A child psychiatrist offers a brief introduction to learning disabilities: their causes, common signals of learning disabilities, student assessment to clarify the existence of a learning disability, and treatment with special educational services or medication. (JDD)

Because the results of one study concluded that 23% of the male participants and 11.5% of the female participants in the federally funded Job Corps program demonstrated a genuine learning disability (LD), an identification and intervention program was initiated in one Center during 1980. Identification procedures included the Job Corps screening…

The paper describes Florida's SEARCH and TEACH program designed to prevent learning disabilities and their emotional consequences in children. SEARCH, a scanning test to identify kindergarten children at risk for problems with academic learning, is based upon the importance of age appropriate functions of spatial orientation and temporal…

Identification and programing are central topics in the discussion of gifted learning disabled (LD) students. Characteristics of gifted LD students are described, including talent in the creative arts. Reasons for overlooking this population are noted, including their ability to compensate for their problems. The degree of giftedness and of…

This article asserts that the learning disabilities field must (1) address causality in differentiating learning disabilities from other learning problems, (2) expand prevailing approaches to individualizing instruction so that intrinsic motivation is accounted for in a systematic, comprehensive manner, and (3) move beyond piecemeal programs to…

The paper summarizes four presentations made by members of the Pennsylvania State University Program for Learning Disabled (LD) students. An initial section considers the definition of LD and reviews a study on diagnosing LD in 12 undergraduates. The existence of a foreign language disability in students with good attitudes toward learning a…

In response to Larry Silver (EC 231 774) concerning whether attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is a learning disability via a related disorder, this article proposes an interactional perspective that stresses the educational needs of the child within his/her total environmental context. It also summarizes the current empirical and clinical…

Part of a study of the link between learning disabilities (LD) and juvenile delinquency (JD), the paper reviews definitions and treatment principles. An introduction reviews definitions of the federal government (in regulations for P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act), of the Association for Children and Adults with…

The Structure of Intellect approach for assessing and treating learning disabilities is presented, including a behavior checklist and suggested home and school learning activities. The Meeker paradigm identifies three areas of student functioning: cognitive/academic, social/emotional, and physio-neurological. Procedures are outlined for using the…

The Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities' definition of learning disabilities implies that the presence of social skills deficits alone suffices for diagnosis, even in the absence of academic difficulties. Overlaps between this criterion and eligibility criteria for emotional disturbance are discussed along with implications for…

The author reviews her work in attempting to prevent learning failure and resulting emotional problems in young children. She considers the difficulties involved in prevention of a multiply determined and multiply defined condition such as learning failure. The benefits of prevention (including lower cost than later treatment) are pointed out as…

This article introduces four papers (and responses to them) originally given at an April 1990 conference on the identification and treatment of dyslexia. Noted is the lack of consensus on what dyslexia is, how the condition comes to be, and what the nature of educational intervention ought to be, though developmental views are seen to predominate.…

This article presents information on the etiologies of learning disabilities in preschool children with impaired hearing; the etiologies of hearing impairments in preschool children with learning disabilities; estimated prevalence; aspects of identification, assessment, and educational programing; and an agenda for practice and research with this…

The report to Congress comprises a description of the current research findings on the definition, associated characteristics, diagnosis, prognosis, prevalence, causes, and treatment of developmental language disorders. Each section both reviews current literature and notes research as well as clinical needs, as related to issues of prevention.…

This digest is derived from Susan Baum's "Being Gifted and Learning Disabled...From Definition to Practical Intervention." The learning disabled gifted are grouped into three categories: identified gifted students who have subtle learning disabilities, unidentified students whose gifts and disabilities may be masked by average…