This article draws on data collected in group interviews with six young, urban Aboriginal mothers whose lives have included substance use and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/ Fetal Alcohol Effects (hereafter FAS/FAE) to highlight the multiple and often contradictory ways in which disability as a constituent of social relations is defined in public policy…

The scope of this article is to discuss the impact of underrepresentation of girls in separate, self-contained special education classes for preschool children in a large school district in the southeastern United States. On a regular basis, preschool girls identified with special needs are being placed in self-contained classes where there they…

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is proposed as a valuable construct for schools because of its potential utility in providing appropriate learning experiences for all students as well as the early identification of students as being at risk for academic failure. RTI can be conceptualized as providing a framework for systemic reform directed…

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of behavioral risk and protective factors among at-risk preschoolers. Parent-reported data ( N = 2,550) from the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) indicated that Head Start preschoolers had significantly more behavior concerns and fewer protective factors than would be expected based…

The Early Development Index (EDI) is a teacher-completed checklist, intended to be a population-level tool to measure children's readiness for school and to alert communities to potential developmental problems in children. In response to the increasing popularity of the EDI, this paper provides a critical and timely evaluation and identifies the…

Prior to the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (PL 94-142), the educational experience of disabled children and youth was varied and uncertain. Many children and youth with sensory, physical or cognitive impairments received minimal skill development training in institutions, separate day classes, church basements…

This brochure describes "Child Find," a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services.

This article considers the processes within policy and legislation through which the point about inclusion continues to be missed in the search for the calculable and the certain, which Derrida (1990) refers to as "a madness" and this article explores how this has played out in the Scottish context in which there is currently an attempt…

The issue of identifying reading difficulties and disabilities in English language learners (ELLs) is a complex one. It is an area that draws on the diverse disciplines of first- and second-language acquisition, literacy, English language learning, and reading, including differences and disabilities research. This literature review aims to…

This guide is designed to assist people with learning disabilities to recognize their disabilities and the connection between learning disabilities and substance abuse. It begins by defining learning disabilities and providing a self-test checklist for common signs and symptoms of learning disabilities. Difficulties with organization, memory,…

This handbook was developed as a resource on learning disabilities (LD) for North Carolina educators. The first section covers guidelines for identifying, diagnosing, and developing services for LD students. The handbook then provides an overview of effective practices for teaching students with learning disabilities and some ideas for structuring…

This guide is designed to assist in providing appropriate educational services to secondary students who exhibit behavior problems. The guide discusses what is known about adolescence, as a basis for understanding secondary students. It examines methods of identifying students with behavior problems and proposes two courses of intervention based…

This brochure presents current knowledge and theories regarding the causes and treatment of dyslexia. Psychological, biological and educational factors thought to contribute to dyslexia are outlined, as are common approaches to treatment and long-term prospects for individuals with dyslexia. Efforts by the National Institute of Child Health and…

The use of intelligence quotient alone for defining mental retardation is inappropriate and potentially harmful when applied to individuals or used to formulate public policy. An alternative conceptual framework for defining mental retardation within the context of interactions between an individual's characteristics and the demands of the social…

The study examined the ability of Kaufman's (1979) profile analysis procedure with the WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised) to discriminate learning disabled (LD) from non-LD children. A discriminant analysis of data on 279 children resulted in low classification accuracy, suggesting limited diagnostic utility of Kaufman's…