Sixty-two children (ages four and five) with mild mental retardation or learning disabilities were presented six cognitive tasks including two memory, three oddity, and a word definition task. Discriminant function analyses resulted in classification accuracy levels of 97% for children with mild mental retardation, 84% for children with learning…

Five single-subject studies indicated that adolescents with learning disabilities can successfully implement self-monitoring procedures in special and regular education settings and correspondingly improve their on-task behavior, without regard to classmates' percentage of on-task behavior and with fading of reinforcement and self-monitoring.…

This case study examined the reading and writing progress of a first grade boy. Predictions that the boy would have learning difficulties were based on data from tests, expert assessments, reading and writing samples, and school instruction. Progress in first grade reading indicated that there was no relationship between test results and the…

The study evaluated the postschool status of approximately 2,600 special education and 1,100 nonhandicapped students at 6 to 30 months after school exit. Results indicated that across all variables, former students identified as nonhandicapped and learning disabled fared better than students identified as mildly mentally retarded. (Author/DB)

This paper examines learning-disabled students' change in legal status as they leave high school, which is structured by Public Law 94-142, and enter college settings structured by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The paper discusses implications of the change, transition programs, and guidelines for developing legal transition…

This study of 40 junior high school students with learning disabilities and 20 control students found that significant intergroup differences in the quality of narrative compositions were not evident when students were allocated time for planning and were given "Create a Story" cues. (Author/JDD)

A process approach to writing instruction for students with learning disabilities is presented. The approach involves students sharing their work with each other, receiving frequent response to their writing, using word processing to support fluent text production and ease revision, conferencing with teachers to develop writing strategies, and…

This article provides specific recommendations for teaching students with learning disabilities how to use a story grammar cueing system for improving writing. The article emphasizes the importance of individualizing instruction and teaching for generalization, and discusses the purpose of the system and methods of assessment. (JDD)

Critique on two overstatements about literacy: the illiteracy problem is much worse than many people think and is getting worse; and literacy development is both the cause and the solution to many social problems and will lead to economic development. Explores issues in literacy education such as skills versus processes, standardized testing,…

This article about the poor writing of many students with learning disabilities suggests that a major cause is inadequate instruction and presents three principles of writing instruction: (1) frequent and meaningful writing; (2) developing, embellishing, and refining; and (3) a warm and supportive environment. (DB)

Examined nine measures of short-term memory (STM) used by school psychologists with group of learning-disabled (n=48) and educable mentally retarded (n=34) special education students. Results indicated that not all STM tasks were significant predictors of reading. Sentence memory task was best predictor for learning-disabled students; letter…

This study evaluated the Clarke modification of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress with parents (n=367) of autistic, mentally retarded, learning-disabled, and asymptomatic children. Good internal consistency, split-half reliability, and coefficient of stability were obtained as well as acceptable construct and concurrent validities.…

This article explores the use of the categorical label of learning disabled for determining eligibility for preschool special education programs. Specific concerns include definitional issues, the dangers of labeling and low expectation sets, failure to demonstrate movement through a continuum of services, and the efficacy of early intervention.…

This study of self-perceptions of fifth graders found that children with learning disabilities (n=35) and children with low achievement (n=27) had significantly larger discrepancies between perceived competence and importance in the scholastic domain than 122 normally achieving children. Little evidence for a discounting mechanism to protect…

This critique of Edwin Ellis's Integrative Strategy Instruction model for integrating cognitive strategies into content area learning for students with learning disabilities comments on the model's similarities to other cognitive strategy training models, the role of mnemonic techniques in content area learning, and the need to incorporate…