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In this article a short overview is given of the relationship between autism and learning disability. Autism exists with any level of intelligence, but many individuals with autism suffer also from learning disability. Although both disorders show overlap in some behaviours they are different in many aspects. Are they distinct syndromes which influence each other, or do they belong to a broad spectrum of a condition?
The life expectancy of institutionalised people with learning disabilities is shorter than that of the general population. Data on population dynamics in institutions for such people are vital for planning purposes. Mortality can be considered a crude measure of quality of health care. Mortality data on the 914 admissions to the Leros PIKPA asylum for children and young adults with learning disabilities and associated problems in the years 1961-91 were reviewed. The overall crude mortality rate was 59.2 deaths per 1000 person-years. Twenty-two per cent of the deaths occurred within a year after admission. Age-specific mortality rates were particularly high for those aged one to four years, and declined thereafter. Male residents had lower mortality than female residents in almost all of the age groups. Compared with sex- and age-specific mortality data for the general population of Greece, the observed rates were 20-150 times higher but still comparable to those reported for people with more severe learning disabilities in institutions in other countries. Lifetable analysis by length of stay showed that male residents had a statistically significant higher probability of survival than female residents, which could not be attributed to age-related differential mortality. Culture-specific differential admission criteria may account for the observed sex difference.
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on issues related to the reliability and validity of measurement of challenging behaviour (behavioural difficulties) in learning disability. A number of practical, theoretical and methodological issues are discussed that have significance for the nurse both as practitioner and/or researcher in learning disability. These issues are equally important to both provider and purchaser of health care in order that resources can be most effectively targeted. The term 'challenging behaviour' would appear to be used both in literature and research synonymously with behavioural difficulties, this has implications for nurses in both their clinical practice and/or research. The author concludes by identifying a need to replace the term challenging behaviour, with 'behavioural difficulties'. It is argued that such a term is much more explicit in meaning and amenable to operational definition, thus enabling empirical study. Such a proposal will not be accepted by all as justifiable; this is because some might argue that adopting the term behavioural difficulties may be a retrograde step that perpetuates negative imagery and inappropriate labelling of people with a learning disability.
The article discusses the incidence of three categories of visual difficulties found in a learning disabled population seen at the Southern California College of Optometry. Four of the areas showing the largest incidence were also examined in a nonlearning disabled clinic population. The relationship between the two populations shows a much larger incidence of these problems in the learning disabled group, although the problems were noted in both groups.
Multisensory environments are specially designed to enable individuals with learning disabilities to enjoy a wide range of sensory experiences. The author, a lecturer in occupational therapy, outlines the history and features of multisensory environments. Using two case studies, he illustrates how they can be used in successful therapeutic interventions. The article reviews the function of multisensory environments for children with learning disabilities.
Twenty children from regular classrooms and 20 children from self-contained, learning disability classrooms tracked four different acoustic stimuli through three fixed paths in space. An apparatus specifically designed to provide objective data on accuracy of tracking was used. The results showed that learning disability children as a group were inferior in their abilities to follow a moving speech signal and a moving white noise. The position of the target with respect to the listeners' midlines affected accuracy of tracking, but this was not a function of the hand used to control the pointer.
Government policy in the United Kingdom is to make the National Health Service accessible to all citizens, including those who hitherto may have relied on specialist services. It is recognized that the attitudes of health professionals can be a major influence in making this happen. To date there has been a paucity of research studies involving nurses and therapists, two of the largest groupings of health care workers. The present study contrasted the reactions of nurses and therapists to their contact with people who have learning disabilities, with those of staff working in specialist services for this client group, and with students who are not involved in health services. Over 1000 respondents - mainly university students on undergraduate or post-graduate courses - completed a written questionnaire. Although nurses and therapists had significantly less contact with people who had learning disabilities during their work than did staff in specialist services, there were no differences in terms of contact in personal life. In both instances their contacts were higher than those reported for non-healthcare students. However both nurses and therapists were significantly less confident in working with a patient who had learning disabilities as opposed to one with physical disabilities. By contrast, willingness for social contacts did not vary across the four groups although respondents with previous personal contact were significantly more willing for this than those with no prior contact. The results confirm that the form of contact is a more salient variable on staff attitudes than contact per se. Hence, changed reactions are more likely to come about from successful contacts in a work rather than social environment. The implications are discussed for initial and post-qualifying training courses, especially for suitable placement experiences. Suggestions are made for future research that focuses on increasing the expertise and confidence of nurses and therapists in working with patients who have learning disabilities.
We retrospectively collected data on the rate and type of psychiatric illness and behavioural problems on 143 adults with learning disability and epilepsy. 55% behavioural problems. 19% verbal aggression and temper tantrums, and 13% injurious behaviour. The overall rates of behavioural problems and different types of behaviours found in the current study cohort are similar to what was found before in learning disabled adults in general, as well as in epileptic and non-epileptic learning disabled adults. Psychiatric diagnosis was made in 12.6% combined diagnosis of schizophrenia, delusional disorder and schizo-affective disorder was most common (5%) diagnosis of depressive episode (3%) bipolar affective disorder.
OBJECTIVE: To study the self-consciousness of children with learning disabilities (LD) and to identify related factors. METHODS: Five hundred and sixty pupils graded from 1 to 6 in an elementary school were investigated. According to the pupil rating scale revised screening for learning disabilities (PRS), combined Raven's test (CRT) and achievement of main courses, 35 of 560 pupils were diagnosed as LD children. Thirty-five children were selected from the average children and 35 from advanced children in academic achievement equally matched in class, gender, and age with LD children as control groups. The three groups were tested by Piers-Harris children's self-concept scale. Basic information of each subject was collected by self-made questionnaire. RESULTS: Compared with the average and advanced children, LD children got significantly lower scores in self-concept scale. Based on logistic regression analysis, 3 factors were identified, including family income per month, single child and delivery model. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that self-consciousness of children with LD is lower than that of normal children.
It has been suggested that deficits in selective attention play a functional role in the learning and behavior problems of children diagnosed as learning-disabled. In the present study, peripheral and central aspects of selective attention were distinguished and peripheral aspects were examined. The attending eye movements during reading of 12 fifth-grade learning-disabled children who read at the third-grade level were compared with 12 fifth-grade children who read at the fifth-grade level (grade placement controls) and 12 third-grade children who read at the third-grade level (reading level controls). The learning-disabled children did not differ from their reading level controls on any of 10 measures but showed a pattern of eye movements that was generally slower and less smooth than their grade placement controls. While these patterns might be considered to be "immature" relative to normal readers of the same age, they are not indicative of peripheral deficits in selective attention. Males, however, did exhibit more variability in duration of fixations and made more regressive eye movements than did females.
Pre-school siblings' comments about, and behaviour towards, their older, learning-disabled brothers and sisters are reported. Initially, some of the very young siblings want to be similar, and attempt to imitate their brothers and sisters, particularly if he or she is also physically disabled; this may be because of the immediate visibility of physical disability, which makes it appear interesting and important to the younger child. Before they are 2 years old, children are able to recognize that their older brothers and sisters are different, and often imitate the parents' behaviour towards the older child.
Gersten, Jordan, and Flojo (in this issue) provide the beginnings of an essential bridge between basic research on mathematical disabilities (MD) in young children and the application of this research for the early identification and remediation of these forms of learning disability. As they acknowledge, the field of MD is in the early stages of development, and thus recommendations regarding identification measures and remedial techniques must be considered preliminary. I discuss the importance of maintaining a tight link between theoretical and empirical research on children's developing numerical, arithmetical, and mathematical competencies and future research on learning disabilities in mathematics. This link will provide the foundation for transforming experimental procedures into assessment measures, understanding the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children with these forms of learning disability, and developing remedial approaches based on the pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses for individual children.
This study was designed to establish test-retest reliability of the consonant vowel and digit formats of the dichotic listening test with normal and learning-disabled children between the ages of 7 and 10 years. Between-group differences on ear advantage and total accuracy scores were also examined. The results indicated that both groups showed a right ear advantage and that there were no significant differences in ear advantage between the two groups on either format. However, on the digit format, the learning-disabled group performed significantly lower than the normal group on both the percentage of total accuracy and the left ear raw score. There were no significant differences between the two groups on percentage of total accuracy or raw ear scores on the consonant vowel format. The normal group tended to obtain higher reliability coefficients than he learning-disabled group. Both groups tended to obtain higher reliability on the consonant vowel format than on the digit format. Wide variability in reliability results was found when using different laterality formulas to determine ear advantage.
This paper builds upon a previous piece of research regarding the development of 'natural therapeutic holding' as a non-aversive alternative to control and restraint (C and R) in managing aggression and violence in people with learning disabilities. This paper represents aspects of an ongoing programme of research and explains the aims and values which underpin natural therapeutic holding by describing the theory, aims, values and practical application. The concepts of individual risk management and pro-active intervention strategies are discussed with illustrations of practical application given by means of a case study. The case study shows that over a relatively short period of time, an individual with severe learning disabilities who is aggressive and violent, learns alternative coping strategies to aggression and violence through the application of natural therapeutic holding. The article concludes that natural therapeutic holding is a very effective intervention strategy in the management of violence in people with learning disabilities from two perspectives: (a) it provides staff with safe, professional and ethical skills with which they can manage aggressive and violent clients and (b) as a therapy, natural therapeutic holding gives clients the opportunity to learn coping strategies which are more effective than violence.
WISC-R data were factor analyzed for a sample of 980 learning disabled subjects aged 9 through 14. Separate analyses were conducted for the total sample, males only, females only, and age-level groupings. The three-factor solution (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Freedom from Distractibility), previously identified in normal samples, was found to be appropriate for the learning disabled subjects in the present study for the total sample and the sex and age groupings. The Verbal Comprehension factor emerged as the most robust followed by Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility.
The effect of stimulus complexity on the performance of 30 learning disabled and 30 normal Caucasian children (age range 10- to 11.6-year-olds) was compared. Reaction time and response patterns were analyzed separately using a three-factor analysis of variance design, with repeated measures over the last factor. The dependent variables were analyzed over both changing and constant conditions. Under the changing condition, colored squares of the 3 by 4 stimulus matrix were assigned at random on every trial. Under the constant condition the colored squares remained in the same position on every trial. The results support the notion that stimulus complexity affects reaction time for both learning disabled and normal children. No response patterns were shown.
The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to explore the perceptions of individuals who could speak from both sides of the special education desk--as students and as teachers. The three participants for this study each received special education services for learning disabilities while in school and were currently teaching students with learning disabilities. Specifically the study focused on how participants' past experiences with receiving special education services influenced their current practice as special education teachers. Participants' views on service delivery models, the importance of teacher expectations, and the value of conceiving a learning disability as a tool rather than a deficit are discussed.
A conceptual model for the natural history of learning disabilities as a health threat will be presented. The model illustrates the multitude of individual and environmental factors influencing the subsequent physical and mental well-being of disabled learners as well as the professional interaction and interdisciplinary cooperation needed to limit if not prevent the societal impact of learning disabilities.