Executive function (EF) skills are the attention-regulation skills that make it possible to sustain attention, keep goals and information in mind, refrain from responding immediately, resist distraction, tolerate frustration, consider the consequences of different behaviors, reflect on past experiences, and plan for the future. As EF research…

This study compared 10 gifted and 10 average children in each elementary grade for higher level cognitive writing processes and lower level transcription processes. Results indicated that gifted and average children differed in the higher level cognitive processes but not in the lower level writing processes. Results have implications for…

Comprehension is the ultimate aim of reading and listening. How do children develop the ability to comprehend written and spoken language, and what can be done to help those who are having difficulties? This book presents cutting-edge research on comprehension problems experienced by children without any formal diagnosis as well as those with…

Reports that both learning-disabled (LD) and non-learning-disabled (NORM) children recalled disproportionately more adjacent words than semantically related or spaced words in a free recall task. Spaced words were less likely to be recalled by the younger children and by the LDs. NORMs' recalls were governed by purposive semantic processing to a…

This study compared students with (n=20) and without (n=40) learning disabilities (LD) on their recall of academic information and information encountered in their everyday lives. Students with LD performed poorly on both types of recall, suggesting that they may have problems with retrieval and working memory. The availability of cues…

Microanalysis of problem-solving activities of 10 learning-disabled and 10 normally achieving children (ages 10-12) found that, although normally achieving subjects reached more sophisticated levels of strategy use, there was no evidence that the learning-disabled subjects were inactive, passive, or maladaptive in their problem-solving attempts.…

The article reviews literature on the information processing model with learning disabled children. Assumptions concerning the role of automaticity, prior knowledge, and executive functioning are questioned. Also discussed are procedures for identifying common denominations, subgrouping, isolating mental components underlying academic change, and…

Describes two microcomputer-assisted adaptations of traditional methods of teaching word recognition (alphabet-spelling method) and phonics (sound-symbol method) which are designed for use with students who have severe physical and communication handicaps, language disabilities, or fine motor problems. A clinical protocol is outlined for…

Empirical, multivariate classification techniques were used to form subtypes of learning disabled readers (N=59) based on their performance on information processing tasks. A six-cluster solution with good internal validity was achieved with several subtype patterns tending to support hypotheses linking information processing deficits with reading…

Corrects errors in "A Developmental Study of Learning Disabilities and Memory" by Stephen J. Ceci (Volume 38, Number 2 1984), pages 352-371. (AS)

This study examined cognitive correlates of social perception in 32 learning-disabled elementary students. Three subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity were used as measures. Subtests for Picture Arrangement and Comprehension seemed to have an inherent relation to social perceptual…

Comparison of 30 learning disabled (LD) children, ages 7 to 13, and controls on a computerized test of attentional skills indicated LD subjects committed more omission errors and responded at a slower rate but did not differ from the controls on commission errors, suggesting inefficient allocation of processing resources rather than attentional…

The article examines reasons for discrepant findings in two studies of attention differences in learning disabled students, focusing on four interacting factors in experimental research: task, materials, context, and subject characteristics. It is suggested that attentional deficits are not necessarily the underlying problem for all students with…

The article reports research supporting a view which sees learning disabilities as resulting from the interplay between a poorly elaborated knowledge base (especially in language related domains), the biologically determined efficiencies of such processes as encoding, and the physical and social meaning attached to performance (i.e. the context).…

Eleven tests of reading comprehension, language skills, and cognitive processes were administered to 20 high school readers with learning disabilities and 20 controls. The variance on nonverbal tests was greater for the group with LD than for the controls; some individuals with learning disabilities performed as well as the controls. (Author/DB)