The Iowa Learning Disabilities Evaluation Project studied the nature and characteristics of 917 students with learning disabilities (LD), focusing on gender, grade level, intellectual level, referral and evaluation, discrepancy between expected and actual achievement levels, placement, service delivery, and academic performance. Characteristics…

This article describes assistive technologies for persons with learning disabilities, including word processing, spell checking, proofreading programs, outlining/"brainstorming" programs, abbreviation expanders, speech recognition, speech synthesis/screen review, optical character recognition systems, personal data managers, free-form databases,…

This paper proposes that foreign-language learning problems result from difficulties with native-language learning. Research evidence is summarized showing that good and poor foreign-language learners exhibit significantly different levels of native-language skill and phonological processing ability. Potential challenges to this hypothesis are…

Evaluation of 86 medical students and physicians, referred for possible learning problems, found that most subjects had either a learning disability or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); 21 subjects had a reading learning disability; and 15 had both a reading disability and ADHD. Sequential information processing appeared to be the…

This article reviews research specific to the relationship between learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Shared psychosocial and academic characteristics of the two groups are noted, along with the neurological basis of the disorders. Implications for future research on the increased specificity of the association are discussed.…

This study evaluated effects of an intervention to teach 23 high school students with learning disabilities (LD) how to understand, identify, discuss, and transform their ineffective beliefs. Results indicated that students with LD successfully learned the BELIEF Strategy contained in the intervention curriculum, and reported satisfaction with…

Two elementary teachers discuss their experiences of having children with attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities in their second-grade classrooms, focusing on the process involved in deciding whether or not to medicate the children with Ritalin to enhance their ability to learn. (SM)

Considers the effects that might issue from an integration of decoding and spelling for the instruction of disabled readers. Proposes a structural-historical approach reflecting the patterns and word origins inherent in the English spelling system. Provides an alternative to both isolated phonics instruction and the whole-language approach. (HB)

Sixty elementary students with learning disabilities were interviewed about parallel domains of uncontested and contested knowledge on the topic of space, including questions of morality and questions of empirical law. Students clearly distinguished between uncontested and contested knowledge, suggesting that they are capable of working with…

This article reviews common curricular alternatives for addressing the science education needs of secondary students with learning disabilities. A curriculum revision method emphasizing models and context-rich problem solving is proposed as an alternative to the traditional uses of direct instruction, mnemonics, graphic organizers, and study…

This article presents learning strategies to help high school students with learning disabilities succeed in technical classes. Strategies address time management, memorization, and learning to use charts and graphs. Figures offer an example of breaking a project into subtasks, a self-questioning strategy, the CAN DO learning strategy, and a…

This article describes a cooperative project between a teacher and sculptor to link sculpture with academic subjects within a self-contained class for 13-year-old students with learning disabilities. The nine-week project focused on biological habitats and included the construction of three-dimensional habitats on pieces of wood. (DB)

This meta-analysis of peer rating sociometric research on students with learning disabilities (LD) examined 17 studies. Results demonstrated that LD students have considerably lower sociometric status compared to nondisabled peers. The influence of ratee gender, rater gender, grade level, research design, and sociometric scale type is examined.…

Fourth-grade students (n=45) either with or without learning disabilities and achieving or not achieving at grade level in math were asked to explain strategies used to solve computational problems. Strategies were classified as reproductive or reconstructive (which varied in applicability and efficiency). Significant group differences were found.…

An individualized physical activity program with a strong social skills component was implemented with 45 students (ages 8 to 10) with learning disabilities. Participants' gains in self-ratings of competence and teacher ratings of social behavior were no larger than gains of control students receiving comparable attention through individualized…