A review of the history and current status of screening and differential diagnosis in the field of learning disabilities concludes that continued efforts at refinements in diagnosis/classification are unproductive. The authors offer a variety of concrete recommendations from a data-based perspective to make appropriate educational experiences…

The article traces etiological factors in the development of social interactional problems of learning disabled children and youth. Treatment issues centering on family interaction patterns are described, and an integrated treatment approach involving family intervention is recommended. (JW)

The Corrective Reading Program, a direct instruction approach, resulted in significantly greater improvements than prior years for 78 learning disabled and 41 educable mentally retarded students (grades 6-12). Learning disability subjects demonstrated greater achievement gains in both recognition and comprehension. (CL)

Argues that much software designed for children needing remedial education is inappropriate, and a more relevant approach can be found in cognitive learning theory. These issues are discussed with reference to application of principle derived from cognitive and language development model to software designed for children with severe language…

Black (N=95) and White (N=52) low socioeconomic children assigned to special education classes were initially given the Stanford-Binet and, three years later, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Correlations between Stanford-Binet and WISC-R Full Scale IQs were significant in both ethnic groups, with r=.60 for the total…

California's policies on eligibility and placement of learning and behavior disordered children are discussed regarding their impact in determining which children are served under categories of mental retardation, learning disabilities, and emotional disturbance, as defined in 94-142. Major differences in growth or decrease in numbers of children…

Asked 118 teachers of learning disabled (LD) students to describe their school districts' criteria for identifying LD students and indicate their agreement or disagreement with the criteria. Reported criteria were characterized by variability, even within states, as were the teachers' state agreement or disagreement with them. (Author/JAC)

Examined the performance of 30 learning disabled and 30 nondisabled children in grades one through seven on the Test of Social Inference (TSI). Results indicated that disabled students obtained lower TSI total scores than did nondisabled students; they also performed relatively lower on TSI items requiring more verbal expression. (NRB)

Learning disabled students need assistance in mastering self-organizing behaviors that will allow them to focus more time and energy on the learning process. The "get-it-together" (GIT) curriculum is described as a practical approach to helping these students master routines, get started on assignments, and move from one activity to the next. (JW)

Offers background on the special education services, information, and guidance provided to Catholic educators in the Springfield, Illinois, diocese. Explains the program's first steps in helping teachers to deal with the identification and needs of slow learners, learning disabled, and gifted children. (DMM)

Evaluated an instructional approach that combines the use of student worktexts with other strategies for mainstreamed classes. Found that increased learning resulted for normal, mentally handicapped, and learning disabled students. Recommends the development of student worktexts that coordinate with teacher materials. (JOW)

Summarizes award winning research reports dealing with (1) learning disabilities and reading; (2) teaching critical reading in Brazil; (3) culture, language, school, and literacy; (4) the development of discourse-synthesizing abilities; (5) the acquisition of word meaning from context by high and low ability children; and (6) reciprocal teaching.…

Discusses two uses of microcomputers for learning disabled (LD) children--one uses them to do traditional things more efficiently; the other includes involvement of LD children with computer programing, particularly LOGO, and use of simulation and word processing programs. Reasons why LOGO is ideal for LD children are identified. (MBR)

This study investigated the transfer of four study rules from pictures to a prose recall task by learning disabled adolescents. Subjects receiving extensive direct training that included problem isomorph recognition surpassed the control group on posttests. Instructed subjects did not differ from nondisabled subjects in use of learning strategies.…

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of a study conducted by Lehigh University on the nature and prevalence of learning deficiencies among adult inmates. (Learning deficient = at or below fifth-grade level.) Data were collected on seven groups of variables. Results are reported by variable group. Policy recommendations are included. (CT)