Six articles comprise this feature which explores ways in which educators and recreation leaders can respond to the needs of disabled individuals by adopting a flexible teaching style. The emphasis is on creative use of dance, movement, and music with children and adults having various disabilities. (IAH)

Investigated effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on ability of 26 children with Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADDH) to learn both trained and untrained complex visual relationships. Compared findings to their school performance under identical dosage. MPH enhanced children's learning of taught and untaught visual relationships;…

Twenty-six articles including information about the cognitive and academic characteristics of learning-disabled college students are reviewed, focusing on levels of intellectual functioning, reading achievement, mathematics achievement, written expression, and foreign language performance. Research needs and implications for service provision are…

Curriculum modifications are presented, along with empirical support when available, for teaching spelling vocabulary to students with learning disabilities. The article discusses selecting words to be learned, daily testing and practice of small word sets, strategy training, self-regulation, motivation, students helping each other, and frequent…

A three-year study found that children with learning disabilities displayed a persistent pattern of maladaptive classroom behavior that distinguished them from average achievers and was associated with continued underachievement, especially for attention and conduct problem subtypes. The developmental relationship between learning disabilities,…

Research-based classroom techniques and procedures for teaching reading to learning-disabled students are outlined, including teacher activities before reading, teacher activities during and after reading, methods for improving students' reading behaviors, and the impact of peers and family on pupil pursuits during reading. (MSE)

The article documents an intervention approach with learning disabled students which combines the effectiveness of Direct Instruction and mastery learning with the efficiency of technology (videodiscs and computers). Examples are given of effective technology use to teach earth science/chemistry, fractions, health, reasoning skills, and…

Three learning disabled fourth-grade students who asked few questions in their mainstream class viewed videotaped exemplars of question-asking, received structured opportunities for rehearsing question-asking, and received feedback. The resource room training procedures were effective in increasing the level of question-asking and in improving…

A simulated report of a child referred either for learning disabilities or gifted placement consideration was reviewed by 40 practicing school psychologists. Results indicate that reason for referral resulted in significant levels of bias regarding assessment and recall of the report and classification of the student. (TJH)

In comparing the annual growth of low-achieving students and high-achieving students who remain at the same percentile rank, educators must choose between the properties of developmental standard scores and grade equivalents. The growth patterns for grade equivalent scores may be more reasonable than those for standard score scales. (SLD)

Learning-disabled ninth-graders (n=58) completed a modified Piagetian isolation-of-variables task, and were compared to normally achieving ninth-graders and fourth-graders. Through cluster analysis, four different patterns of task approach were identified, representing normal performance, general conceptual disorder, specific developmental delay,…

A study compared the writing productivity, syntactic maturity, vocabulary, and mechanics of 48 learning-disabled and 48 normally achieving students in grades 4, 8, and 11. Learning-disabled students' written products were shorter, contained fewer sentences with more words per sentence, included fewer long words, and had more spelling and…

Teacher ratings on reading recognition, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and written expression revealed that behaviorally disordered and learning-disabled adolescents (N=200) were seen as performing significantly below expected levels of achievement. Differences between behaviorally disordered and learning-disabled students appeared to depend…

The study with three sixth-grade learning-disabled students found that a self-instructional strategy to facilitate the generation, framing, and planning of argumentative essays had a positive effect on the students' writing performance and self-efficacy. Effects were maintained over time and transferred to a new setting and new writing genre.…

Examines the information French and English speaking teachers use when programing for learning disabled students. Finds that French teachers rely more on problematic intelligence tests, that perceptual skills are influential in placing moderate-needs children, and that both groups use medical history, sibling performance, academic functioning, and…