A study conducted two years after high school of 441 young adults with learning disabilities (LD) and 10,737 typical young adults found that individuals with LD reported lower graduation rates, were more likely to aspire to moderate or low-prestige occupations, and were more likely to be employed rather than in postsecondary programs. (Author/CR)

This study compared two groups of school dropouts: 35 youth with, and 60 youth without, learning disabilities. The two groups were comparable on most measures of family background, school experiences, and postschool outcomes. Some differences were found in family intactness, current job titles, and future ambitions. (DB)

Eight school-aged boys with learning disabilities (LD) with a discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ and with more language difficulties were less successful on a mother/child problem-solving task. Their mothers exhibited lower communication clarity in their instructions to the children than the mothers of the eight boys with LD who did not…

Eighty-five college graduates with learning disabilities rated their general knowledge and understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it relates to hiring and employment practices. Half to two-thirds of respondents reported being unaware or poorly informed on all questions. Only half reported receiving ADA information and…

Key components are outlined that represent the mindset of effective educators of students with learning disabilities, including: addressing the social-emotional needs of students, having empathy, recognizing educators have a lifelong impact on the development of resilience in students, avoiding accusations, blame, and labels, and striving to meet…

This article presents the strategies instruction model as an effective intervention for students with learning disabilities. It describes the model's components (curriculum, instruction, environment), its theoretical basis, the teacher's role, teacher-student interaction, and appropriate contexts. Studies of the model's effectiveness are…

This study compared the perceptions of 308 adolescents with learning disabilities, 355 average achievers, and their 57 teachers on student level of effort, strategy use, and academic performance. Findings indicated that the students with learning disabilities demonstrated positive academic self-concepts, whereas teachers' judgments were…

This article uses a self-organizing systems (SOS) framework to explain the complexity of learning disabilities (LD) and suggest that traditional classification schema may be inadequate. It explains principles of self-organizing systems and reviews research concerning reading and math disabilities and the roles of language, attention, working…

A college professor relates his experiences of being diagnosed with learning disabilities while in high school, which affected his education, eventually making possible doctoral degree attainment. As a special education teacher and school psychologist, he cites the challenge of meeting post-secondary obstacles in transition planning for students…

Similarities and differences between discursive practitioners and scientist-practitioners are discussed in reference to a variety of issues. The scientist-practitioner's approach to generating and evaluating new knowledge is illustrated with two partnerships: (a) between the University of Washington Multidisciplinary Learning Disability Center and…

This article reports the results of an in-depth, descriptive study of long-term welfare recipients. A random sample of 284 respondents, all of whom had received public assistance for at least 36 months, were interviewed. Results illustrate personal barriers to self-sufficiency, including physical health problems that prevent work, severe domestic…

Based on prior research and theory, we propose a conceptual definition of instructional communication that is holistic, transactional, expansive, and assessable. Second, we extend instructional communication research to test this definition by engaging students with learning disabilities (SWLDs) in interviews and focus groups, employing a…

A counterbalanced, multiple-baseline, across-subjects design was used to determine if attention and performance monitoring had differential effects on the on-task and spelling study behavior of 6 elementary students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the general education classroom. Both self-monitoring of attention and…

Self-concept ratings of children with mathematics disabilities (MD), average mathematics achievement (AA), and high mathematics achievement (HA) who attended regular classes in grades 4 through 6 were compared. Twenty-four children in each group, who were selected from an original pool of 811 children, and who were matched one-to-one by grade,…

Affective consequences of two types of mathematics instruction, guiding instruction and directing instruction, were studied for two types of students with special needs: mildly mentally retarded students and students with specific learning disabilities. Seventy students were instructed in small groups in either a guiding or a directing instruction…