Presents the case for allowing college students with a learning disability who are unable to meet foreign-language requirements even with special instruction to substitute related courses. Discussion is in the context of the 1998 Guckenberger v. Boston University federal lawsuit. (DB)

Two studies examined students with learning disabilities who were allowed to substitute other courses for the college foreign-language (FL) requirement. Both studies found similar demographic, cognitive, academic achievement, and FL-aptitude profiles for the students. Article concludes that educators should not assume that students with LD require…

Analyzes the consent decree settling the dispute between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Department of Justice relating to the eligibility of students with learning disabilities for participation in college freshman athletics. Potential problems in the settlement are identified, as are such issues as NCAA's denial that it is…

This study investigated the effect of teacher interactive style on the participation of preschool children with learning disabilities in dyadic play and instructional interactions. Observations showed that teacher interactions accounted for a significant portion of the variability in children's engagement, discouraging children's initiations.…

A study examined data from annual reports to Congress regarding placement practices for students with learning disabilities over the past six years. Results found that students with learning disabilities are being educated in increasingly less restrictive settings, although placement practices differ considerably from state to state. (Author/CR)

To minimize the negative impact of handwriting and spelling difficulties of students with learning disabilities, it is proposed that explicit and systematic instruction, as well as incidental or natural learning approaches be used to maximize the development of these two basic writing tools. These approaches are examined. (Author/CR)

Focuses on children with learning disabilities in the context of family. Discusses family influences on development and explores three levels of approaches for describing and understanding families: structural components, family climates, and family daily routines. Implications for assessment and intervention planning are discussed. (Author/CR)

Responds to Miguel, Forness, and Kavale, who argued that the social skills deficits typically found in children with learning disabilities are largely due to the comorbidity of learning disabilities with psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorder. This review finds this relationship for LD…

By reporting three in-depth case studies of adults with learning disabilities, this article clarifies how Strategic Content Learning (SCL) instruction is implemented to promote strategic writing, illustrates how SCL instructional principles can be personalized in response to individuals' needs, and traces the relationships between SCL…

This article reviews the literature on spelling development in alphabetic scripts. It describes how once children begin to learn that the function of alphabetic writing is to represent the sounds of language, they go through the process of learning sound-spelling correspondence in increasingly fine detail, from syllables to phonemes. (Contains…

This article discusses research on the traditional use of the IQ-achievement discrepancy to define specific reading disability. It highlights results from a study which found that IQ scores did not differentiate between poor readers who were found to be readily remediated and poor readers who were difficult to remediate. (Contains references.)…

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)

A study investigated the perceptions of 41 headteachers on the advantages of target setting for students with learning disabilities. The majority of headteachers believe that target setting in schools for pupils with learning disabilities is a good idea, is unlikely to help schools compare performances, and should include behavior targets.…

Describes a social science curriculum, "Amazing Discoveries," which meets the needs of middle school students with learning disabilities for social skills intervention, is appropriate for all students and fits in with the mandated social science curriculum. The curriculum includes 28 experiments and demonstrations that teach principles of social…

This tribute to Samuel Kirk, an early leader in the field of learning disabilities, focuses on his conceptualization of the diagnostic-prescriptive approach and his work on cognitive processing and intra-individual differences. His work is seen as leading to the recognition of the importance of early intervention, the role of process training, and…