During a 15-year longitudinal study, 31 Finnish students (risk group) who had been identified as having deficiencies in reading and writing readiness at pre-school through the German Breuer-Weuffen Differentiation Test were compared with their peers (n = 62) in order to study long-term differences that emerged at the starting point of the study.…

The early detection of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by teachers can contribute to the prevention of secondary disorders in a child and this can have serious implications for the child's overall development. The aims of the present study were to examine: (1) the validity of the original assessment of the teachers in…

The number of children with autism served in early intervention or the public school system appears to be growing at an alarming rate. This article provides a basis for understanding this dramatic increase. In addition, the authors present a brief overview of the characteristics of autism, research on early behavioral indicators of infants and…

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a retinal degenerative disease causing progressive blindness. Most research on RP is biomedical, and mostly from an observer perspective, therefore poorly reflecting the lived experience of having RP. Accordingly, the researcher conducted a retrospective qualitative self-study, to analyze reflections on his own…

The paper reviews the existence and complicating nature of nonverbal learning disorders, noting difficulties faced by such individuals in elementary and secondary school. Problems in identifying these disorders are reviewed. (CL)

A review of research on the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency notes methodological problems and unanswered questions and cites implications for prevention and intervention both in the schools and the juvenile justice system. (CL)

Research is reviewed on the educability of Down's Syndrome, and two cases of mosaicisim are cited illustrating the intellectual normality possible in Down's Syndrome. (CL)

Programs to identify young children with special learning needs should incorporate ongoing classroom observation and provide educationally relevant information rather than labels. The early identification procedure used in London (Ontario) for students in kindergarten through grade three uses a school program team to assist the classroom teacher…

Scores of 84 referred preschoolers on the Revised Denver Developmental Screening Test and the Developmental Profile II were compared with subsequent standardized tests of cognitive, motor, and language ability. Results suggested that both instruments are imperfect yet useful tools. (Author/CL)

Problems serving handicapped migrant students in New York are addressed, and possible solutions considered. Among problems are lack of training in identification and referral, confusing definitions and criteria, and inability to use the Migrant Student Record Transfer System effectively. (CL)

A survey of 307 research studies in learning disabilities (LD) was conducted to determine the nature and characteristics of the LD identification criteria used. It was concluded that LD research presents a divergent picture of the nature and characteristics of LD and reflects little consensus regarding identification criteria. (Author)

Discrimination analyses indicated that the subtests chosen for hypothesized age-related deficits classified from 77 percent to 89 percent of the cases as compared with the school district's selection. (Author)

The paper reviews Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised research that has particular pertinence for the assessment of learning disabilities (LD). Three topics are treated in-depth: factor analysis investigations, recategorization of subtests into Bannatyne's four groupings, and interscale/intrascale scatter. (Author)

The study examined predictive validity of Department of Health, Education, and Welfare National Strategy for Youth Development's behavioral model impact scales in a sample of 1,230 youth (11 to 19 years old). Human relationship variables rather than perceived educational and occupational access variables were most potent predictors of…

The author discusses the regression discrepancy method for identifying learning disabled (LD) children and compares it with other identification techniques, pointing out its advantages but indicating that it is still inadequate as a sole criterion for LD identification. (Author)