Much of learning disabilities research relies on categorical classification frameworks that use psychometric tests and cut points to identify children with reading or math difficulties. However, there is increasing evidence that the attributes of reading and math learning disabilities are dimensional, representing correlated continua of severity.…

Verbal and nonverbal measures of higher cognitive functions were used to examine the degree of difference between the thought processes of culturally deprived and learning disabled children. Four groups of 20 subjects (ages 8-10) were studied. Results of both traditional and qualitative scoring differentiated between the two populations. (JW)

Students (n=210) in learning disabilities research centers were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised. A model considering the reliability of each measure identified learning disabilities three times more often than a regression analysis model. The regression…

A dual-task paradigm involving concurrent finger tapping and line orientation judgment was used to investigate brain processing differences in 12 early adolescent good readers/poor spellers, poor readers/poor spellers, and controls. In the right-hand tapping condition, the good spelling group displayed significantly less tapping disruption than…

This study investigated specific processing strengths and weaknesses among 75 readers, ages 6-10, with no oral language deficits. Unsuccessful readers of different ages showed similar information processing patterns, and differed from successful first-grade readers on short-term auditory/working memory and decoding/encoding. Three potential…

Elementary and middle school children (n=105) completed measures of reading achievement and cognitive abilities. Factor analysis produced three empirically and theoretically derived factors, auditory processing, visual processing/speed, and memory. Together the three factors combined predicted 61 to 85% of the variance associated with different…

Offers a conceptual model for students who manifest symptoms of both learning disabilities and emotional/behavior disorders. The model is based on six functional domains: cognitive processing, social/emotional adjustment, behavioral functioning, academic performance, language functioning, and executive functioning. The model is applied to critical…