedures in interpreting findings of instructional research. (Author/DB)

This response by the original author to six commentaries on his paper concerning the scaffolding metaphor for learning disabilities highlights common themes (such as the basic dynamics of meaningful learning) and revisits arguments for and against the utility of the metaphor. Suggestions for broadening the metaphor to address related issues such…

This article argues that the reason the mathematics performance of students with mild disabilities is so limited is the mathematics. Using illustrations from subtraction, the article proposes number sense be a primary goal and that within the realm of number sense, big ideas be included among the dependent variables. (Contains references.)…

School nurses play a critical role in the effective school- based treatment of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They can help debunk myths associated with medications for ADHD, explain the ongoing nature of treatment for children with ADHD, and help develop behavior support plans. Sidebars offer suggestions for…

This article proposes a two-factor theory of mathematics disabilities based on the premise that weak cognitive representations lead to poorer retrieval of information from long term memory. Comparison of children with math disabilities alone (MD) and those with both math and reading disabilities (MD/RD) suggests that weak phonological processing…

Standardized, norm-referenced measures of achievement, phonological processing measures, and curriculum-based measures of reading fluency were used with 40 children (Grades 1-2), including 20 children with reading disabilities. All measures were found to correlate significantly with each other; however, correlations were generally in the moderate…

A study investigated electroencephalographic (EEG) differences between children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with reading disabilities (ADHD + RD) (n=20) or without (n=20), and 20 controls. Results indicate differences found in the ADHD + RD group represent an electrophysiological component associated with the reading disability…

Based on current knowledge about cognitive processes, this article presents strategies for preparing the learner, managing the environment to motivate students, gaining and keeping learner attention, and increasing memory and recall by making learning personally relevant to students. Resources are listed for brain-based teaching and learning. (CR)

Analysis of Florida data (n=159,129) found that new born infants with any of four risk factors for low socioeconomic status (SES) were 1.2 to 3.4 times more likely than others to have a learning disability placement by age 12 to 14. Proportion of placements attributable to low SES was 30 percent among boys and 39 percent among girls. (Contains…