Statistical learning (SL), the ability to detect and extract regularities from inputs, has been considered as an early-maturing and domain-general mechanism that is critical for typical language development. However, recent evidence in neurotypical adults and children have found that individuals can vary in their SL abilities across linguistic and…

China, classified as a middle-income country by the World Bank, faces a scarcity of resources in providing autism interventions, despite a comparable autism prevalence in the Western world. Most autism interventions in China are imported from high-income countries, highlighting the need to examine whether the focus of the interventions from mixed…

School psychologists use intelligence and academic achievement test scores to understand individual differences in abilities that may be directed towards learning and the learning that has already occurred. To make ethical and effective decisions regarding individualized educational programs and interventions, test users must understand the…

Very high-level, functional ability in foreign languages is increasingly important in many walks of life. It is also very rare, and likely requires an early start and/or a special aptitude. This study investigated the extent to which aptitude for explicit learning, defined as "analytic ability" and aptitude for implicit learning, defined…

Individual differences in temperament can be a risk or a protective factor for a child, especially for children at-risk who possess single or multiple risk factors that may interfere with their educational success and affect their healthy development and their life-long outcomes. This research study examined the concurrent and longitudinal…

Due to their unique profile as childhood bilinguals whose first language (L1) became weaker than their second language (L2), heritage speakers can shed light on three key issues in bilingualism--timing, input, and cross-linguistic interaction. The heritage speakers of focus in this dissertation are Korean second generation immigrants mainly…

This study had the purpose of comparing the effects of two approaches in teaching mathematics to secondary special education students. The study attempted to answer the following questions: (1) Were there significant differences between group means of mathematics achievement test scores for students in a diagnostic-prescriptive mathematics program…