Explores several topics related to advocating for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, including the role of teachers. Various misdirected advocacy positions are critiqued and a new advocacy agenda proposed that focuses on program appropriateness, qualified personnel, least restrictive environment, and meaningful classification and…

This article argues that the education system in Aotearoa/New Zealand relegates children with disabilities, along with Maori and children of minority groups, to the margins of education. It stresses the need for teachers to focus on ways in which inclusion practices are reinforcing the marginal position of many students. (Contains references.)…

A survey of all state education agencies (SEAs) was conducted to compare regulations for the determination of a learning disability. Results revealed many similarities among the states with some variations in the SEA eligibility criteria. Identification requirements were different under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the…

This study compared using a minimum IQ cutoff score and a simple difference method versus a regression-based method for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD) in African American and European American college students (n=117). The regression-based method resulted in a significantly larger proportion of identified African Americans.…

In a quantitative content analysis, 128 repots written by German special education teachers about children (ages 7-11) with learning disabilities were analyzed. A cluster analysis of the 34 most frequent statements led to five clusters that differed clearly. No significant correlation between the children's characteristics and membership of a…

The incidence of congenital hearing loss in the United Kingdom is noted, and the use of a universal behavioral hearing screen at the age of seven or eight months, implemented by Health Visitors, is described. Procedures involved in identification, diagnosis, and management are discussed. (JDD)

A program was implemented in Oregon to screen infants at risk for hearing impairment, based on a birth certificate question concerning family history of hearing loss and subsequent parent notification of the need to have the infant's hearing tested. Preliminary results concerning efficacy of the program are reported. (JDD)

The importance of early identification of hearing loss in children and progress toward newborn screening is discussed, along with consequences of delayed identification. The history and status of early screening at national and state levels and specific types of screening methods for bilateral and unilateral sensorineural hearing loss are…

This paper describes the need for and effectiveness of a functional screening and initial assessment system for behavior problems among preschool children, called the Early Screening Project. Critical factors in the assessment of young children with behavior problems include measuring the frequency and intensity of problem behaviors relative to a…

Issues that are central to special education and appear destined to remain so are discussed, including professional divisions among special educators and between special and regular educators, the population to be served, individualization, and placement. (JDD)

This article discusses diagnostic considerations in identifying coexisting communication disorders and in differentiating between stuttering and secondary fluency disorders related to language formulation. Options for structuring therapy for coexisting problems are evaluated, including blended, lagged, and cycled approaches. Concerns implicit in…

This article summarizes data regarding the use of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) in a universal newborn screening program and describes various facets of program implementation. It concludes that data show that TEOAE can be used to significantly reduce the average age of identification for hearing loss in the U.S. (Author/DB)

Experimental phonological synthesis (sound blending) and analysis (rhyme detection) tasks were administered to children (n=76) preceding kindergarten entry. Measures of beginning reading were administered after kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. The sound blending task was significantly related to most interim and outcome measures. The…

A functional screening and identification system for behavior problems among preschool children, ages 3 through 5, was assessed with 2,853 children from regular and special education preschool and kindergarten classrooms in 8 states. The Early Screening Project procedure was found to provide reliable, accurate, and cost-effective screening. (SW)

This paper reviews, first, experimental studies of perceptual-cognitive development and related work directed to the assessment of infant intelligence and, second, naturalistic observation of the exploratory patterns of infants during free play. Techniques used, such as the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence, offer the potential to identify…