Given the vital importance of using a scientific approach for curriculum development, the authors employed a design experiment methodology (Brown, 1992; Shavelson et al., 2003) to develop and evaluate, FUSION, a first grade mathematics intervention intended for students with or at-risk for mathematics disabilities. FUSION, funded through IES…

Research at the University of Leeds has evaluated how well changes to healthcare proposed in the Government White Paper "Valuing People" (Department of Health 2001) were being implemented in one locality and their impact on people with learning disabilities. The project had a developmental aspect and incorporated two workshops over the…

Research in the field of learning disability presents particular ethical challenges when obtaining consent from participants. This is further exacerbated when the nature of the research requires participation at all ability levels and involves people with communication impairments. The process of obtaining consent in a research study with 48…

Fatherhood in this 21st century is changing. There is wider societal recognition that, for the sake of our children, we need to value fathers and the contribution they make to family life. In the United Kingdom, various initiatives are actively supporting "Dads" in their role. For fathers of children with disabilities, there are even…

Background: It was predicted that offenders with intellectual disability (ID) categorised according to Ward & Hudson's (1998b) self-regulation theory as having an "Approach" goal would have higher levels of distorted cognitions, less victim empathy, and a history of more prolific offending compared to those with an "Avoidant" goal. Offenders…

Background: Whether the Flynn effect (the increase in the populations' IQ over time) affects the IQ scores of people with learning disability or borderline learning disability remains unclear. The issue is important as the Flynn effect should alter the number of people eligible for health service resources. A comparison of the Wechsler Adult…

Background: Little information is available about prescribing patterns for patients with severe learning disabilities in Asian institutions. Materials and methods: Prescription audits were performed at Siu Lam Hospital (SLH) and Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH), Hong Kong, between 1988 and 2003. Results: About 65% of patients were receiving psychoactive…

Objective: To evaluate the extent to which anger management training provided within a learning disabilities day service generalizes to residential settings. Method: Eleven day-service users participated in one of two anger management groups. Treatment was delivered by day-service staff and an assistant psychologist, using a standard…

Background: Learning disabilities are one of the most consistently reported features in Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS). Earlier reports on IQ in children with VCFS were, however, limited by small sample sizes and ascertainment biases. The aim of the present study was therefore to replicate these earlier findings and to investigate intellectual…

There is evidence that people with learning disabilities who offend are treated differently within the criminal justice system compared to non-disabled offenders. As their treatment depends on decisions made by professionals within the criminal justice system, this study set out to explore the attitudes of these professionals. Semi-structured…

Locus of control can be a useful measure of treatment outcome in offenders from the general population. However, there is little information regarding locus of control and offenders with learning disabilities. Existing measures of locus of control use complex language and abstract ideas that may not be accessible to individuals in this group. A…

Over-representation of people with learning disability in prisons has been demonstrated in many Western jurisdictions. This was the first comprehensive research in a UK prison. The research used a random 10% sample of a prison population (n = 140). A semi-structured interview, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (UK version) and the Vineland…

Responsiveness to Intervention (RtI) is recommended both as an essential step before identifying learning disabilities (LD) and as a mechanism for preventing learning difficulties. The use of evidence-based multi-tiered interventions is of critical importance when implementing RtI. This article presents the results of a study that examined the…

The policies underlying the specific learning disability (SLD) regulations in the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are analyzed. The analysis focuses on the Response-to-Intervention (RTI) provision ("if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention") as a diagnostic model,…

This exploratory study tested the feasibility of using the Transcendental Meditation[R] technique to reduce stress and anxiety as a means of reducing symptoms of ADHD. Students ages 11-14 were taught the technique, and practiced it twice daily in school. Common ADHD inventories and performance measures of executive function were administered at…