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PubMed1993

Use of IQ criteria for evaluating the uniqueness of the learning disability profile.

Beyond predetermined Performance Scale differences, a group of 24 children with learning disabilities having a lower Verbal, higher Performance IQ profile on the WISC-R and 33 slow learners were not found to be otherwise distinguished by their individual WISC-R subtest scores or subtest scatter. The majority of children were males, white, of lower to middle socioeconomic status and ranged in age from 6 to 13 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The WISC-R as a predictor of Woodcock-Johnson achievement cluster scores for learning-disabled students.

Intelligence and achievement test scores of 100 school-identified, learning-disabled boys were analyzed. WISC-R students were analyzed for strengths and weaknesses, and patterns were identified through factor analysis. The factor loadings, as well as WISC-R IQs, were used as predictor variables, and the Woodcock-Johnson Achievement cluster scores comprised the achievement variables. A stepwise multiple regression indicated that the most powerful intelligence predictor for all three areas of achievement was the WISC-R Performance IQ. Four factor patterns significantly increased the prediction of Woodcock-Johnson Written Language scores.

Achievement↗
PubMed1993

The influence of attention on the dichotic REA with normal and learning disabled children.

Recently, Mondor and Bryden (Neuropsychologia, 29, 1179-1190, 1991; Percept. Psychophys. 52, 393-402, 1992) developed a lateralized cueing technique which appears to be a more powerful method than is the forced-attention technique (Bryden, 1978) of controlling the contribution of attentional biases to auditory perceptual asymmetries. This lateralized cueing technique was used to determine the influence of attentional biases on perceptual asymmetries obtained for normal and specific learning disabled (LD) children. Subjects were instructed to attend to, and report from, only the ear in which the cue sounded. The interval between the onset of the cue and the onset of the dichotic trial is varied so as to control the amount of time available to subjects to allocate attention to the cued ear. Results indicated that, for normal children capable of performing the task at a better than chance level, a large REA apparent at 150 msec Stimulus Onset Asynchromy (SOA) was attenuated at longer cueing intervals (450 and 750 msec SOA). For LD children, the magnitude of the initial REA appeared to be attenuated at 450 msec SOA. Thus, these data demonstrate that for normal children as well as for children with specific learning disabilities, attentional factors may contribute to the magnitude of the REA.

Attention↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparing the self-concept of students with and without learning disabilities.

This study compared self-concept in 50 middle school children with learning disabilities (LD) and 70 of their peers without LD. The students, primarily Hispanic, completed the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, and each obtained a score in six subdomains. Differences were found between the groups on the Intellectual and School Status and Behavior subscales, with students without LD scoring higher on both scales. There was no difference between groups on global self-concept. The limitations of this study are identified, and directions for future research are provided.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

An investigation of documentation submitted by university students to verify their learning disabilities.

To become eligible for support services at the postsecondary level, students with learning disabilities (LD) must submit documentation to verify the existence of a specific LD. The documentation submitted over a 5-year period by 415 students to a large public research university that offers a comprehensive program for students with LD was examined. An analysis of the documentation indicates that serious problems exist in the type and quality of evaluation reports. Problems include flaws in the comprehensiveness of the assessments, and the use of questionable instruments for this population. Recommendations for establishing guidelines for acceptable documentation are offered.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Agreement among four models used for diagnosing learning disabilities.

We compared the level of agreement among four models used to diagnose learning disabilities (LD), including the simple discrepancy, intraindividual, intellectual ability-achievement, and underachievement models. The sample included 170 clinic-referred university students. The simple discrepancy model diagnosed significantly more students with LD than the other three models. The highest degree of agreement occurred between the intraindividual and intellectual ability-achievement models (70%); the lowest level of agreement occurred between the simple discrepancy and underachievement models (48%). Finally, only two of the six comparisons among the four models demonstrated significant correlations. We conclude that even when discrepancy models diagnose similar numbers of students with LD, the same students are not diagnosed across different models.

Achievement↗
PubMed1997

Cognitive potentials in children with learning disabilities.

A group of 16 children, aged from 8 to 14 years, with learning disabilities, were studied by means of a series of conventional and sensitized audiological tests, including recording of the late cognitive electrical responses (P300). They had no otolaryngological or neurological complaints but expressive language disorders (difficulties in speaking and/or writing), receptive language disorders (difficulties in reading and text comprehension), and lack of concentration and/or restlessness. Their audiograms, speech discrimination and immitance tests were normal. The P300 responses, as compared with those found in 20 normal controls within the same age group, occurred at significantly longer latency periods.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1987

An observational study of emotionally disturbed and learning-disabled children in school settings.

It has been alleged that populations of learning-disabled (LD) and emotionally disturbed (ED) children are essentially indistinguishable on important intervention-related symptoms. To examine this claim, a direct observation study of social interactions during class, lunch, and recess settings in two public schools was conducted. Teacher ratings of school behavior were also collected. The results indicated that the ED boys exhibited significantly more nonphysical aggression and noncompliance than the LD boys across settings, and that the LD boys had significantly higher rates of physical and nonphysical aggression and immature behavior than the LD girls. The correlations between the observations and teachers' ratings were modest but consistent with previous studies. The results are discussed with regard to their assessment and treatment implications.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1991

Learning disability and impairment of synaptogenesis in HTX-rats with arrested shunt-dependent hydrocephalus.

Using HTX-rats with congenital hereditary hydrocephalus, we used neuropathological methods, including quantitative Golgi study and neurobehavioral evaluation, to investigate the following problems. (1) What kind of damage does congenital hydrocephalus cause to developing brain tissue? (2) How much can the damage be repaired by ventriculoperitoneal shunting if performed at 4 weeks of age, enabling 4-week-old hydrocephalic rats to survive beyond sexual maturation? (3) What is the status of learning ability of long-term surviving rats with arrested shunt-dependent hydrocephalus? The findings of our study suggest that congenital hydrocephalus impairs the development and formation of the dendrites and spines of the cerebrocortical neurons. Following ventriculoperitoneal shunting, we confirmed that rats with arrested shunt-dependent hydrocephalus demonstrated learning disability in a light-darkness discrimination test using a Y-maze. The development of the dendrites and spines of the cerebrocortical neurons seemed to take place to some degree after shunting, but normal spine density could not be restored. Also suggested was a possible relationship between learning disability and a decrease in spine density, i.e., impairment of synaptogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of behavioral and attentional functioning in children diagnosed as hyperactive or learning-disabled.

The attentional and behavioral functioning of children diagnosed as hyperactive (ADHD), learning-disabled (LD), and hyperactive/learning-disabled were compared, using standardized behavior rating scales across raters and settings, and results from a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests. The ADHD and LD groups were "pure" samples with respect to comorbidity. Multiple discriminant-function analyses on the behavioral and neuropsychological data showed that one variate made clear-cut discriminations among and between each of the three groups. The constructs self-regulation, task accuracy/planning/speed, and aggression differentiated the three groups, while sustained attention did not. The results lend strong support to the validity of ADHD as a diagnostic entity apart from LD, and suggest that poor self-regulation and inhibition of behavior may be the hallmark of ADHD.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed2000

Electrophysiological dissociation between verbal and nonverbal semantic processing in learning disabled adults.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded as 16 adults with learning disabilities (LD) and 16 controls were presented with two sets of stimuli. The first set comprised pairs of line drawings and environmental sounds (nonverbal condition); the second consisted of printed and spoken words (verbal condition). In the controls, semantically related items elicited smaller N400s than unrelated items in both conditions, with opposing hemispheric asymmetries for spoken words and environmental sounds. The LD group did not show a significant difference between related and unrelated words, despite a robust context effect for nonspeech sounds. The results suggest anomalous processing limited to the verbal domain in a simple semantic association task in the LD group. Semantic deficits in this group may reflect a relatively specific deficit in forming verbal associations rather than a more general difficulty that spans both verbal and nonverbal domains.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The relative efficacy of two brief treatments for sleep problems in young learning disabled (mentally retarded) children: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Settling and night waking problems are particularly prevalent, persistent, and generally considered difficult to treat in children with a learning disability, although intervention trials are few. Scarce resources, however, limit access to proven behavioural treatments. AIMS: To investigate the efficacy of a media based brief behavioural treatment of sleep problems in such children by comparing (1) face-to-face delivered treatment versus control and (2) booklet delivered treatment versus controls. METHODS: The parents of 66 severely learning disabled children aged 2-8 years with settling and/or night waking problems took part in a randomised controlled trial with a wait-list control group. Behavioural treatments were presented either conventionally face-to-face or by means of a 14 page easy to read illustrated booklet. A composite sleep disturbance score was derived from sleep diaries kept by parents. RESULTS: Both forms of treatment were almost equally effective compared with controls. Two thirds of children who were taking over 30 minutes to settle five or more times per week and waking at night for over 30 minutes four or more times per week improved on average to having such settling or night waking problems for only a few minutes or only once or twice per week (H = 34.174, df = 2, p<0.001). These improvements were maintained after six months. CONCLUSIONS: Booklet delivered behavioural treatments for sleep problems were as effective as face-to-face treatment for most children in this population.

Behavior Control↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Classroom behavior and family climate in students with learning disabilities and hyperactive behavior.

The present study aimed to identify subtypes of the learning disabilities (LD) syndrome by examining classroom behavior and family climate among four groups of Israeli students ranging in age from 7 to 10 years: 22 students with LD and hyperactive behavior (HB), 22 nonhyperactive students with LD, 20 nondisabled students with HB, and 20 nondisabled nonhyperactive students. Schaefer's Classroom Behavior Inventory and Moos's Family Environmental Scale were administered to teachers and mothers, respectively. The results revealed that higher distractibility and hostility among both groups with HB differentiated between the two groups with LD. Families of children with HB were reported as less supportive and as emphasizing control less. The academic competence and temperament of the nondisabled students with HB were rated as similar to those of the two groups of students with LD. Both groups with LD were characterized by dependent interpersonal relations and by more conflictual families who fostered more achievement but less personal growth.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1989

Parental perception of learning-disabled children's adjustment problems and related stress.

Mothers and fathers of learning-disabled (LD) children rated their children's problems on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the stress they experienced as a result of each problem. Data were examined as a function of (a) the child's sex, age, birth order, IQ, discrepancy IQ, and degree of LD, (b) the parents' age, locus of control, and self-concept, and (c) family SES, family size, and mother's working status. Both parents rated externalizing behaviors higher than internalizing. Boys were rated as significantly more problematic and stressful than girls. Greater child adjustment problems and concomitant parental stress were reported by the younger half of the maternal sample and their spouses, and by fathers with a lower self-concept and their wives. Although mothers did not differ from fathers in behavior ratings, they reported greater stress in response to them. This was particularly true of mothers of middle or upper SES with an external locus of control.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Behavioural treatment for sleep problems in children with severe learning disabilities and challenging daytime behaviour: effect on sleep patterns of mother and child.

Children with sleep problems present serious management problems to their parents. Such children are also more likely to have additional problems, behavioural disturbance being particularly common. This randomized controlled trial of behavioural interventions for the children's sleep problems was conducted to explore the efficacy and mechanisms of treatment in children with the most extreme forms of problems: severe learning disabilities, severe sleep problems and severe daytime challenging behaviour. Fifteen index families received behavioural advice for the child's sleep problem and compared with 15 matched controls who received no such advice. Repeat assessments of the children's and mothers' sleep were made by parental report as well as actometry. Objective changes in the children's sleep quality and quantity were not seen after treatment. However, mothers in the treatment group reported improvements in the children's sleep problems and had an increased sleeping time themselves following treatment. The results indicate that sleep problems can be successfully treated in this group of children, although the mechanisms of treatment may not be as direct as supposed. This has implications for understanding of sleep problems in children with learning disabilities and also for clinical practice, when considering ways of offering help to these highly 'challenged' families.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2007

Taxonicity of nonverbal learning disabilities in spina bifida.

As currently defined, it is not clear whether Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) should be considered a matter of kind or magnitude (Meehl, 1995). The taxonicity of NLD, or the degree to which it is best construed as discrete versus continuous, has not been investigated using methods devised for this purpose. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is a method for finding subtypes of latent classes from multivariate categorical data. This study represents an application of LCA on a sample of children and adolescents with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) (N = 44), those presenting with features of NLD (N = 28) but no medical condition, and control volunteers (N = 44). The two-class solution provided evidence for the presence of a taxon with an estimated base-rate in the SBM group of .57. Indicator validities (the conditional probabilities of indicator endorsement in each latent class) suggest a somewhat different priority for defining NLD than is typically used by researchers investigating this disorder. A high degree of correspondence between LCA classifications and those based on a more conventional algorithm provided evidence for the validity of this approach.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

EEG and behavioral changes following neurofeedback treatment in learning disabled children.

Neurofeedback (NFB) is an operant conditioning procedure, by which the subject learns to control his/her EEG activity. On one hand, Learning Disabled (LD) children have higher values of theta EEG absolute and relative power than normal children, and on the other hand, it has been shown that minimum alpha absolute power is necessary for adequate performance. Ten LD children were selected with higher than normal ratios of theta to alpha absolute power (theta/alpha). The Test Of Variables of Attention (TOVA) was applied. Children were divided into two groups in order to maintain similar IQ values, TOVA values, socioeconomical status, and gender for each group. In the experimental group, NFB was applied in the region with highest ratio, triggering a sound each time the ratio fell below a threshold value. Noncontingent reinforcement was given to the other group. Twenty half-hour sessions were applied, at a rate of 2 per week. At the end of the 20 sessions, TOVA, WISC and EEG were obtained. There was significant improvement in WISC performance in the experimental group that was not observed in the control group. EEG absolute power decreased in delta, theta, alpha and beta bands in the experimental group. Control children only showed a decrease in relative power in the delta band. All changes observed in the experimental group and not observed in the control group indicate better cognitive performance and the presence of greater EEG maturation in the experimental group, which suggests that changes were due not only to development but also to NFB treatment.

Behavior↗
PubMed1995

Sibling interaction of children with learning disabilities: a comparison of autism and Down's syndrome.

Two potentially contrasting hypotheses can be generated about sibling interactions involving a child with Down's syndrome or autism. Research on siblings would predict that learning disabled children adopt responsive roles. Studies of children with autism would predict impoverished interactions. Home observations were conducted on 30 sibling pairs involving children with autism or Down's syndrome. Both hypotheses were partially supported. All learning disabled children engaged in frequent bouts of interaction, usually directed by their sibling. While children with autism engaged in fewer bouts and imitated less, they did reciprocate their siblings' initiations. Sibling encounters provide a unique opportunity for such children to learn about social relationships.

Autistic Disorder↗