Attributions of laziness, reflected in teacher comments such as "Just try harder and you will shine", may mask specific cognitive, learning, attentional or emotional problems that could explain low motivation in some children. This paper reports findings from an investigation of 20 children, aged 7 to 10 years, who were regarded as lazy…

This study examined the relationship of holistic scoring with handwriting legibility, spelling accuracy and number of T-units within compositions written by children in grades 3 through 6 using path analysis. A sample of 223 compositions was rated for handwriting legibility and composition quality, and coded for number of T-units and percentage of…

Post-secondary education is a path that many individuals take after high school. For students with learning disabilities, post-secondary education is an attainable goal regardless of the academic difficulties they may face. In order to make a successful transition to postsecondary education, it is necessary that students, as well as parents are…

Understanding ambiguous words, phrases, and sentences is an important part of reading well, communicating skillfully, and enjoying humor based on word play. With this seven-unit activity book--filled with creative, ready-to-use activities based on jokes and puns--students will learn how to decipher the language ambiguities they encounter inside…

This study explored the relationship between verbal fluency skills and writing skills in developing writers. There were three research questions addressed: (1) Was there a difference between fifth-grade students who have a learning disability (LD) in written language and fifth-grade students with typical development (TD) on the Delis-Kaplan…

This study investigated the impact of motivation to read on the reading gains of struggling adolescent readers with and without specific learning disabilities (LD) who were exposed to a structured, research-based reading program over an 18-week period. Participants included 13 adolescents with LD and 25 students without disabilities from two…

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a single gene disorder with an expanded CGG allele on the X chromosome, is the most common form of inherited cognitive impairment. The cognitive deficit ranges from mild learning disabilities to severe intellectual disability. The phenotype includes hyperactivity, short attention span, emotional problems including…

Fourth- and sixth-grade students with and without learning disabilities wrote essays about a controversial topic after receiving either a general persuasion goal or an elaborated goal that included subgoals based on elements of argumentative discourse. Students in the elaborated goal condition produced more persuasive essays that were responsive…

The passage of No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has strengthened the conditions for instructional accountability for all learners. The standards-based approach promulgated by curriculum and state assessments is central to the accountability of conditions in today's schools; however, national and state data…

The purpose of the study was to examine whether the Greek translation of the "Learning Disability Evaluation Scale" (LDES) can be used in the identification of learning disabilities. The LDES was completed by 165 teachers for one of their students, aged 5 to 14 years. The LDES was significantly correlated to students' grades in Math and…

Both inclusion and challenging content area curricula require student proficiency in skills of learning. Strategy instruction that is supported with graphic procedural facilitators can help to meet that requirement, particularly for more complex, or higher order, tasks. Ninety-eight 8th graders with and without learning disabilities learned a…

Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 are used to estimate the effect of type of disability (in order of frequency, learning, other, emotional, hearing, visual, physical and speech impairment) on young people's progress toward four adult transitions: fending full-time employment, establishing an independent residence,…

This article is one in a series developed by NASP's African American Subcommittee for school psychologists and other educators working with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. In this article, part one of two addressing disproportionality, the subcommittee presents an overview of the problem of disproportionate…

A central issue in the study of reading and spelling has been to understand how the consistency or frequency of letter-sound relationships affects written language processing. We present, for the first time, evidence that the sound-spelling frequency of "subgraphemic" elements of words (letters within digraphs) contributes to the…

This three year longitudinal study examined the effects of IQ, age of diagnosis, school socioeconomic status (SES) and participation in desegregation programs on the remediation of learning disabilities. Participants included 176 children who were diagnosed with a learning disability, 44 of whom were participants in a voluntary transfer program.…