The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) in distinguishing preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) and specific subtypes of language delays. Three hundred forty-eight language-impaired preschoolers' response patterns across DAS General Conceptual Ability (GCA), Ability cluster, and…

The study conducted included four school districts that were addressing New York State Chapter 405 citations related to disproportionality. The purpose of this study was to identify the districts' common characteristics related to disproportionality, as well as common approaches and processes used to address the issue. An action research,…

Provisions for children with specific learning difficulties were studied in 27 secondary schools in 5 regions of Scotland. Specific learning difficulties were seen as functional weaknesses in students who might otherwise be intellectually able. Questionnaires were completed by the schools to determine: number of students with specific learning…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Pacific Basin Deaf-Blind Project, a 3-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations providing early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, early identification, and related services to…

This policy brief examines the relationship between fiscal policies in special education and the requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. It discusses the effects of state fiscal policy on the provision of special…

This final report focuses on activities and accomplishments of a 3-year federally supported project in North Carolina to identify and serve students with deaf-blindness. Major accomplishments included: an increase in identified deaf blind individuals in the state from 341 at the beginning of the project to 396 at the end; implementation of a Model…

This paper explores the problems of Arab children with hearing impairments living in Israel. It addresses the linguistic challenges involved such as the intrinsic problems of the Arabic language, the diglossia phenomenon expressed in colloquial dialects and literary registers, and the problems associated with a minority language in Israel. It…

This study investigated the utility of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) assessments in 70 children being evaluated for learning and attention problems, by assessing their relationship to auditory-based neuropsychological tests with varying degrees of attentional, linguistic, and cognitive complexity. Students were given several tests to…

This report to Congress examines the Social Security Administration's approach to assessing children's impairments through the individualized functional assessment (IFA) process mandated by the Supreme Court in Sullivan v. Zebley. Specifically, the report assesses the IFA's impact on number of Supplemental Security Income recipients, IFA's…

This manual provides guidance to Idaho school districts in identifying students with serious emotional disturbances (SED), as defined by federal and state laws and regulations. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the guide describe SED in the context of various factors, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the…

A study examined the differences between 17 children with language disorders and 20 children with normal language development (ages 8-13) in the way they developed shared knowledge with an adult using an interactive communication task. The structure interaction map task involved the child describing a route through a simple schematic map to an…

This paper offers criteria for states attempting to develop more effective special education funding formulas. It notes that balancing criteria to meet program objectives is difficult, with a major focus on one criterion often coming at the expense of other criteria. An effective formula should be: understandable, equitable, adequate, predictable,…

This guide accompanies a five-part video series on learning disabilities (total length of 40 minutes), designed to help in the identification of children who may have learning disabilities and in the development of appropriate actions on their behalf. The guide introduces three children, whose true stories are told in the videos to illustrate the…

This study describes the timelines established by states for the processes of referral, assessment, eligibility determination, Individualized Education Program development, and placement of students with disabilities in special education. The purposes of the study, based on survey data from 50 states and the District of Columbia, were to summarize…

This paper presents results of a preliminary study which evaluated medical birth data as potential predictors of developmental outcome, and developed and tested an instrument designed for this purpose. Forty low birthweight children, all of whom had experienced neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage, were evaluated at school age (66 months) on the…