This chapter examines how studies focused on the same topic--disproportionality in special education--can generate vastly different conclusions about its sources and causes. By analyzing existing disagreements in the field, we explore essential questions about what constitutes high-quality and relevant evidence when seeking to understand how,…

Four studies into characteristics and instructional needs of students with learning disabilities are summarized in this article. These studies are also reviewed in the wider context of mathematics intervention research in special education. These studies generally rely on qualitative methodology, and they are best understood in light of a…

Intellectually gifted students are defined as those who demonstrate outstanding ability to grapple with competition or superior academic potential. But intellectually gifted individual with specific learning disabilities are the most misunderstood and neglected segment of the student population at the community. Students who are gifted and have…

Phonological awareness is a key factor in the development of literacy, and frequently presents itself as an area of weakness in pupils with reading difficulties. In this article, Anies Al-Hroub of the American University of Beirut sets out to define a distinguishing pattern of characteristics that supports the identification of pupils with…

This article explores the issue of missing from and missing out on education. It argues that too little is known with regard to the characteristics of children and young people missing from schooling. It postulates that many of these pupils will have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which are largely unrecognized and thus not…

The Student Descriptor Scale (SDS) was developed as a validation measure to determine whether students described and counted by states as "severely handicapped" were, indeed, students with severe disabilities. The SDS addresses nine characteristics: intellectual disability, health impairment, need for toileting assistance, upper torso motor…

Diagnostic and treatment histories of 85 children and adolescents served in 2 exemplary school-based day-treatment programs in California were analyzed. Findings suggest a significant lag time between first symptoms, referral for services, and treatment; marked instability of psychiatric diagnoses over time; and lack of concordance between…

This report summarizes characteristics of students with disabilities in the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88), which conducted a base-year survey in 1988 of all U.S. public and private schools containing eighth grades, followed up at 2-year intervals in 1990, 1992, and 1994. Among general observations are the following: (1) students…

This research analyzes similarities and differences in how students with disabilities are identified in national databases, through examination of 19 national data collection programs in the U.S. Departments of Education, Commerce, Justice, and Health and Human Services, as well as databases from the National Science Foundation. The study found…

This paper was developed as a result of a 1999 conference on substance abuse and learning disabilities. An introductory chapter urges early identification of learning disabilities and appropriate treatment for both problems when they co-exist. The second chapter discusses the differences between learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, the…

Discussion of the role of the physician in working with college students with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes a definition of this role, symptoms and etiology of ADHD, gender differences, diagnosis criteria, use of worksheets and questionnaires, multimodal treatment, the use of medication and its side effects, and need for…

This report of the Legislative Budget Committee of the State of Washington addresses issues regarding students in the learning disabled (LD) category of special education including cost of identifying LD students, means of determining program eligibility, effectiveness of services, and student characteristics. The report is based on literature…

The process whereby children are identified as learning disabled (LD) and the validity of subsequent educational placements were evaluated. A representative sample of 1,000 students were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, and extensive questionnaires were administered to LD teachers, principals, and other professionals involved in LD…

This paper summarizes a 1990 Scottish study exploring the views of parents, professionals, and voluntary organizations concerning services for children with specific learning difficulties (SLD). It specifically addressed the questions of: (1) to what degree pupils with SLD are a group with distinctive difficulties and needs; (2) how learning…