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Family patterns of reaction to a child with a learning disability: a mediational perspective.

The impact of a child's learning disability on the family system is explored with regard to the general consequences for the system and to the parents' abilities to react to the problems generated for the child and family. Feuerstein's concept of mediated learning experience is proposed as a useful way of understanding the process issues, to assess parental reactions, and to guide more productive and adaptive interventions. Four prototypical patterns of family response are presented, with descriptions of the mediational restrictions and potentialities embedded within them. Implications are presented for both dysfunctional responses and the development of positive and adaptive reactions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Screening for learning disabilities in preadolescents using psychosocial disability markers-a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Learning disabilities (LD) are among the most common developmental and psychiatric disorders encountered by pediatricians, yet many children are not adequately diagnosed or treated in elementary school when intervention is most effective. Because of the well-known co-morbidity between psychosocial problems and LD, this pilot study sought to utilize psychosocial "markers" to screen for unidentified LD among all fifth graders in three urban/suburb Connecticut elementary schools.METHODS: 115 fifth graders, representing a 71% response rate, agreed to participate in the study and were screened using standardized psychosocial questionnaires administered to parents (Child Behavior Checklist), students (Youth Self Report), and teachers (Teacher Report Form). Psychosocial symptom scores and associated t-scores were obtained for three types of problems; "internalizing," "attention" and "externalizing." 28 students with high levels (t > 60) of internalizing or attention problems, were selected along with a sample of 22 "normal" students with no evidence of psychosocial impairment. These 50 students were given an individually administered battery of ability, performance and cognitive processing tests to determine the presence of unidentified LD. Performance tests included standardized tests of reading, writing and mathematics. All test scores were normed with a mean of 100 and a SD of 15. LD was determined to be present if the student had a 1.5 SD or greater discrepancy between ability and performance in any of the three academic areas, and evidence of a cognitive processing deficit.RESULTS: The results indicated that 14 of the 50 students tested (28%) had evidence of undiagnosed LD. No significant difference was found in the proportion of undiagnosed LD among psychosocially impaired versus normal students. However regression analysis suggested that this finding was misleading. Controlling for ability, attention problems reported by the parent, were found to be significant (p < 0.05) predictors of lowered test scores, whereas internalizing problems were found to be predictive of increased test scores. Students with both internalizing and attention problems did not differ significantly from psychologically unimpaired students.CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study indicates that better screening methods are needed to identify the likely high proportion of elementary school children with undiagnosed learning difficulties and co-morbid psychosocial problems.

Journal Article↗

Performance of children with and without learning disabilities on Canter's Background Interference Procedure and Koppitz's scoring system for the Bender test.

Performance of 66 children, 30 with and 36 without learning disabilities, in four ways using the Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test was compared. First, the test with the standard Koppitz scoring procedure, second with the Canter Background Interference Procedure sheet using the standard Koppitz scoring procedure; third, the Bender test on a standard sheet of paper using Canter scoring procedure; and fourth, the Canter Background Interference Procedure (BIP) sheet using the Canter scoring procedure. The effectiveness of the Canter procedure was examined when scored with an age-appropriate normative scoring system. This was accomplished by combining the Canter BIP interference sheet with the Koppitz scoring system. The children ranged in age from 6 to 10 years. Using discriminant analysis, all four methods correctly categorized statistically significant percentages of both types of students but there was a significant difference on the Canter BIP sheet using the Canter scoring procedure. This procedure classified students with the least absolute number and percentage of either false negatives or false positives when compared with the other three methods, suggesting that using this scoring method with the Bender Gestalt may be better for identifying younger children with learning disabilities.

Age Factors↗

Menopause in women with learning disabilities.

A brief questionnaire concerning previous and current menstrual status was sent to 280 women over the age of 35 on the Wandsworth Register for People with Learning Disabilities: 196 questionnaires (70.4%) were returned. One hundred and seventy-one were used in the analyses; 45 were from women with Down's syndrome. The results suggested that, compared with data on normal women, menopause may occur earlier in women with learning disabilities and earlier still in women with Down's syndrome.

Adult↗

Learning disabilities: community nutrition.

Nutrition for people with learning disabilities living in the community is an aspect of care that should not be taken for granted. From clients who live virtually independently to those living in fully staffed homes, there is much to be gained from a thorough assessment of their eating patterns. This article reviews the most common nutritional problems such clients face and discusses ways of overcoming them.

Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilitie↗

Learning disabilities: promoting 'ordinary life principles'.

People with learning disabilities who present challenging behaviours pose significant problems for staff who are keen to encourage in them a sense of community integration. This article relates the efforts of one group of staff in a community home who devised a programme that helped to transform the behaviours of four clients, enabling them to become actively involved in community activities.

Adult↗

A health clinic for people with learning disabilities.

The needs of people with a learning disability are not always met due to inequalities in healthcare provision. This study set out to explore the effectiveness of a 'pop in' clinic for these clients. It was found that the clinic was used by about one third of the population under study and a wide range of health problems were dealt with as a result. The author concludes that such a clinic is an effective method of reducing inequality and that specialist health visitors are in an ideal position to provide this type of service.

Adult↗

The adjustment of students with learning disabilities to university and its relationship to self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Using self-report questionnaires, this study found that a sample of 34 university students with learning disabilities reported significantly poorer self-esteem, academic adjustment, and personal-emotional adjustment than a sample of 31 non-learning-disabled students. For both groups, self-esteem correlated positively with general self-efficacy. Both variables correlated positively with adjustment to university.

Achievement↗

Factors influencing the identification of black and white students with learning disabilities.

This study examined the differential influence of an IQ cutoff and standard score or regression-based method for determining a severe discrepancy as eligibility criteria for the identification of black and white students with learning disabilities. Subjects were 218 white and 132 black students referred for possible learning disability services. The results of the study demonstrated that the use of a standard score method for determining a severe discrepancy and the use of an IQ cutoff above the range for mental retardation resulted in the disproportionate underrepresentation of black students meeting eligibility criteria. In contrast, when a regression-based method to determine a severe discrepancy was used, along with the absence of an IQ cutoff, no differences were discerned between the two groups. The implications of these findings for current practice are discussed.

Black or African American↗

Managing the needs of people who have a learning disability.

A recent report from the National Patient Safety Agency has highlighted the risks facing people with a learning disability when they enter hospital. Recent policies and current patterns of care will see increasing numbers of people with a learning disability accessing generic health services, including hospitals. Nurses may need to develop suitable approaches to deal with the demand. This article offers some practical considerations.

Hospitalization↗

Biofeedback-induced relaxation training as an alternative for the elementary school learning-disabled child.

This study examined the effects of biofeedback-induced relaxation training on attention to task, impulsivity, and locus of control among 32 learning-disabled children between the ages of 8 and 11 years. Attention to task and impulsivity were measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test and locus of control was measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Scale. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental (N = 16) and control (N = 16) groups. The study spanned a total of 8 weeks, with the experimental treatment consisting of three sessions spaced approximately 2 weeks apart. The treatment included EMG biofeedback training used with relaxation tapes. Univariate F values and discriminant analysis procedures revealed that the attention to task and impulsivity measures proved to be valid discriminators, respectively beyond the .01 and .05 levels of significance. Experimental group subjects had significantly fewer number of errors on the attention to task measure and significantly lower impulsivity scores. It was concluded that the biofeedback-induced relaxation training affords promise in assisting learning-disabled children in reaching their education potentials. It was recommended that future research examine the long-term efficacy and the transfer to school-related tasks of this intervention.

Attention↗

Behavioral disorders, learning disabilities and megavitamin therapy.

During the 1970s, vitamins and vitamin therapy became household words. Vitamin therapy, better known as "orthomolecular psychiatry," is both appealing and very popular. The question that must be asked is: Does this popularity and appeal validate this form of therapy? This paper presents findings from various sources that give results of research in megavitamin nutritional therapy. The following categories are examined: learning disabilities in general, schizophrenia, autism, mental retardation and Down's syndrome, and hyperkinesis.

Adolescent↗

[Right hemisphere syndrome in children: functional and maturity correlation of non-verbal learning disabilities].

INTRODUCTION: This review presents the maturational model of the right hemisphere syndrome in children, its clinical manifestations and its relationship with non-verbal learning disabilities. DEVELOPMENT AND CONCLUSIONS: The white matter model proposed by Rourke is presented and the clinical symptoms that are generally associated with right hemisphere dysfunction, independent of which hemisphere is affected, are highlighted. It has been proposed that the right hemisphere have proportionally more white matter than the left hemisphere which implies different adaptation processes for each one after brain lesions. There are different factors that determine these results: brain plasticity acts in different ways in each hemisphere; early brain injuries, affect specially right hemispheric functioning in its abilities to be in charge of new material processing and building new schemes that are also used by the left hemisphere. Some pathologies that are related with the clinical manifestations of non-verbal learning disabilities are presented. According with this model, they display basic neuropsychological features, even though their clinical manifestations could change between them. The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder is specially considered as the most recent evidence of right hemispheric dysfunction, although results in this pathology are controversial, from the neuropsychological point of view. In general, the right hemisphere lesion in children has different implications when it is compared with adult's lesions. The white matter model could explain different processes in the plasticity brain mechanism. Preservation of basic language aspects is observed, but a deficit in non-verbal abilities that interferes with normal functioning is a rule. A specific clinical profile of assets and deficits is presented in most of the cases. These characteristics should be considered in treatment implementations.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Frequency of adoption of children and adolescents with learning disabilities.

Students from three different facilities who were diagnosed as learning disabled were studied to determine the frequency of adoption with this population as compared to the national norm. The frequency of adoption was found to be 4.5 times higher than the norm, that is, 17.3% versus 3.9%. The possible reasons for this high incidence are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Infusing a teacher preparation program in learning disabilities with assistive technology.

A recent trend in the fields of special education, rehabilitation, and technology is the development and implementation of assistive technology (AT) devices and services to assist individuals in compensating for disabilities and/or utilizing functional capabilities to meet environmental demands. AT devices and services have major implications for individuals with learning disabilities (LD) regarding life span issues, environmental and curricular accessibility, and compensatory strategies. Faculty members in higher education who are responsible for designing teacher preparation programs in LD must explore ways to structure curricula, methodologies, and practica to better prepare teachers to work with students who use AT devices to compensate for their specific learning disabilities. The purpose of this article is to describe curriculum design steps and barriers to and solutions for infusing LD teacher preparation programs with assistive technology.

Curriculum↗

The effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacher-directed strategy instruction routine: changing the writing performance of students with learning disabilities.

This study examined the effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacher-directed instructional routine used to teach three planning strategies for writing to fourth and fifth graders with learning disabilities. In comparison to peers who received process writing instruction, children who were taught the three planning strategies-goal setting, brainstorming, and organizing-spent more time planning stories in advance of writing and produced stories that were qualitatively better. One month after the end of instruction, students who had been taught the strategies not only maintained their advantage in story quality but also produced longer stories than those produced by their peers who were taught process writing. However, the highly explicit, teacher-directed strategy instructional routine used in this study did not promote transfer to an uninstructed genre, persuasive essay writing. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to effective writing instruction practices for students with learning disabilities.

Child↗

[What has medical science resolved learning disabilities (LD) into?: introductory remarks].

What can medicine contribute to learning disabled (LD) children? In this symposium, most distinguished speakers in Japan discuss the following issues: the incidence of LD in children with preterm birth, biochemical aspect in LD children neurophysiological examinations for LD and speech therapy for specific reading disorders. Brain dysfunctions in LD children should be clarified to facilitate remedial interventions. It is expected that medical insurance supports LD children and their family.

Child↗

Faculty willingness to accommodate students with learning disabilities: a comparison among academic divisions.

One hundred seven faculty members at a northwestern college responded to a questionnaire devised to assess faculty willingness to provide students with learning disabilities instructional, assignment, examination, and special assistance accommodations. Faculty responses to the questionnaire were analyzed to determine if differences existed among faculty in the colleges of Education, Business, and Arts and Sciences. Results indicate that, in general, faculty were willing to provide students with learning disabilities accommodations, but that differences exist among the three academic divisions as to faculty willingness to provide students accommodations. The implications of these results for colleges and universities and future research are discussed.

Achievement↗