Analysis of 113 studies revealed that researchers most often selected their learning disabled sample on the bases of academic, age and sex, and intelligence components. Less than half used the process or exclusion components or included a description of grade placement. (CL)

Results showed that form errors, which involve some overall changes in the actual shape of the letter itself, correlated reliably with academic performance measures at the end of kindergarten as well as throughout Grade 1 in reading, phonics, language, and math. (Author)

The basic assumptions underlying the development of early identification procedures for at-risk children are reviewed. The effectiveness of screening measures designed to identify educationally "at-risk" children is critically examined. It is concluded that there is a general lack of evidence for the usefulness of such instruments. (Author)

In light of the reduction of support at the national level, the author suggests a renewed attention to seeking broad based local support for early identification and intervention with young handicapped infants and children. Journal availability: Division for Early Childhood, The Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Dr., Reston, VA…

An approach to prekindergarten screening of learning disabled students is explained to probe six areas of development: gross motor, perceptual motor, auditory perceptual, speech and language, visual motor, and social/emotional. (CL)

Compares detection rates of the Referral Decision Scale (RDS) with a short, officer-administered booking questionnaire at a low capacity jail. Although RDS produced a higher number of false positives, it correctly identified more mentally ill inmates than did the booking procedure. Results suggest that combining both instruments may provide the…

This article describes the Pre-Linguistic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, a semistructured observation scale designed for diagnosis of young children suspected of having autism. Reliability studies have been positive. Comparison of scores to judgments of clinical teams indicates that the schedule discriminates between autistic and…

Research points to two distinct regions within the Prader-Willi chromosome region: one for Prader Willi syndrome and one for Angelman syndrome. Genetic mechanisms in Angelman syndrome are complex, and at present, three mechanisms are recognized: maternal deletion, paternal uniparental disomy, and a nondeleted nondisomic form. (Author/JDD)

The authors of a research report (1999) on the diagnosis of stuttering in young children respond to a critical letter by questioning the accuracy, validity, credibility, and internal consistency of the letter writer's criticisms. The reply goes on to clarify the evaluation of stuttering-like disfluencies and single-syllable word repetitions in…

This letter critiques a research report (Ambrose and Yairi, 1999) on diagnosis of stuttering in young children, especially the methodological issues concerned with subject selection criteria that excluded borderline cases and the use of a weighting procedure to eliminate group overlap. Also noted is the failure to distinguish between stuttering…

This response to a letter (EC 627 691) critical of the authors' research report (1999) on the diagnosis of stuttering in young children defends their subject selection criteria, justifies their use of a weighted measure of stuttering-like disfluencies, and notes continuing disagreement concerning the difference between stuttering and disfluency.…

Regrouping Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) subtests into Bannatyne's spatial, conceptual, and sequential patterns has been thought by many to identify children with learning disabilities (LD). This study investigated the prevalence and diagnostic utility of WISC-III Bannatyne patterns by comparing 1,302 children…

Background: Pakistan has one of the highest reported rates of childhood intellectual disabilities (ID) in the world. Prevalence estimates vary from 19.1/1000 for serious ID to 65/1000 for mild ID. Methods: We surveyed carers of persons with ID (n = 100) using quantitative and qualitative instruments. We conducted in-depth interviews of carers (n =…

The most salient difficulty in assessing English language learner (ELL) students who exhibit academic difficulties is identifying whether the problem is one of English proficiency or of a learning disability. In many cases, the symptoms are shared and difficult to disentangle, but obtaining a comprehensive picture of the child is vital for…

Students with a hearing loss often have an additional disability. Although the number of deaf students with multiple disabilities is growing, research on this population has significantly decreased over the past quarter-century. The article reviews the literature on identification and placement of deaf students with multiple disabilities,…