Children growing up in disadvantage are more vulnerable to speech, language, and literacy difficulties, which are important in the acquisition of many different life skills. Despite supported playgroups engaging directly with families living in disadvantage, very few speech and language studies have been delivered within this setting. This study…

A six-year-old child was independently assessed by three licensed educational (school) psychologists and one interdisciplinary team in the UK. All but one of these practitioners believed their assessment to be the first. The aim was to compare the practice of assessors and their conclusions especially in diagnostic categorisation. The methods of…

Children with mild learning difficulties (MLD) who had not developed conservation of number, length, weight, and volume worked on conservation problems. MLD children who worked on the problems with another child who challenged their nonconserving responses made more progress on the problems than did MLD children who worked on the problems in…

Children between 7 and 11 years of age with moderate learning difficulties were tested for conservation. Nonconservers were divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group children performed conservation tasks with conserving children in their class. Posttests indicated that the increase in performance in conservation tasks was…

Found that, after extracting an arithmetic problem from a real situation and working out an answer, 6- to 12-year-olds with learning difficulties in math were unable to reapply the answer to the situation. Also found that the children, in a hypothetical situation, were unable to use token money, or to do calculations on paper or with an electronic…

England's Teacher Training Agency interviewed 20 mainstream and special school teachers on 4 aspects of a standard for special education teachers. Responses suggest that national standards might be effective means of teacher and pupil development but also reflect a concern that creativity and flair in teaching might be affected. (DLH)

Examined learning problems in South African sample of 7- to 14-year-olds whose mothers reported excessively high infant bilirubin shortly after the child's birth. Found that this sample had lowered verbal ability with the majority also showing impaired short-term and long-term memory. Findings suggested that impaired formation of astrocytes…

Discusses the environmental and constitutional factors of learning and behavioral problems in school children, and suggests an approach for management. Proposes an expanded role for the medical practitioner in assessment and management. (RJC)

In this article, we examine the extent to which children with autism and children with learning difficulties can be discriminated from their responses to different patterns of sensory stimuli. Using an adapted version of the Short Sensory Profile (SSP), sensory processing was compared in 34 children with autism to 33 children with typical…

Highlights pertinent legislation in England over the past 40 years with regard to children with special education needs. Distinguishes the political relationships between legislation and practice, and policy and delivery, giving particular reference to the role and functions of educational psychologists. (DT)

Special education schools for children with severe learning difficulties are described in terms of their organizational structure, their functional role within the educational system, and their methods. Argues that psychology has a potentially strong influence in special education and idealizes the inclusion of child development as a legitimate…

Investigates methods for the early detection of learning difficulties that were used in the screening of 788 kindergarten children. Of students in high risk groups, 25 percent failed to learn to read and write, but all students in the low risk groups could perform these activities. (RJC)

Reports on a longitudinal study of gross-motor development in 10 congenitally blind children during their first 3 years. Compared to developmental norms for sighted children, five full-term blind children showed slight delays in postural development but greater delays in locomotor development. Five preterm blind children showed major delays in all…

Describes a pilot study, involving 48 institutionalized infants and toddlers, which aimed to treat iron deficiency anemia and to discover other factors contributing to the problem. Results indicate improvement in cognitive development after the administration of iron among three groups, while no significant differences were observed in psychomotor…

Examines the relationship between developmental placement as a result of preschool and kindergarten developmental testing and children's later cognitive achievement and social-emotional growth. A total of 223 children in Grades two through six were coded as traditional, overplaced, or "Buy a Year" depending on Gesell Screening Test…