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…

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…

Assessment of nonvisual neuropsychological impairments in visually impaired persons can be achieved through modification of existing intelligence, memory, sensory-motor, personality, language, and achievement tests so that they do not require vision or penalize visually impaired persons. The Halstead-Reitan and Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological…

Speech-delayed preschool children's (N=21) responses to booklet-presented pictures (Photo Articulation Test) were compared to similar microcomputer-presented graphics with a variety of screen formats. (CB)

A sample of 54 risk students and 54 matched students were examined at three levels of decision making--identification, classification, and instruction. Temperament information had little or no utility with respect to administrative decisions concerning identification and classification. There were significant relationships between temperament…

The construction and refinement of the Yale Children's Inventory (YCI) is described, resulting in 11 scales (eight behavioral and three cognitive). The relationship and content of the three relevant YCI scales (attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity) are compared to the DSM-III (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) diagnostic categories for attention…

An overview of early childhood special education focuses on the role of early experiences, research on effectiveness of early intervention, identification, assessment, intervention strategies, involvement of parents and families, integration, and personnel preparation. The complexity of issues in each area is stressed. (CL)

Current literature on identification and instructional remediation of subtypes of learning-disabled readers (LDR) are reviewed. Preliminary findings suggest that not all LDR children manifest the same oral language, memory, and perceptual deficits that impede decoding accuracy and efficiency and all do not respond equally well (or poorly) to the…

The study investigated the subtest scatter of 555 nonreferred elementary students of three ethnic backgrounds--Black, White, and Hispanic. The magnitude of the subtest scatter was similiar to A. Kaufman's analysis of the standardization data. The inclusion of the Hispanic group, however, produced a somewhat different pattern. (Author/CL)