This article reports on a reading comprehension instructional technique which uses reciprocal-like teaching formats in groups and semantic mapping to make text structures apparent. The procedure significantly affected recall of expository ideas and knowledge of comprehension strategies with 28 intermediate grade students with learning…

A preventive model is proposed to avoid special education through concentrated early intervention. Several operating programs are described as examples of the practicality of the approach. Issues including numbers of students who could be serviced by such a model and the ongoing role of special education alongside "neverstreaming" are…

This study sought to determine differences in expressed attitudes of social alienation between 20 learning-disabled (LD) school completers and 17 LD school dropouts. Results indicated that dropouts felt more socially alienated toward classmates and teachers than school completers did. Risk models for LD school dropouts should include social…

Parent reports of behavioral and family functioning for 59 learning-disabled (LD) boys and 65 nondisabled boys aged 6-12 years found higher incidence of behavior problems among LD boys. Families of LD boys more frequently exhibited disturbed family functioning, although the boys in those families showed no more behavior problems than boys of other…

This study of the story composition abilities of 46 students (aged 11-14) with learning disabilities found that subjects had a rudimentary knowledge of story form, but this knowledge was less developed than that of their nondisabled peers. Subjects also had greater coherence problems in their writing and were less fluent writers. (Author/JDD)

This study, with 30 language learning-disabled, reading-disabled, and normal primary school children, found that clause structure complexity, fluency, and grammatical and phonemic accuracy tended to be highest when children were discussing absent referents, providing explanations and stories, and giving unshared information. These effects were…

In response to Larry Silver (EC 231 774) concerning whether attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is a learning disability via a related disorder, this article proposes an interactional perspective that stresses the educational needs of the child within his/her total environmental context. It also summarizes the current empirical and clinical…

Surveyed 15 college students with learning disabilities to obtain their perceptions of obstacles and problems encountered in college setting. Findings revealed that parents had substantial influence on educational aspirations of respondents and that professional school counselors had little impact on their decision to attend college. Students…

Issues are raised about the Council for Learning Disabilities Research Committee's standards for describing research subjects, including justification for the recommended standards, relationship between description of subjects and probability of replication, and impact of the type of research on subject description standards. Recommendations are…

This article presents an overview of literature relating to a nonverbal learning disabilities subtype. The article addresses the relationship between nonverbal learning disabilities and socioemotional functioning, generalizability of research outcomes, individual differences, and treatment validity. (Author/JDD)

This research review identifies similarities in skill acquisition across the domains of reading and math disabilities, specifically addressing the sequence of skill development and the theoretical question of whether the disabilities reflect delays or deficits in cognitive development. The paper discusses the nature of differences between learners…

Reviews studies indicating that negative labels, such as learning disabled or behavior disordered, can lead to peer stigmatization and to disturbed or disrupted peer relations for labeled child. Contends that problems may be due not only the to labeled child's actual behavior but also to biased perceptions and behavior of peers as result of label.…

Used Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) to compare 20 learning-disabled, 20 mildly mentally retarded, and 20 nonreferred students. Students with disabilities scored significantly lower than nonreferred group on social skills and significantly higher in problem behaviors. SSRS was able to predict group membership broadly (handicapped versus…

The Strategic Learner Apprenticeship for college students who are academically at risk or have learning disabilities involves task-specific learning strategies, course-specific learning strategies, coconstructed learning strategies, and a methodology for strategic instruction. Implementation of the apprenticeship with 56 at-risk student athletes…

Examined how contextual variables affect types of instructional adaptations teachers propose for students experiencing academic failure. Within academic areas (reading or mathematics), teachers (n=76) were assigned randomly to three idea generation formats: oral independent, written independent, and assisted with ideas for potential solutions.…