A study investigated ways that each of the 50 states serve preschool children (ages 3-5) with specific learning disabilities (SLD), the impact of the preschool-specific/noncategorical label, and the quantitative criteria used for eligibility. Although all states reported that preschoolers with SLD could receive services, different eligibility…

Describes an instrument for identifying students with learning disabilities that was tested on more than a thousand Israeli students (grades 4-10) with and without reading and writing disabilities. The instrument was found to be valid in locating student disabilities in reading, writing, and visual recall. (CR)

A dual-task paradigm involving concurrent finger tapping and line orientation judgment was used to investigate brain processing differences in 12 early adolescent good readers/poor spellers, poor readers/poor spellers, and controls. In the right-hand tapping condition, the good spelling group displayed significantly less tapping disruption than…

A replication study compared 86 petition students who received course substitutions for the college foreign language (FL) requirement with 40 nonpetition students who fulfilled the requirement by passing FL courses. Findings indicate more than half of all the students did not meet criteria for learning disability classification. (Contains…

Discusses the cognitive characteristics, neurobiological bases, and language and reading abilities of individuals with hyperlexia. A study of 12 children (ages 7-13) with hyperlexia is summarized that illustrates the dissociation between decoding and comprehension and the limited use of meaningful context to aid decoding. (Author/CR)

This article synthesizes articles discussed as part of the research symposium at the 24th International Conference on Learning Disabilities on October 11, 2002. Topics include translating learning disability research to practice, identification of learning disabilities, special education and postmodernism, and the response to treatment model.…

Describes signs of possible learning disabilities in early childhood, during the elementary grades, in middle school, in high school, and in college students and other adults. Includes a table differentiating 25 characteristics of individuals with dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder. (KB)

This study of 218 White and 132 Black students (mean age=10.3) referred for possible learning disability services found that Black subjects were more likely to exhibit a severe discrepancy between expected and actual achievement levels when using a regression procedure than when using a standard score comparison procedure. (Author/JDD)

Teachers of gifted children read a descriptive vignette of a hypothetical gifted student and rated their willingness to refer the student for gifted program placement. Results showed that the 197 teachers were influenced by the presence of the educational label "learning disabled" and by the social class of the student. (Author/JDD)

This paper offers a critical examination of common misconceptions concerning college students with learning disabilities (LD), including, among others: LD college students are older versions of high school LD students, college entrance data can accurately predict LD student success, and LD students disclose their handicaps to institutions of…

The study assessed the utility of different factor structures of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised in differentiating Israeli male students (ages 6-16) with learning disability from children with emotional disturbance. Based on several comparisons the results indicated that only the modified A.S. Kaufman's factor structure…

Four successful Connecticut projects which nurtured the special abilities of gifted learning-disabled children are summarized. Case studies illustrate components of the programs crucial to their success. These components include development of alternate modes for thinking and communicating; unique identification strategies; highly motivating…

This response to a paper by Linda Siegel (EC221505) discusses research on the relationship between social skills and Intelligence Quotient or academic performance. The research indicates that it is erroneous to assume that Intelligence Quotient or academic achievement account for the social problems of children with learning disabilities. (JDD)

This commentary re-examines Linda Siegel's four basic assumptions (in EC221505) inherent in the Intelligence Quotient-achievement discrepancy commonly used to define learning disability. The commentary also discusses the uses of alternative measures of intelligence and the role of Intelligence Quotient in the identification of learning-disabled…

These concluding comments on the series of articles introduced by Linda Siegel's paper (EC221505) summarize the bases for disputing the utility of intelligence tests. The learning disabilities field's resistance to abandoning use of Intelligence Quotient tests is also acknowledged, and improved assessment measures and further research are called…