Basic research and basic needs in research on learning disabilities.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Cullinan.
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Psychotropic drug treatment in learning-disabled (LD), educable mentally retarded (EMR), and seriously emotionally disturbed (ED) children and adolescents receiving public school special education services was examined. The findings indicated that while treatment prevalence rates for EMR and ED groups were comparable, the rate for LD students was much lower. In the LD sample, pharmacotherapy was associated with higher ratings of behavioral deviance, longer placement in special education, less social integration, and greater peer rejection, which suggests that symptom severity is an important determiner of pharmacotherapy in this population.
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Depression among children has received considerable attention from mental health professionals. A knowledge of the major approaches to conceptualizing, diagnosing, and treating childhood depression can assist school health practitioners in treatment. The purpose of this paper is to review research on the prevalence, classification, etiology, assessment, and treatment of childhood depression.
Data from factor analysis of rating scale evaluations of teachers as a basis for classifying the patterns of emotional and behavioral problems found in EMR students in the public schools were presented. These factors permitted a contrast between EMR elementary- and secondary-school-level boys and girls and a comparison group of nonretarded students. Implications for an understanding of the emotional and behavioral characteristics of students identified as EMR and for related programming needs were discussed.
Male pupils identified as behaviorally disordered, learning disabled, and educable mentally retarded, as well as nonidentified normal boys, were rated by their teachers on the Behavior Problem Checklist. Analyses of the ratings indicated significant differences for pupil category, Behavior Problem Checklist dimension, and category by dimension interaction, but no significant differences for age alone or in interaction with other factors. Categories of pupils were best discriminated from one another on the basis of Conduct Disorder and Personality Problem dimensions of the Behavior Problem Checklist. Results were discussed in terms of some implications for special education and further research suggested by the present findings.
The present study investigated the relationship of time and errors on the Matching Familiar Figures test to the mental age of 40 Caucasian male, educable mentally retarded (EMR) children. The children, who ranged in age from six to 18 years, had intelligence test scores of less than 80, were exhibiting problems in adaptive behavior, and were all receiving special education services. An ANOVA revealed that with increasing mental age, elapsed time to first response increased and errors decreased, thus indicating a mental age developmental decrease in impulsivity. For all subjects, time was inversely related to errors. The data suggest that the development of cognitive tempo in EMR children parallels that of nonhandicapped children.
Thirty-three impulsive learning-disabled males, aged 9-12 years, were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (a) Modeling, in which subjects were exposed to a videotape of a boy demonstrating reflective problem-solving activities and instructing himself to perform cautiously; (b) Modeling Plus Self-Verbalization, in which subjects observed the same videotape and were additionally required to verbalize similar reflective instructions; and (c) Control, in which subjects were shown a videotape of the task materials used in the modeling videotape, but without the model. Subjects were tested immediately after exposure to treatment, and again 3 weeks later, on different forms of the Matching Familiar Figures test. Both Modeling and Modeling Plus Self-Verbalization conditions were superior to Control in reducing errors on the immediate test, but the three treatments did not differ on the delayed test. No significant differences among the three conditions were found with regard to response latency. Discrepancies between the present results and those of previous related studies were noted, and potential research directions were suggested.
The reliability of the Matching Familiar Figures Test with impulsive learning disabled boys was investigated. 20 children were tested in two sessions separated by a 2-mo. period. Significant correlations for response time and errors scores indicated a high level of stability over time. Educational implications were discussed.
The effect of descriptive verbalization during observation of a model on mentally retarded boys' retention for what they had observed was examined. Forty 9- to 12-year-old boys in public-school EMR classes were grouped on the basis of relatively high or low IQ scores. One-half of each group observed a videotaped model perform a series of novel acts, while in addition to viewing the tape, the other half described the model's actions. Observational learning was immediately tested through a set of prompts for imitation, with prizes offered commensurate with level of performance. Regardless of IQ group, the boys who were required to verbalize the model's behavior were able to imitate it significantly better than boys who merely watched the model; high and low IQ groups did not significantly differ in observational learning. Further directions for research on mentally retarded children's observational learning were suggested.
An investigation of how a behavioral modification technique can motivate institutionalized mental patients to increase their activity attendance.