The article describes the Parent and Child Tutoring (PACT) program in Adelaide, Australia, with children (ages 7 to 14) having severe reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and attitudinal problems. Both parents attend group workshops and one parent participates in tutorial sessions. The program has been positively received by both parents and…

The use of reconstructive elaborations for teaching content to secondary students with learning disabilities is described. The technique provides a framework for adapting all content-area information into more familiar, more concrete interactive elaborations. Its use with United States history in a recent study illustrates the strategy.…

Relationships among the two new and the existing writing tests in the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJ) and other commonly-used writing tests were investigated with a sample of 44 fifth-graders. Results supported concurrent and construct validity of the WJ tests. The multiple samples writing approach is recommended as an alternative…

In agreement with Coles (EC 220 146), the article presents: a sketch of how the learning disability field was born, the sociological reasons why the field inadvertently moved beyond its original intentions, and how Coles aims for advances in the theory and practice of diagnosing learning problems. (DB)

Data from three studies identified the cognitive deficits associated with reading difficulties as distinct from attentional deficits. The studies found consistent cognitive deficits (especially naming and phonological awareness) associated with difficulty in reading. Deficits were consistent across samples, developmental levels, definitions, and…

A model of achievement applicable to learning disabled students is presented which comprises entry characteristics, self-efficacy for learning, task engagement variables, and efficacy cues. Research is summarized on effects of social and instructional variables on self-efficacy and achievement behaviors. Self-efficacy appeared to predict student…

The response to previous articles on the Regular Education Initiative looks at the definition of learning disabilities, identification, mainstreaming of mildly handicapped students, attitudes of general educators toward high risk students, the importance of prevention at the elementary level, and delivery systems. (DB)

This article describes the continuum of educational services that have been designed and implemented to meet the needs of juvenile delinquents committed to a correctional facility. Correctional education administrators will find a model that has been successful in diagnosing, placing, and providing appropriate services to meet those needs. (JOW)

The paper examines ways to use word processing programs to ameliorate children's writing problems. Case studies of three children contrast samples of their handwritten work and their compositions using word processing A list of word processing programs for use with children with special needs is included. (Author/DB)

The study found that college students with learning disabilities given a remedial summer reading program using the Orton-Gillingham multisensory alphabetic phonetic approach achieved statistically significant gains when compared to groups receiving a nonphonetic intervention or receiving no intervention. (Author/DB)

A pilot program was developed for gifted learning-disabled students, based on the Enrichment Triad Model. Learning behaviors, time on task, and motivation showed marked improvement as the grade four-five students completed individual creative projects. Described are procedures for identifying program participants, program activities, and program…

The national survey of 754 teachers of the hearing impaired found that teachers identified 23 percent of their students as also learning disabled whereas administrators in a previous study identified only 6.7 percent of hearing impaired students as also learning disabled. Teachers (84 percent) also reported little training in teaching such…

Reviews three books: (1) "A Practical Parent's Handbook on Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities" (Shelby Holley); (2) "Children Can't Wait: Reducing Delays for Children in Foster Care" (Katharine Cahn and Paul Johnson); and (3) "Transdisciplinary Play-Based Intervention: Guidelines for Developing a Meaningful…

Studies two nonidentical twin boys with severe, specific developmental language disorders with respect to their linguistic, neurolinguistic and pragmatic development. Finds that, in spite of poor linguistic awareness, the boys acquired normal reading/spelling skills; however, the boys differed considerably in some aspects of reading and spelling…

Ten students (ages 11-17) with severe learning disabilities received a comprehensive remedial program and another 10 received the remedial program plus the Lindamood Auditory Discrimination in Depth Program. Significantly greater gains in phonological awareness and phonetic spelling strategies were noted for the Lindamood students. Reading and…