An interview with L. Lieberman, a teacher educator and author, touches on such topics as departmentalization at the secondary and elementary level, the use of triple level tests to allow students to stay in mainstreamed settings, and the importance of emphasizing skill development rather than subject matter instruction in secondary resource rooms.…

The University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities has designed and validated a set of task-specific learning strategies to teach mildly disabled students "how to learn" so they can more effectively cope with increased curriculum expectations. (Author/CL)

Significant differences in rhythm pattern ability were found between the normal and disabled readers. The differences were greater at age seven than at age eight. (RM)

The Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Person Test, if given at regular intervals during periods of remediation, may show clear evidence of improvement in behavior and attitude of learning disabled students. (CL)

Instructional procedures that teach spelling words in small instructional units, provide relevant practice with corrective feedback, and emphasize transfer to novel words and to writing sentences can substantially circumvent the effects of learning disabilities. (CL)

Analysis of the influence of achievement and socioeconomic status on the self concept of 81 learning disabled 7-13 year olds did not support the hypothesis that Ss who experience academic failure tend to exhibit poor self concept. (CL)

Instructional techniques and modifications in independent study tailored to the needs of gifted, learning disabled students are described. (JW)

An attitude questionnaire (accompanied by a student vignette) completed by 210 faculty members explored (1) their preception of the academic potential of LD students, and (2) their perceived ability to work with learning disabled individuals. Among conclusions was that university faculty are influenced by the presence of labeling information. (JW)

The article reviews the origins of the intelligence testing movement in the U.S., discusses the difficulties inherent in measuring intelligence, and considers alternatives to current LD identification procedures. (CL)

Presents reliability and standard error of measurement figures for several combinations of ability and achievement measures. Discusses the rates and types of errors that occur when such scores are used to classify children as learning-disabled. Three recommendations for using difference scores are given. (BH)

Analysis of teacher ratings, referral, and special education placement data on 74 hyperactive and 101 control Ss revealed that hyperactive Ss were more likely to be served by special education than control Ss. Aggression among hyperactive but not control Ss was associated with receiving services. (CL)

Learning disabled children ages 8-11 may need help to request clarification of speakers (an intergral part of everyday conversation) through activities designed to increase their facility with question forms and improve referential communication skills. (CL)

A significant difference was found between 45 learning disabled Ss and 45 normal Ss (grades two-four) in discriminating between orthographically legitimate and orthographically illegitimate pairs of letter patterns. The ability to discriminate correlated with performance of the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test. (Author/CL)

The author cites lack of standards for retaining students despite increased advocacy of the procedure, and suggests that learning disabled students would gain very little by retention. (CL)

Suggestions are given to teachers of learning disabled students regarding writing instruction. Six pointers concern techniques to avoid (such as overemphasis on grammatical errors) as well as approaches to provide appropriate feedback (such as offering individualized feedback, preferably at the prewriting stage). (CL)