The difficulty in reading and writing, spelling mistakes and poor speech are considered as the main elements that characterize students with dyslexia. If one thinks that most of the things in a class are based on writing and reading, then the importance of such a learning difficulty is that it is recognized as soon as possible and with appropriate…

Using the criteria established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the assessment procedures for establishing an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a previously undiagnosed adjudicated group is detailed. We examined 37 male adolescents adjudicated delinquent for sexual offenses who were sentenced to treatment. Ultimately, 22 (60%) were found to…

Why do some students go above and beyond what is asked of them while others do just enough to get by? This "Focus On" debunks common underachievement myths (such as "some students aren't capable of learning" or "underachievers are lazy") and looks at ways to create a motivating classroom by providing teachers with effective strategies for engaging…

The regular classroom teacher's role in the identification of learning-disabled children is important but often difficult. Identification is facilitated, however, by recognition of a pattern of symptoms rather than one single sign. (Author/GC)

Three aspects of the learning strategies model are discussed: its philosophy (that intervention should be based on principles of cognitive psychology and learning); its major components (including identification, decision making, and cooperative planning); and its application to a 15-year-old LD student. (CL)

The scope of this article is to discuss the impact of underrepresentation of girls in separate, self-contained special education classes for preschool children in a large school district in the southeastern United States. On a regular basis, preschool girls identified with special needs are being placed in self-contained classes where there they…

Characteristics of the aggressive, severely behavior disordered (BD) child are discussed, with a focus on classification and identification criteria. Additional factors directly related to the behavior of an aggressive, severely BD child are also considered: biological factors, familial factors, cognitive factors, frustration (specifically…

The authors of EC 609 935, a paper comparing characteristics of children with high functioning autistic disorder (H-F AD) with those of children having mild disabilities, reflect on difficulties in accurately identifying and programming for H-F AD children. Educators are urged to evaluate such students in terms of learning style, behavioral…

The cognitive styles of 40 children (ages 8-17) with serious emotional disturbance (SED) were investigated via their performance on Planning-Attention-Simultaneous-Successive (PASS) model tasks as represented by the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (CAS). In the study, the children with SED and 40 typical children were administered the 14…

This article considers effects of a mismatch between the cognitive styles of children from minority cultural groups and cognitive styles promoted in schools, leading to inappropriate interaction, assessment, instruction, or discipline. It suggests such students may be inappropriately identified as having a learning disability or emotional and/or…

This paper proposes that mild learning disability may often be more the result of teaching which ignores individual differences in learning style than the result of psychological processing and/or central nervous system disorders that are characteristic of true learning disabilities. A brief overview of learning disability identification explains…

A rural school developed a system to identify and intervene with students whose learning styles did not match the school's predominantly verbal-auditory methods. A School Assessment Team produced a program to be implemented in regular class settings. A case of a second grader illustrates the value of suggested teaching strategies. (CL)

This article presents the Triune Assessment-Intervention Model (TAIM), which uses the constructs of sensemaking and dynamic literacy as its conceptual framework. The model assesses use of semantics/syntax, phonology/orthography, organization, and scripts/schemas rule systems though analysis of oral and literate discourse events, communication, and…

This collection of 64 papers from a 1997 international conference of special educators focuses on the challenges of diversity in education. Topics of the papers include: (1) assessment strategies for individuals with autism; (2) self-determination strategies for at-risk youth with learning, behavior, and emotional disabilities; (3) developing…