When 11-year-old learning disabled students who were two years behind in reading participated in an instructional program emphasizing comprehension of main ideas using basic categorization and classification skills, there was a significant and substantial improvement in reading comprehension and ability to write sentences containing the main idea…

Teachers' decisions regarding size and composition of student groups working at the computer can have positive cognitive and social effects for both handicapped and nonhandicapped students. (DB)

Learning disabled students need systematic instruction in thinking skills. Both individual clinical studies and group programs have proven such training effective. Some important thinking strategies include goal clarification, previewing, organization, questioning, imagining, predicting, checking results, humor, and self-monitoring techniques. (DB)

The original authors respond to a critique of their meta-analysis of 94 studies which had failed to support the presence of distinctive Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children profiles for learning disabled children. The critique contended such a pattern does exist. (Author/DB)

As part of a continuing dialog concerning the validity of a meta-analysis of 94 studies suggesting that there is a lack of any distinctive pattern in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) profiles for learning disabled children, this article maintains the view that such differences do exist. (DB)

The article details a rationale and procedures for assessing the mathematics learning environment of learning disabled students. Such assessment can include measures of the student's exposure to instruction, quality of curriculum and instruction, and the student's responses. Examples demonstrate assessment procedures and resulting instructional…

The concept of intelligence in current models of learning disabilities (medically based, perceptual processing, ability-achievement discrepancy, and alternative viewpoints) is addressed in general terms. Ability-achievement discrepancy models place the most emphasis on intelligence, but focus on intelligence test scores rather than on any…

Skilled teachers need to structure the instructional process for learning disabled students so that it builds confidence, reduces anxiety, encourages autonomy, and instills a sense of the delight of learning. (Author/DB)

Of 50 state special education directors, nearly 75 percent listed specific competency areas or courses considered unique to preparation of teachers of secondary learning disabled students. Fewer than 33 percent of the states felt that the needs of the adolescent and secondary programs were being addressed within the present required courses. (CL)

Nonhandicapped (N=126) and learning disabled (LD N=20) elementary grade students were interviewed regarding their knowledge and perception of the special education resource room. Both groups had similar perceptions; most non-LD students ranked the resource room as a desirable place; primary LD students perceived it less positively than…

A teacher of learning disabled students discusses use of the computer to free students from the constraints of their disability. Recommended are learner controlled utilities including word processing, data banks, and the LOGO programming language. (DB)

A teacher offers suggestions for the diagnosis of mathematical learning disabilities including differentiation of emotional problems from mathematical problems, specification of mathematical skills, and distinction between mathematical failure and procedural failure, failure resulting from the manner in which tests are administered. (DB)

Ten normal and ten learning disabled children were asked to provide strategies for hypothetical memory tasks and to evaluate those strategies subsequent to learning of the hypothetical outcomes. The groups did not differ in strategies selected but did differ in how they evaluated the effectiveness of the strategies used. (Author/DB)

The article looks at learning disabilities in adulthood in relation to theoretical models and research related to adult development (rather than as persistence of a childhood disorder into adulthood). Basic assumptions of a life span developmental approach and specific mediating variables influencing adaptation to life events are discussed.…

The article looks at the concept of discrepancy between ability and achievement in conceptualizations of learning disabilities. Comparison of ability and achievement scores found generally small average discrepancies, though some wide ranges were evident. Implications of the findings for current and future use of discrepancies as estimators of…