This article offers some explanations for the simultaneous expansion of special educational services and personnel, with the increasing inclusion in mainstream education of more young people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Following discussions with some 70 professionals, administrators and others in a study in four countries, it…

The brain mechanisms of hearing include large regions of the anterior temporal, prefrontal, and inferior parietal cortex, and an extensive network of descending connections between the cortex and sub-cortical components of what is presently known as the auditory system. One important function of these additional ("top-down") mechanisms for hearing…

Special education occupies a large part of the mission--and budget--of many school districts. With learning disabilities such as ADHD and dyslexia each estimated to affect more than 10 percent of the school-age population, special education teachers have their hands full helping those students navigate increasingly rigorous, state-mandated…

Using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "habitus," this work analyzes five teachers' beliefs about English language learners' academic challenges. In reference to reproductive and inventive qualities of "habitus," this article argues that teachers' beliefs that are linked to their socio-cultural backgrounds can delimit or enhance…

This article examines procedures and processes that result in the over-referral of migrant students to separate special education programmes and, as a consequence, their exclusion from general education. The particular focus is on the role of the school psychologist in this process. The empirical study is a comparison of Swiss teachers' and school…

Individuals with autism often experience difficulty acquiring a functional intraverbal repertoire, despite demonstrating strong mand, tact, and listener skills. This learning problem may be related to the fact that the primary antecedent variable for most intraverbal behavior involves a type of multiple control identified as a verbal conditional…

The increasing number of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties means that many schools for children with severe learning difficulties are having to review the curriculum that they offer. In addition, these schools are continuing to question whether a subject-based approach, in line with the National Curriculum, is the most…

Virtual world technology is now being incorporated into various higher education programs, often with enthusiastic claims about the improvement of students' abilities to experience learning problems and tasks in computer-mediated virtual reality through the use of computer-generated personal agents or avatars. The interactivity of the avatars with…

Numerous studies have demonstrated the comorbidity of achievement and behavior problems in students identified with learning disabilities and emotional disturbance. The causal basis for this relationship has not been demonstrated, but several theories regarding the association have been posited, and potential benefits related to prevention keep…

This study examined the effect of schema-based instruction (SBI) on the proportional problem-solving performance of students with mathematics difficulties only (MD) and students with mathematics and reading difficulties (MDRD). Specifically, we examined the responsiveness of 260 seventh grade students identified as MD or MDRD to a 6-week treatment…

Executive function (EF) skills are the attention-regulation skills that make it possible to sustain attention, keep goals and information in mind, refrain from responding immediately, resist distraction, tolerate frustration, consider the consequences of different behaviors, reflect on past experiences, and plan for the future. As EF research…

The term "intensive intervention" is not commonly understood, and variations abound in the literature regarding both its definition and implementation. This document introduces and describes the data-based individualization (DBI) process, a framework for addressing the needs of students who require intensive intervention in academics…

Understanding of what is children's deficiency about learning mathematics and their negative feelings about themselves in math classrooms may enable us an essential knowledge for comprehending the failure mathematics in elementary school classrooms. This article presents the studies about the children with learning difficulties in mathematics and…

The range of learning difficulties associated with children and young people who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) has been highlighted as an emerging but little understood area of Special Educational Needs. This engaging, timely and highly practical book will raise awareness about FASD and its associated difficulties across the entire…

Substantial evidence points to the presence of subtle weaknesses in the nonlinguistic cognitive processing skills of children with primary (or specific) language impairment (PLI). It is possible that these weaknesses contribute to the language learning difficulties that characterize PLI, and that treating them can improve language skills. To test…