A research project on computer applications for special education determined the needs of caregivers (teachers or parents), clients (persons with severe learning disabilities), and staff. Results were used to develop the Living and Learning Weekend, during which caregivers were trained in the use of educational software for persons with…

To investigate the relationship between achievement and intelligence quotient (IQ) in the learning-disabled (LD) population, changes in IQ scores of 49 LD students from early elementary grades to high school grades were correlated with variety of achievement scores. Results suggest that underachievement of LD students plays a predominant causal…

Compared z-score discrepancy and regression procedure for determining severe discrepancy between ability and achievement among 236 learning-disabled (LD) referrals. Contrasted results with policy dictating that lowest achieving of referrals be considered LD. Evaluated each student with individual intelligence scale and achievement test. Results…

Reviews two tests which highlight important trends in the assessment of learning disabilities, and presents potentially valuable, practical developments in assessment. Identifies the recurring problem of the lack of a theory, construct, or clear definition to guide the assessment of learning disabilities. (MG)

Research articles published in 10 major journals during the years 1984-1987 were evaluated to determine how many satisfied the recommendations of the Council for Learning Disabilities' Research Committee on reporting subject data. Only 4 of the 277 articles included acceptable information in 7 recommended areas of subject data. (Author/JDD)

This paper examines the complexities of written language in terms of both its mechanical and creative skills. It discusses four approaches to providing assistance to writers with learning disabilities, including rule and skill instruction, substantive facilitation, procedural facilitation, and self-instructional strategy training; and recommends a…

Advocates using "classics" to teach remedial English classes. Outlines several misconceptions about teaching the classics to lower-ability students, and recommends several selections which can be used in remedial classes. (MM)

An analysis of syntactic complexity was performed on spontaneously generated oral stories obtained from 93 learning disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) students at age levels from 8 through 13 years. Results indicated almost identical rates of correct usage and similar patterns of usage between LD and NA subjects on all measures. (Author/DB)

Children with language learning problems (N=151) and normally learning children (N=143) were tested on fine-grained auditory discrimination tasks that required responding to small acoustic differences. Performance on the auditory tasks was highly correlated with group placement suggesting that fine-grained auditory discrimination makes a major…

The study compared stories written on either a word processor or handwritten by 15 children (ages 8-12) with learning disabilities. Use of the word processor resulted in fewer spelling errors for children with severe spelling problems and longer stories for children having problems with the mechanics of the writing task. (Author/DB)

Procedures for teaching learning strategies to postsecondary students are described and methods for integrating them into the college curriculum are discussed. Recent research on the effectiveness of college learning strategy instruction is also reviewed. (MSE)

The keynote speech identifies six categories of problem areas for children with learning disabilities: (1) synchronization, (2) consistency, (3) methodology, (4) cohesion, (5) saliency determination, and (6) tempo. A model of neurodevelopmental functions and performance elements to guide researchers and practitioners is offered. (DB)

The article provides practical suggestions for teachers working with gifted learning-disabled students. It includes a discussion of whether students can be both gifted and learning disabled, and reviews service options, methods of identification, and programing for this population. (DB)

The study compared two methods of teaching an initial place value skill: a concrete, semiconcrete, abstract teaching sequence and an abstract-only presentation. Learning-disabled elementary and middle school students (N=24) using the concrete to abstract teaching sequence performed significantly better on three posttests than students taught the…

The study found that an interactive vocabulary instructional strategy, semantic-feature analysis, significantly improved the social studies content area text comprehension of 25 learning disabled adolescents. Prior to reading the text, students receiving the experimental instruction completed a relationship chart relating important ideas to key…