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This study examined the homework practices of 88 teachers of students with learning disabilities. While the findings indicated that the respondents were using several quality homework practices, some problems were noted. Suggestions for improving the homework procedures of teachers of students with learning disabilities are presented.
Maladaptive behaviours are known to present as a feature of dementia amongst people from the general population, but there has been little research to examine whether this has implications for people with learning disabilities who develop dementia. Out of 143 people with learning disabilities aged 65 years and over living in Leicestershire, England, 134 (93.7%) participated in the study. Twenty-nine people diagnosed as having dementia were compared against 99 people without dementia; six people with possible dementia were excluded from the analysis. Comparisons were made on the results of a checklist of maladaptive behaviours. Seventeen out of the 22 maladaptive behaviours examined were found to be more prevalent amongst the people with dementia. The behaviours which were significantly more prevalent in the group with dementia included lack of energy, lack of sense of danger, sleep disturbance, agitation, incontinence, excessively uncooperative, mealtime/feeding problem, irritability and aggression. Dementia is becoming more prevalent amongst people with learning disabilities because of their increasing life span. Maladaptive behaviours are commonly associated with dementia. This can cause a significant burden for individuals and their carers, which may influence the viability of a person's residential placement.
The paper aims to identify in general terms the various types of learning disabilities based on the classification of the University of Florida which divides learning disabilities into 5 categories. 1. Specifically developmental dyslexia 2. Minimal neurological dysfunction 3. Brain damaged 4. Socially or emotionally disadvantaged 5. Culturally disadvantaged. The ocular significance of visual acuity, refractive errors, ocular motility and visual perception is discussed, and a general outline of treatment is suggested for the private practitioner working independently of a multi-disciplinary team.
The high incidence of poor social adjustment in long-term follow-up studies of depressed children seems to relate to the inadequacy of the pharmacotherapy necessary to sustain long-lasting remission or possibly to repetitive inappropriate stresses. Insufficient antidepressant therapy with resultant intermittent depression-induced dysfunction of the socialization functions performed by the right cerebral hemisphere would not permit the child to develop appropriate interpersonal skills (causing failure in most social situations), and associated cognitive difficulties would complicate academic performance. Repeated school failure and chronic social ineptitude preclude development of the skills necessary for successful independent living in society. Thus, if symptoms of depression are found, it is imperative that the learning-disabled or behaviorally disturbed child or adolescent receive adequate antidepressant therapy to ensure complete long-term remission of the depression. In addition, learning-disabled individuals, even without apparent diagnosable depressive illness, must be offered appropriate methods for learning and communication which reduce stress. When such appropriate educational strategies are offered and poor performance still ensues (or continues), a trial of antidepressant therapy should be considered. Recognition of the depressive nature of symptoms may not be possible until treatment-induced improvement has occurred and depression-associated learning disability has resolved. Improvement in academic performance associated with improved cognitive function after treatment-induced remission of a depressive episode can be dramatic, with resolution of apparent learning disability. Poor educational achievement associated with chronic learning difficulties ultimately affects adult social functioning, and untreated or improperly treated chronic depression may result in the development of later personality disturbances. Therefore, before attributing school problems in children to untreatable conditions, depressive disorder must be excluded, and appropriate antidepressant therapy (along with removal of all apparent inappropriate stress, including inappropriate demands on brain function) should be provided to children and adolescents with evidence of depression.
With this article we intend to demonstrate the importance of evaluation and follow up of children with learning disabilities, through a multidisciplinary team. As well as to establish the need of intervention. We evaluate 69 children, from Aline Picheth Public School, in Curitiba, attending first or second grade of elementary school, through general and evolutionary neurological examination, pediatric checklist symptoms, and social, linguistic and psychological (WISC-III, Bender Infantile and WPPSI-figures) evaluation. The incidence was higher in boys (84,1%), familiar history of learning disabilities was found in 42%, and writing abnormalities in 56,5%. The most frequent diagnosis was attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, in 39,1%. With this program, we aimed to reduce the retention taxes and stress the importance of this evaluation, and, if necessary, multidisciplinary intervention in the cases of learning disabilities.
BACKGROUND: The Global Assessment of Function (GAF) scale is widely used in adult psychiatric practice and research but it has not often been used in learning disability, which is inherently more complex. AIMS: To evaluate the reliability of GAF in the assessment of learning disability. METHOD: GAF reliability was tested by simultaneous multiple rating of unselected case vignettes (n=19-25) from health professionals of different disciplines, under controlled conditions. Analysis of reliability was made with the intraclass correlation coefficient (R(1)) with separate assessments to determine rater bias and individual performance of raters. RESULTS: The results of three data-sets showed generally poor overall levels of agreement, with R(1) levels of 0.35 and 0.28 and somewhat better levels for current GAF scores (R(1)=0.49). However, a subset of raters was identified that achieved much higher levels (R(1)=0.54 to 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: The GAF, in its current format, is not reliable enough to be used in the routine assessment of learning disability. A subgroup of raters, however, have ratings that are, by current biostatistical criteria, sufficiently reliable.
This article discusses current knowledge about teaching problem solving to students with learning disabilities (LD), using computers for teaching math to students with LD, and using computers for teaching problem solving to students with learning problems. Building upon identified effective learning strategies, direct instruction procedures, and principles of effective instructional design, the case is presented for the use of hypermedia in helping students with learning disabilities to improve their mathematics problem-solving abilities. Specific ideas and suggestions for applying hypermedia to cognitive strategy instruction and the graduated word problem sequence are given. Several cautions regarding hypermedia use are presented.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence of learning disability (LD), level of school achievement; and prevalence of grade retention by type of cleft and gender at two craniofacial centers. SETTING: The setting included two university-based craniofacial centers. DESIGN/PATIENTS: Participants included 84 consecutively evaluated patients from one center who were matched by cleft type, age, and gender with 84 patients evaluated at the second center. OUTCOMES: The outcomes included learning disability, school achievement, and grade retention. RESULTS: The results revealed that 46% of subjects with cleft had LD, 47% had deficient educational progress, and 27% had repeated a grade (excluding kindergarten) in school. Males with cleft palate only (CPO) had a significantly higher rate of LD than any other subject group. Males with CPO and females with cleft lip and palate (CLP) were more likely to repeat a grade in school than were females with CPO and males with CLP. CONCLUSIONS: Children with cleft are at risk for learning disability, low school achievement, and grade retention.
Family shortcomings or other intrinsic psychological deficits are frequently viewed as contributing factors to the social misperceptiveness frequently seen in children with learning disabilities. This article attempts to synthesize research defining the social problems of some children with learning disabilities. Particularly emphasized is the role of communication skills deficits. Breakthroughs in neurophysiology negate, to a large extent, traditional emphases on family dysfunction, school failure, or personality distrubances as primary causes of the social problems of some children with LD. Advances in vision and language research allow departure from the social paradigm of the "misperceptive syndrome" to consider constitutionally based hypotheses of neural dysfunction. Neural aberrations are viewed as triggering deficient language processing, which in turn may lead to unsatisfactory social interactions. Several correlates and characteristics of family, school, and environmental systems are discussed in the context of their impact on personality development and on changes in the life adjustments of both children and adults with learning disabilities.
This study compared 5 visually impaired learning disabled children's perceived and actual mathematical competencies. Analysis indicated that their competencies were significantly different.
BACKGROUND: For many years, it has been known that dementia can occur in people with learning disabilities, but there have been few research studies. Studies that do quote rates for dementia show these to be high, but this important fact has received remarkably little attention. METHOD: Comprehensive psychiatric and medical assessments were undertaken on the whole population (ascertained as far as is possible) of people with learning disabilities aged 65 years and over living in Leicestershire, UK (N = 134), in order to ascertain rates of DCR defined dementia, and associated factors. RESULTS: Dementia was diagnosed in 21.6%, against an expected prevalence of 5.7%, for a group with this age structure. The rate of dementia increased in successive age cohorts: 15.6% aged 65-74 years; 23.5% aged 65-84 years; and 70.0% aged 85-94 years. People with dementia tended to be older, female, with more poorly controlled epilepsy, a larger number of additional physical disorders, less likely to be smokers and had lower adaptive behaviour scores than did the elderly people without dementia. They were more likely to live in health service accommodation. CONCLUSIONS: Dementia occurs at a much higher rate among elderly people with learning disabilities than it does among the general population; this is independent of the association between dementia and Down's syndrome. Whether this relates aetiologically to genetics, lack of brain 'reserve' or history of brain damage is yet to be determined.
The pilot intervention project at Leros PIKPA asylum sought to change the management of residents by decreasing care staff's tendency to view people with learning disabilities with attitudes of custodial segregation (e.g. "they should all live in institutions") and categorisation (e.g. "they are all alike"). To that end, staff were trained on the job in resident management and participated in seminars, sensitisation groups, clinical case presentations and visits to model rehabilitation units. To investigate whether staff attitudes towards people with learning disabilities had been influenced, staff members responded to a questionnaire of such attitudes, in March 1991 (initial assessment) and a year later (reassessment). Factor analyses of attitude ratings at initial assessment revealed a strong negative attitudinal construct, "Rejective and custodial segregation--Categorisation", according to which institutionalisation was the only appropriate type of care for people with learning disabilities, regardless of individual differences. At reassessment, however, this factor had split into two independent ones, "Rejective and custodial segregation" and "Categorisation", suggesting that the staff had understood that custodial care did not apply to all persons with learning disabilities indiscriminately. Reassessment factors further indicated that staff had comprehended the appropriateness of alternative care forms--community and home care. Analysis of Categorisation and Custodial segregation attitude ratings showed that only staff's tendency to view the disabled as "all alike" (Categorisation) had decreased at reassessment. The latter change and the structural change revealed by the factor analyses imply that staff's attitudes underwent a small but significant modification.
This study used an electrophysiological measurement operation to investigate lateralized processing deficits associated with academic learning-disability subtypes. Fast frequency EEG activity in the 36-44 hertz (Hz) band was recorded from reading-disabled (RLD), arithmetic-disabled (ALD), and nondisabled control children engaged in verbal and nonverbal cognitive tasks. The control group, but neither LD group, exhibited a task-dependent shift in lateralization of 40 Hz EEG; the RLD subjects generated proportionately less left-hemisphere 40 Hz activity than control or ALD subjects during the verbal task; and the ALD subjects generated proportionately less right-hemisphere activity than control or RLD subjects during the nonverbal task. These results indicate that lateralized processing deficits are associated with different types of disabilities, and provide external validation of learning-disability classifications based on academic performance patterns.
A knowledge of the characteristics of learning disabilities in children, the theories behind interventions, and the relevant research can guide child welfare practitioners in treatment.
Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are widely used for the treatment of depression suffered by adults with learning disabilities. However, the presentation, time of onset and prevalence of treatment emergent symptoms, have not been extensively studied in adults with learning disabilities. The aim of this study was to determine these aspects of treatment. The study design involved retrospective analysis of case notes of all adults with learning disabilities treated with either fluoxetine or paroxetine for depression. During 31% of treatment episodes, patients suffered treatment emergent symptoms during treatment with either selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI). These symptoms subsided on discontinuation of the SSRI. The common emergent symptoms in this group were elevated mood (39%), decreased sleep (35%), hyperactivity (30%), overtalkativeness (26%), agitation (24%) and aggression (37%). In 20% symptoms developed within 1 month and in 67% within 7 months of starting treatment with a SSRI. There were no significant differences noted in the frequency and nature of treatment emergent symptoms between fluoxetine and paroxetine. Few guidelines, if any, exist for initiating and continuing antidepressant treatment for therapeutic or prophylactic use in this patient population. Close monitoring of efficacy and tolerability, including treatment emergent psychiatric symptoms is warranted. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Forty normal-achieving and 33 learning disabled (LD) children were assigned randomly to either a negative ion or placebo test condition. On a dichotic listening task using consonant-vowel (CV) combinations, both groups showed an ion-induced increase in the normal right ear advantage (REA). However, the mechanisms for this effect were different for each group. The LDs showed the effect at the right ear/left hemisphere (enhancement). The normal achievers showed the effect at the left ear/right hemisphere (inhibition). The results are consistent with an activation-inhibition model of cerebral function and suggest a functional relationship between arousal, interhemispheric activation-inhibition, and learning disabilities. The LDs may have an interhemispheric dysfunction. Both groups showed superior right ear report and the normal achievers showed overall superiority. Normal achievers showed higher consonant intrusion scores, probably due to a greater cognitive capacity. Age was a significant covariate reflecting developmental capacity changes. Negative air ions are seen to be a tool with potential theoretical and remedial applications.
Although both intelligence tests and memory tests are commonly used in neuropsychological examinations, the relationship between memory and intelligence has not been fully explored, particularly for children having learning disabilities. Memory, or the ability to retain information, was evaluated using the Test of Memory and Learning, a recently released test that gives a comprehensive measure of global memory functioning. This, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition, used to assess intelligence, were given to 80 students with learning disabilities. The correlation between a global measure of memory and a global measure f intelligence was significant (r = .59), indicating that memory should be viewed as an important component when evaluating children with learning disabilities.
This study examined perinatal complications and risk factors as predictors of learning disabilities in schoolaged children. Specifically, the Maternal Perinatal Scale (MPS) was used to distinguish between normal children and those classified as learning disabled (LD) by their school system. One hundred and eight participants, 54 in each classification, were selected from a small Midwestern area. A stepwise discriminant analysis demonstrated that all four factors of the MPS contribute significantly to the prediction. A linear composite of MPS factor scores correctly classified 93.5% of all participants, with only two normal and five LD children being misclassified. Repeating the results with other clinical populations, these results support the use of the MPS in assessing the perinatal history. More importantly, these data are consistent with the notion that perinatal complications increase the likelihood of future impairment. Moreover, the MPS shows promise as a screening device for use in early preventative programs which diminish the negative psychological, sociological, and neuropsychological outcomes for children with neurological disorders.