Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), characterized by various levels of dysmorphia and behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions, is the result of prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD characteristics can be masked by many other conditions. As a result, early identification of FASD is often difficult, leading to a delay of children with FASD receiving…

This dissertation as an executive position paper (EPP) will provide a thorough literature review and the most current and reliable data on Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) prevalence, show the high importance of early diagnosis and interventions, and provide a standard for a school district to…

Evidence suggests that it is possible to substantially reduce the number of children classified as learning disabled in literacy. The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act opens opportunities to do so through Response to Intervention (RTI). This article argues that institutional histories, structures, and…

The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) strongly supports comprehensive assessment and evaluation of students with learning disabilities by a multidisciplinary team for the identification and diagnosis of students with learning disabilities. Comprehensive assessment of individual students requires the use of multiple data…

We report an investigation of the validity of teachers' ratings of children's progress in "phonics" as a screener for dyslexia. Seventy-three 6-year-olds from a whole school population were identified as "at risk" of dyslexia according to teacher judgements of slow progression through phonic phases. Six months later, children's attainments in…

We tested whether developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and mixed receptive expressive language disorder (RELD) are valid diagnoses by assessing whether they are separated from each other, from other childhood disorders, and from normality by natural boundaries termed zones of rarity. Standardized measures of intelligence, language, motor…

The Ministry of Education's special education policy (commonly referred to as SE2000) has been progressively implemented since 1996. Although it is a funding rather than a professional-practice policy, it has had some negative and unintended consequences for the practice of educational psychology, for special education and it is suggested, for…

The validity of the calibrated severity scores on the ADOS as reported by Gotham et al. (J Autism Dev Disord 39: 693-705, "2009"), was investigated in an independent sample of 1248 Dutch children with 1455 ADOS administrations (modules 1, 2 and 3). The greater comparability between ADOS administrations at different times, ages and in…

This article is the ninth of a multi-part series on traumatic brain injury (TBI). It focuses on the process of diagnosing TBI and psychiatric disorders. Diagnosing traumatic brain injury can be challenging. It can be difficult differentiating TBI and psychiatric symptoms, as both have similar symptoms (e.g., memory problems, emotional outbursts,…

Prenatal alcohol exposure can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which can include physical and neurobehavioral disorders, including cognitive, social, language, and motor impairments that can persist throughout life. In order for children with FASD to receive the full benefit of services, recognition of their disability needs to…

Developmental screening programs identify young children with delayed skill growth or challenging behaviors and refer them to community agencies for evaluation or other services. This research studied the predictive impact of developmental screening results and child and family characteristics on the completion of these referrals for evaluation. A…

Recent changes in legislation (IDEA) have implications for the changing role of the school psychologist, specifically in the evaluation of students with learning disabilities. There is a need to examine the attitudes and practices of school psychologists regarding specific learning disability identification as there is little consistency in how…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of private practitioner and educational advocate opinions on school-based administrators' decision-making thought processes when making a recommendation for special education eligibility. Special education eligibility is a school-based team decision that involves multiple…

Background: Autism is a global disorder, but relatively little is known about its presentation and occurrence in many developing countries, including Libya. Aims: 1.) To estimate the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders in children referred to Al-Khadra hospital (KH). 2.) To increase the awareness among pediatrician and primary health care…

In a sample of 195 first graders selected for poor reading performance, the authors explored four cognitive predictors of later reading comprehension and reading disability (RD) status. In fall of first grade, the authors measured the children's phonological processing, rapid automatized naming (RAN), oral language comprehension, and nonverbal…