This article discusses three Canadian studies that highlight recent research on the presence and prevalence of depressive symptoms in children with learning disabilities. Findings indicate children with learning disabilities do not report more depression than peers and that females with learning disabilities report more depressive symptoms.…

The career development and disability knowledge of 97 students with learning disabilities from three postsecondary institutions in the Midwest was examined. Students who were eligible for services while in high school generally did not engage in transition planning and their career development activities were limited despite having unique career…

Details meta-analysis of 58 intervention studies related to higher-order processing (i.e., problem solving) for adolescents with learning disabilities. Discusses factors that increased effect sizes: (1) measures of metacognition and text understanding; (2) instruction including advanced organizers, new skills, and extended practice; and (3)…

Discusses issues inherent in two meta-analyses of instructional interventions for students with learning disabilities conducted by Elbaum and Vaughn, and Swanson. Notes the value of these studies to the field of education, and summarizes important findings. (JPB)

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical computation skill was examined in 98 children and adults with and without mathematical disabilities. A hierarchical regression analysis, when partialing for reading ability, age, and gender influences, showed mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal…

A meta-analysis of 53 studies on social skills training of children with learning disabilities found a mean effect size of only 0.211, with few differences among teachers, peers, or children themselves who judged the effectiveness of the training. Discussion focuses on possible links between learning disabilities and social skills that might…

This article on transition for students with learning disabilities (LD) reviews the transition concept from a life-span perspective and considers transition planning, including the role of the planning team, the importance of timing, and forces influencing transition programs. It then provides background information, themes, and highlights for…

Comparison of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)-Revised and WISC III IQs for 64 students with specific learning disabilities and 55 students with mental retardation (MR) found that correlations were lower than those reported in the WISC-III manual. Only Performance IQs for students with MR matched the correlations reported in the…

Students with learning disabilities may gain from use of "flip-flop" study guides to gain key vocabulary and concepts. Rather than providing definitions for terms, the student provides terms for definitions and concepts in the study guide. Such guides allow the teacher to focus on particular concepts and provide repetition of information for…

Exploration of gender-biased language in two editions of learning disabilities textbooks found that the male author's work exhibited a 7:1 ratio of masculine to feminine pronouns, whereas the female author's text showed no significant differences in use of gender-specific pronouns. The male author had increased use of gender-neutral pronouns…

Results of a study conducted of 12 self-contained special education high school classes (n=74 students) indicated that cooperative learning was more effective than traditional noncooperative learning in improving academic achievement in these students with learning disabilities. Increased self-esteem in cooperative learning students was not found.…

Individual growth curves were used to test whether the development of children with reading disabilities is best characterized by models of developmental lag or developmental deficit. Results with 403 children suggest that the developmental course of reading disabilities is best characterized by deficit models. (SLD)

This article reviews the guidelines developed by a task force of the Association of Higher Education and Disabilities for the documentation of a learning disability at the postsecondary level. Guidelines are provided for the use and implementation of the guidelines. The potential misuse of the guidelines is also addressed. (Contains six…

Examines the diagnostic utility of subtest variability for identifying students with learning disabilities (LD) by surveying students (n=2,200) in a normative sample and students (n=684) identified as LD. Results indicated that LD students did not differ from normative sample students at levels above chance. Concludes that deviation of individual…

Examines special issues surrounding foreign language (FL) requirements for students classified as learning disabled (LD). Focuses on why students experience FL learning problems, the problems with the definition of and diagnosis of LD, whether research supports traditional assumptions about LD and FL learning, whether students classified as LD…