The article describes the eligibility model developed by the community college system of California for students with learning disabilities. Major activities of the research and development process leading to the eligibility model are detailed including components, procedures, and criteria. The process combines clinical and databased evidence with…

The paper describes Florida's SEARCH and TEACH program designed to prevent learning disabilities and their emotional consequences in children. SEARCH, a scanning test to identify kindergarten children at risk for problems with academic learning, is based upon the importance of age appropriate functions of spatial orientation and temporal…

The report examines current problems in assessing and identifying learning disabled students and recommends practices to solve those problems. An initial chapter reviews the reasons for misidentification of this population. Section I presents a summary of identification practices drawn from guidelines of 50 state educational agencies, the District…

Most conceptualizations of learning disabilities are based on discrepancies between ability and achievement, but the dimensions of this parameter have not been documented. Discrepancies for 83 third graders, 48 fifth graders, and 50 twelfth graders were compared. The use of ability achievement discrepancies to determine the need for special…

The paper examines issues concerned with the incidence of visual perceptual learning disabilities among deaf and partially hearing children. Evidence indicating a high incidence (15.5 percent of 682 deaf students) of visual perceptual deficits is offered, as is a definition of visual perception. The impact of visual perceptual deficits on…

A preventive model is proposed to avoid special education through concentrated early intervention. Several operating programs are described as examples of the practicality of the approach. Issues including numbers of students who could be serviced by such a model and the ongoing role of special education alongside "neverstreaming" are…

The report, developed by a special Iowa task force, examined issues of definition, criteria, and identification procedures for learning disabilities as a point of departure for the examination of current practices affecting learning disabled students in Iowa. The committee's working definintion of learning disabilities is presented as a basis for…

Many gifted learning-disabled children, characterized by superior intellectual ability and difficulty in mastering basic skills, are not being identified to receive special services for either exceptionality. A multidimensional identification approach is necessary for comprehensive assessment, and successful programming must be based on the…

The Structure of Intellect approach for assessing and treating learning disabilities is presented, including a behavior checklist and suggested home and school learning activities. The Meeker paradigm identifies three areas of student functioning: cognitive/academic, social/emotional, and physio-neurological. Procedures are outlined for using the…

The author reviews her work in attempting to prevent learning failure and resulting emotional problems in young children. She considers the difficulties involved in prevention of a multiply determined and multiply defined condition such as learning failure. The benefits of prevention (including lower cost than later treatment) are pointed out as…

The data reported here represent the major findings of a number of Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities (IRLD) research studies. The relevant research reports are listed in Appendix A. A summary of the findings is provided in Appendix B. These findings are summarized in two general areas: (a) information on contemporary assessment…

Surveys of the 106 California community colleges resulted in a summary of services for learning disabled students including student evaluation and instruction, core services, and program evaluation. Findings indicated the most critical barrier to equitable services is the variability of identification criteria among campuses. (DB)

This paper offers a critical examination of common misconceptions concerning college students with learning disabilities (LD), including, among others: LD college students are older versions of high school LD students, college entrance data can accurately predict LD student success, and LD students disclose their handicaps to institutions of…

In March, 1983, California adopted new eligibility criteria for handicapped students. The criteria for learning disabilities and speech impairments included complex statistical procedures designed to identify students with a deficit in educational performance of about 1.5 standard deviation units, as reflected in the scores of certain standardized…

This case study examines the process of learning to read and write in a first-grade boy for whom difficulties in literacy acquisition were predicted from a battery of tests commonly used to identify learning disabilities (LD). Data included: (1) test scores from the school psychologist, speech therapist, audiologist, and from standardized school…