Students with behavioral or learning disabilities are important resources for their community. Through two service-learning projects (reading to elementary-school students and interviewing senior citizens), special-needs students at one New Jersey middle school gained confidence in their skills and developed a sense of pride and community…

This article summarizes research findings related to the characteristics, identification, and programming for gifted students with learning disabilities. It also presents data from 2 projects that examined the identification and characteristics of this population. Research-generated recommendations are provided and the need for a continuum of…

This article reviews research regarding gifted students with disabilities who underachieve. Educators are urged to determine whether underachievement stems from more serious physical, cognitive, or emotional issues, a mismatch between the student and environment, or a personal characteristic, and develop intervention strategies specifically…

Describes communication difficulties of students with unspecified learning difficulties affecting their ability to access education through spoken and written language. Describes a collaborative project between the school, the special needs teaching service, and the University of Leicester which aims to clarify such pupil problems and evaluate…

A descriptive case study provides a comprehensive profile of 13 learning disabled students' experience after one full year in a French immersion learning difficulties program in Canada. (Author/VWL)

A 10-year follow-up study compared programs and services for students with learning disabilities (LD) in 173 graduate and professional schools between 1985 and 1995. Significant changes include a higher level of awareness about LD, evidence of greater compliance with Section 504, and improvement of services available. (Author/CR)

The Processing Speed Index (PSI) was first introduced on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, Third Edition (WISC-III; D. Wechsler, 1991), and little is known about its clinical significance. In a referred sample (N = 980), children with neurological disorders (ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, and LD) had mean PSI and Freedom from Distractibility Index…

Some children with autism and learning disabilities also have aberrant behaviours that are difficult to regulate and stressful for both the child and family members. This case study concerns experiences of 10 parents from five families before and 2 years after entrusting their 10- to 11-year-old child with autism to a group home. Hermeneutic…

This paper examines research evidence, practitioners' knowledge, skills and experiences and the voice of students, parents and whanau to identify common messages in respect to educating Maori students both with and without special education needs. The keys to effective practice identified include: positive teacher-student relationships;…

This paper reports the findings of a study which aimed to elicit teachers' perceptions of pupils' challenging behaviour. Teachers were asked to indicate: which aspects of challenging behaviour concerned them; their responses to it; which strategies they found effective; what they believed to be the causes of it; how stressed they felt; and how…

The purpose of this study was to identify variables that facilitate the academic success of college students with learning disabilities. Twenty recent college graduates with documented learning disabilities were interviewed using a semi-structured format. An analysis of the transcripts of the interviews revealed eight common themes, many of which…

Increased demand for accountability in the public schools has led to an increase in the number of testing situations for all students, including students with disabilities. The purpose of this project was to develop and validate an interactive hypermedia (IH) program to teach a test-taking strategy to secondary-level students with disabilities.…

Provisions of special education law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are many and complex. During the 2001-2002 school year over 48 million children in the United States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico were enrolled in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. Parents are becoming increasingly legally literate; the increased…

This study examined the relationship between scores on "speeded" cognitive and academic tests and the need for the accommodation of extended test time for normally achieving students (NA) and students with learning disabilities (LD). Often, in postsecondary settings the decision to provide the accommodation of extended test time is based…

This study aimed at verifying whether a specific program on writing self-efficacy, designed to train the four sources of self-efficacy suggested by Bandura (1997), could improve not only productivity and quality of writing composition in students with LD and their processes of writing, but also their writing self-efficacy beliefs and other…