"Part C Updates" is a compilation of information on various aspects of the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the eleventh volume in a series of compilations, which included two editions of Part H Updates, the former name of the…

Reported here are the results of analyses to describe the patterns of identification and academic and developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, conducted as part of the 2004 National Assessment of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This report provides background context for National…

The new IDEIA (2004) mandates regarding the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RtI) present challenges for general education teachers. The law dictates the implementation of Response-to-Intervention, which requires the application of a pyramid of interventions for students failing to make adequate yearly progress in response to general…

The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) gives states the flexibility and responsibility under Section 618 to define "significant disproportionality" based on race or ethnicity at the state (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) levels. This applies to the identification, placement and…

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (P.L.108-446) (IDEA 2004) was signed into law on December 3, 2004, by President George W. Bush. IDEA 2004 includes provisions that could lead to significant changes in the way in which students with SLD are identified. In principle, responsiveness to intervention…

Academic participation based on merit can oftentimes frustrate a young person when his/her condition hampers full participation in the process of learning. This study provides detailed sociological description of Hawaii's youth offenders with learning disabilities and the various ways they get involved with the juvenile justice system. This study…

The Differential Ability Scales (DAS) was created to provide practitioners with an alternative instrument that may be as effective as WISC-III in picking up specific patterns of learning difficulties. Useful features and differences in the administration strategy of DAS are reviewed. DAS provides extended age ranges and out-of-level testing,…

An alternative approach to the traditional diagnostic-prescrptive or medical model for classifying behavior disorders is proposed which considers topography of deviant behaviors, degree of exceptionality, nature of deviance, and events influencing the deviancy in the context of developing and monitoring education/treatment programs. (Author/CB)

The practice of posthumously diagnosing historical figures is discussed. Emphasis is on the unsatisfactory nature of evidence found for those diagnosed as learning-disabled or dyslexic and the possibility of other explanations for identified problems. Posthumous diagnoses of Auguste Rodin, George Patton, Thomas Edison, Woodrow Wilson, and Albert…

The author describes the use of the revised Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude and the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery for students with learning disabilities. He cautions about making a diagnosis on the basis of only one test. (CL)

The validity of linguistic evaluations of culturally and linguistically different children referred for special education placement is questioned. Such steps as better preparation for all teachers working with this population and advanced training for diagnosticians to facilitate optimal assessment and intervention with specific populations are…

Scores of 189 kindergarten on the McCarthy Screening Test and the SEARCH, were compared to subsequent school progress and performance on the Metropolitan Achievement Tests Series at the end of grades one and two. Only three of the tests' subtest and total scores achieved significant correlations with the Metropolitan. (Author/CL)

The investigation explored the usefulness of the Noise Subtest of the Test of Auditory Discrimination and the Memory for Sequence subtest of the Goldman-Fristoe Woodcock Auditory Skills Test Battery for initial identification of central auditory function in normal children. (Author/CL)

Changes in visual screening procedures that may have occurred over 5 years were investigated. Parameters surveyed included procedures, times, sources of referrals, and personnel. A majority of districts continue to rely on far-point acuity testing. However, in cases where reading problems exist, greater use of vision specialists can be found.…