The concurrent validity of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) and the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND) was investigated in an Australian sample of 38 girls and 91 boys aged 9-12 years (M = 11.15, SD = 0.81). The MAND identified 44 children with motor impairment (MI) and 85 children without MI. The…

Reading difficulties and disabilities present serious and potentially lifelong challenges. Children who do not read well are more likely to be retained a grade in school, drop out of high school, become a teen parent, or enter the juvenile justice system. Building on the extant research and seminal studies, including the National Reading Panel and…

Problems facing African American students with special needs are numerous and complex. Although processes and procedures are in place to properly serve these students, far too many become ensnared in webs of bureaucracy and benign neglect. This article examines African American students? experiences with special education in Milwaukee Public…

The main purpose of this study is to develop a Spanish language screening measure that (a) is valid and reliable for the purpose of identifying Spanish-speaking (SS) children at risk for Language Impairment (LI), (b) is valid and reliable across different Spanish dialects, different socioeconomic groups, and different ethnicities, (c) uses a…

Accurate prediction of early childhood reading performance could help identify at-risk students, aid in the development of evidence-based intervention strategies, and further our theoretical understanding of reading development. This study assessed the validity of the Developmental Indicator for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL) language-based…

Recent prevalence rates for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are now estimated at about 1 in 110 children in the U.S. Increases in public awareness and research funding in response to the growing numbers of children and adults with this disorder have led to numerous important scientific advances over the last several years. Nevertheless, because…

Special educators and speech pathologists were both able to distinguish adults with Down's syndrome from nonretarded adults with voice disorders based only on prolonged vowel samples. Listeners indicated that resonance differences may have helped them to identify Down's syndrome speakers. (Author)

A study investigated the possible relationship between month and season of birth and subsequent identification of learning disabilities in 583 learning disabled and 7,911 non-learning disabled kindergarten through twelfth grade students. Non-parametric statistical analysis of the data indicated non-significant differences in birthdate patterns…

The position statement of the Board of Trustees of the Council for Learning Disabilities opposes the use of discrepancy formulas to determine eligibility for learning disability services and recommends instead comprehensive diagnostic evaluations. (DB)

To examine how consistently categories are defined and identification procedures are followed, the study compared variability of prevalence rates from state to state for each of the categories of special education. With effects of the size of means controlled for, the higher prevalence categories were no more variable as a group than lower ones.…

Meta-analysis was used to arrive at a quantitative synthesis of the results of 94 studies of the validity of Wechsler regroupings for differential diagnosis of learning disabilities. The primary findings indicated that no recategorization, profile, factor cluster, or pattern showed a significant difference between learning disabled and normal…

The article logs descriptive demographic and psychometric data on 1,839 randomly selected learning disabled students from across Iowa. In contrast to the results of other studies, nearly 75 percent of the students in Iowa LD programs met a moderate level of academic discrepancy. Variability was found among the standard scores for the achievement…

Focusing identification and programing only on behavior related to students ability to function in the environment might give a uniform perspective for service and a specific goal for special education. Such an approach may alleviate problems with client specificity, program goals and philosophies, and service efficacy. (CL)

To determine the degree of controversy or consensus regarding definitions at the state level, questionnaires focusing on six learning disability topics were sent to each state education agency (SEA) and the District of Columbia. In general, more consensus than controversy exists when broad areas are considered. Changes in some SEA definitions…

The Development Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL), a preschool screening instrument, was administered to 436 three- to five-year-olds. Results, in terms of the number of children identified as having potential problems, and the organization of the DIAL subscales, supported the use of the DIAL. (Author/CL)