The Clock Drawing test was administered to 143 regular education students (grades 1-4) to determine approximate grade levels at which skill on the test may be expected and to 30 students with learning disabilities. For the regular children, scores improved most between first and second grade. The disabled children scored significantly lower than…

This study examined differences between Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scores for 40 elementary students with learning disabilities. WISC-III Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance scores were lower than comparable WISC-R scores by one-third to one-half a…

A three-stage identification process is recommended for students suspected of having learning disabilities. This process examines discrepancy, causality, and the need for special education, and it complies with legal requirements. (Author)

Thirty-four (Study 1) and 37 (Study 2) pairs of three-year-old children with and without mild learning problems were presented with a battery of five or six simple cognitive tasks. Children without learning problems performed at a significantly higher level on 17 of the 18 measures. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Presents three case studies that highlight the complexity of diagnosing dyslexia in multilingual learners, defining dyslexia, presenting a framework for testing, and describing the need for testing in languages other than English. Highlights how the framework could be used with the three cases. Concludes with implications for research and…

This article considers issues concerning the use of IQ tests for identifying children with learning and/or language disabilities and concludes that the historically prominent role of IQ tests for identification of these children is conceptually and psychometrically unwarranted. (DB)

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) was studied in 233 students (ages 6-16) newly identified with behavioral disorders. Overall, 53.2 percent met at least one LD definition, ranging from 15.9 percent for low achievement to 42.9 percent for regression. Almost one-quarter showed overlapping between low achievement and discrepancy…

Reviews the historical basis and rationale for identifying children as learning disabled due to a discrepancy between scores on measures of intelligence and achievement. Discusses the validity of such classifications and the role of IQ testing in the designation of children as learning disabled for research and public policy. Alternative…

This article addresses ways in which speech-language pathologists can play a proactive and substantive part in schoolwide reading disability prevention and intervention efforts within the responsiveness to intervention framework. First, the driving forces that led Congress to alter how schools may operationalize learning disabilities are…

Although the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 108-446) (IDEA 2004) has brought the issue of specific learning disabilities (SLD) identification procedures and criteria to the forefront, calls for reform are not new and are based on decades of various policy, implementation, and research agendas. The…

The auditory receptive language skills of 40 learning disabled (LD) and 40 non-disabled boys (all 7 - 11 years old) were assessed via computerized versions of subtests of the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock Auditory Skills Test Battery. The computerized assessment correctly identified 92.5% of the LD group and 65% of the normal control children. (DB)

Uses data from school age children (N=556) to test three models of the relation between adaptive behavior and intelligence. Model specifying adaptive behavior and intelligence as separate but related constructs proved significantly better than models specifying adaptive behavior and intelligence as completely unrelated constructs or as identical…

The statistical consequences of giving a student more than one achievement test to diagnose learning disabilities (LD) are discussed. Ranking and selection tables are used to find (1) the proportion of LD students as a function of cut-off point and (2) the cut-off point as a function of the expected proportion of LD students. (Author/BW)

The validity of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal-Mathematical discrepancies as indicators of college learning disability (LD) was assessed for four groups of LD students (Total N about 5000) taking different test formats. Comparison with non-LD student scores indicated no evidence of larger discrepancies for the LD groups. (Author/DB)

Results of synthesis of 1007 studies on the nature of learning disabilities using indicators in the linguistic, achievement, neuropsychological, and social-behavioral domains, indicated that 75% of learning disabled Ss could be differentiated from normal Ss but only 40% of the variance could be explained. Findings suggest the need for a…