This study evaluated the Clarke modification of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress with parents (n=367) of autistic, mentally retarded, learning-disabled, and asymptomatic children. Good internal consistency, split-half reliability, and coefficient of stability were obtained as well as acceptable construct and concurrent validities.…

This article explores the use of the categorical label of learning disabled for determining eligibility for preschool special education programs. Specific concerns include definitional issues, the dangers of labeling and low expectation sets, failure to demonstrate movement through a continuum of services, and the efficacy of early intervention.…

This study of self-perceptions of fifth graders found that children with learning disabilities (n=35) and children with low achievement (n=27) had significantly larger discrepancies between perceived competence and importance in the scholastic domain than 122 normally achieving children. Little evidence for a discounting mechanism to protect…

This critique of Edwin Ellis's Integrative Strategy Instruction model for integrating cognitive strategies into content area learning for students with learning disabilities comments on the model's similarities to other cognitive strategy training models, the role of mnemonic techniques in content area learning, and the need to incorporate…

This study of three groups of students from kindergarten through third grade found that students with learning disabilities or with low achievement did not differ significantly on social skills or behavior problems over time, though both groups demonstrated more behavior problems and lower social skills than the average/high achievement students.…

This overview offers a perspective on the distinguishing characteristics, past and present, of the learning disabilities field in the United States. The discussion focuses on why an advocacy movement has been necessary and emphasizes the need to establish clinical and scientific validation of learning disabilities, to preserve the hard-won…

This article describes the development of the learning disability (LD) movement from 1800 to the present. It examines the ideas that contributed to the theoretical basis preceding the formation of the LD movement, legislation and events that established LD as a specific area of study and contributed to its growth, and a glimpse into the future.…

This study analyzed the efficacy of sensory integration treatment by combining data from a study of 96 Canadian children (29 from Alberta and 67 from Ontario children and all aged 5-8). Results indicate that the therapeutic effect of sensory integration treatment is not greater than other, more traditional methods of intervention. (Author/JDD)

This report considers potential effects of the 1986 nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear reactor. Approximately 17 million people, of whom 2.5 million were below the age of 5, are thought to have suffered some radioactive contamination. Many of these children are at high risk for mental retardation and learning disorders.…

Analysis of 85 journal articles and 36 doctoral theses disseminated in Canada revealed that the functionalist definition of learning disability and the assumption of specific etiology remain fixed in Canadian special education research. This finding suggests the need to introduce an ecological perspective in future studies of learning disability.…

Reviews six books: "Teacher Lore" (Schubert and Ayers), about teachers' accounts of their experience; "America's Best Classrooms" (Seymour and others); "Another Door to Learning," (Schwarz) about learning-disabled children; "Talking with Your Children about a Troubled World" (Dumas); "Our Family, Our…

Evaluation of the relationship between metacognition and analogical reasoning in 80 children (mildly retarded, learning disabled, normal achieving, and gifted) suggests that retarded children's performance reflected a central processing deficiency across processes, learning-disabled children's performance reflected specific processing…

Results of this study of 30 middle school students with learning disabilities indicated that, despite a positive attitude toward mathematics, subjects differed from average-achieving and gifted students in general mathematical achievement and problem-solving ability. Mathematical problem solving was related to ability to represent problems and…

Looks at a case study of a severely learning-disabled student to show how using poetry in a remedial reading setting can provide teenagers with productive and enjoyable reading instruction. (MG)

Reports briefly on three recent summaries dealing with word processing and the teaching of writing. Notes that the first two are bibliographies compiled by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills and the third is a synthesis and review conducted by a graduate student. (MG)