Cognitive behavior modification (CBM), Direct Instruction (DI), and holistic approaches to the education of students with learning disabilities are compared for purposes of identifying similarities and differences in instructional practice. Comparative discussions are organized around four distinctions: specific vs. general, bottom-up vs.…

The combination of two cognitive behavior modification procedures--self-monitoring of attention and self-monitoring of academic accuracy--with a group of low functioning students in a LD self-contained class was effective for all four students in improving attention-to-task and for three of the four children in percentage of accurate responses on…

The effects of remediation of hypothesized component deficits prior to remediation of known academic deficiencies were compared with remediation of academic (reading) deficiencies alone among 76 elementary grade learning disabled students. Results indicated better achievement for students receiving both remedial treatments. (Author/DB)

The cognitive problem solving model, used in an educational seminar designed to reduce anxiety of parents of learning disabled children through increasing their cognitive understanding, is illustrated in three case studies, two of which demonstrated increased understanding and more adequate functioning. (CL)

This critical analysis of the scaffolding metaphor for the field of learning disabilities first reviews the origins and early applications of the metaphor and criticisms of the metaphor raised by others. It proposes an enriched version of the metaphor which emphasizes the communicational dynamics and conceptual reorganization involved in…

Results of this evaluation study did not find that attribution retraining (embedded within a mathematics computer-assisted instructional program) had a significant impact on the attributions of 29 students with learning disabilities. However, students in the attribution retraining condition did complete more program levels and scored higher on…

Responding to a previous article written by a college student with learning disabilities (LD), this article discusses cognitive and affective barriers faced by college populations with LD and the need to provide support. The anxiety, alienation, drive to succeed, and "masks" of students with LD are explored. (CR)

This article discusses theory, related literature, methods, and techniques related to the process of reframing the learning disabilities experience of adults to achieve employment success and adjustment. It covers various stages of the reframing process and argues that successful reframing is imperative if the individual is to take control of…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field concludes that the scaffolding metaphor is fundamentally flawed. The author proposes an alternative model, Strategic Content Learning, which is seen as more successfully promoting correspondence between instructional activities and the…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field identifies issues in the metaphor's use and concludes that effective special education has been inhibited by isolation of interventions from theory and by the way teacher education is structured. Use of the scaffolding metaphor to refocus…

Discusses the anxiety and stress students with learning disabilities experience in the college environment. Cognitive strategies to overcome negative thinking patterns are discussed, including discussing anxiety with peers, positive imagining, playing out worst-case scenarios, confronting sources of anxiety, and accepting learning disabilities and…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for learning disabilities first suggests the flying buttress, which becomes integrated into a new structure, as a better metaphor. It suggests that scaffolded instruction depends on sophisticated shared assumptions about the conversational process. Evidence that some children…

This commentary on C. Addison Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field urges that all available literature, rather than a particular metaphor, should be used to evaluate the efficacy of instructional procedures in interpreting findings of instructional research. (Author/DB)

This response by the original author to six commentaries on his paper concerning the scaffolding metaphor for learning disabilities highlights common themes (such as the basic dynamics of meaningful learning) and revisits arguments for and against the utility of the metaphor. Suggestions for broadening the metaphor to address related issues such…

Twenty children in grades 4-7, half with learning disabilities (LD), received cognitive behavior modification training to reduce math anxiety. From pretest to posttest, children with LD produced increased amounts of positive self-talk. There was a moderate, positive correlation between increased positive self-talk and math performance. (Author/JDD)