Virtual reality (VR) technology has demonstrated effectiveness in a variety of technical learning situations, yet little is known about its differential effects on learners with different levels of visual processing skill. This small-scale exploratory study tested VR through quasi-experimental methodology and a theoretical/conceptual framework…

This article describes the characteristics of patrons with learning disabilities (LD) and how these characteristics might affect library use. The lack of services for college patrons who have learning disabilities (LD) in this decade is much like the lack of adequate and appropriate services for high school patrons with LD in previous decades. The…

This study examines possible connections between second language competency and frequency and type of gesture use (illustrators, compensatory illustrators, adaptors, emblems, regulators, and affect displays). To this end, 75 students enrolled in beginning, intermediate, and advanced college-level Spanish courses were videotaped while conversing in…

This study tests the hypothesis that dyslexia and dyscalculia are associated with two largely independent cognitive deficits, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficit in the number module in the case of dyscalculia. In four groups of 8- to 10-year-olds (42 control, 21 dyslexic, 20 dyscalculic, and 26…

Background: Down syndrome (DS) has been the focus of much cognitive and developmental research; however, there is a gap in knowledge regarding sustained attention, particularly across different sensory domains. This research examined the hypothesis that children with DS would demonstrate superior visual rather than auditory performance on a…

Deficits in verbal short-term memory have been identified as one factor underlying reading and spelling disorders. However, the nature of this deficit is still unclear. It has been proposed that poor readers make less use of phonological coding, especially if the task can be solved through visual strategies. In the framework of Baddeley's…

The "co-familiality" criterion for an endophenotype has two requirements: (1) clinically unaffected relatives as a group should show both a shift in mean performance and an increase in variance compared with controls; (2) performance scores should be heritable. Performance on the antisaccade task is one of several candidate endophenotypes for…

Children with high-functioning autism earned above normal scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) Perceptual Reasoning and Verbal Comprehension Indexes and below normal scores on the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indexes and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) Written…

A minimally verbal child with autism was exposed to short daily sessions of watching his parents on video in conjunction with an FM auditory trainer for a period of 4 weeks. Baseline measures of verbal and social behaviors were taken pre-treatment and repeated post treatment. Results indicate substantial gains in word productions, social…

Objective: To investigate the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on components of working memory (WM) in children with ADHD and determine whether MPH produces differential effects on WM in children with comorbid anxiety (ANX). Method: Participants were a clinical sample of 130 children with ADHD, aged 6 to 12 years old (32% comorbid ANX). Each child…

Behavioral phenotypes of individuals with Williams syndrome and individuals with Down syndrome have been contrasted in relation to short-term memory. People with Down syndrome are stronger visuospatially and those with Williams syndrome are stronger verbally. We examined short-term memory, then explored whether dual-task processing further…

Controlled Drawing Observation (CDO) was developed by Tove Krogh and it has been used in Denmark, Finland and Estonia for assessing a child's readiness for school. CDO is a group test, it gives information about a child's functioning in an educational setting and it serves as a starting point for later individual assessment. The goal of the study…

In this article, the author states that architects, musicians and other thoughtful people have, since the time of Pythagoras, been fascinated by various harmonious proportions. One, is the visual harmony attributed to Euclid, called "the golden section". He explores this concept in geometries of one, two and three dimensions. He added,…

In 2 experiments, the authors examined how characteristics of a simulated traffic environment and in-vehicle tasks impact driver performance and visual scanning and the extent to which a computational model of visual attention (SEEV model) could predict scanning behavior. In Experiment 1, the authors manipulated task-relevant information bandwidth…

In the present study, 9-, 12- and 16-month-old infants were familiarized to a block that was repeatedly lowered into a container and lifted from that container again. In the subsequent test phase, the block passed through the container opening either without making contact with the container rim or colliding with the rim in three places but…