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Psychoeducational assessment variables for high school students were subjected to a discriminant function analysis. Variables predictive of learning disability classification were spelling, IQ, and a student interview question.
For at least the last 10 years, control and restraint (C&R) has gained increased popularity amongst nurses as a safe, professional and legal means to manage violence in health care settings. However, during this period there has been an increased momentum to find non-aversive management strategies for people with learning disabilities and there has been frequent debate on the abolition of practices which do not achieve this. More recently, the main criticisms of C&R have been the professional and ethical objections that the techniques used inflict some degree of pain or discomfort to the client, and the fact that it remains a reactive strategy with no theoretical framework for professional practice. On this basis, alternatives should be sought which seek to address these issues. This paper outlines the development of natural therapeutic holding, an approach which is non-aversive and which provides a theoretical structure for professionals to base their practice on in order to develop clear therapeutic goals for the client. Initial findings within a small community residential service for people with learning disabilities indicate that natural therapeutic holding was a preferred method of intervention strategy by staff, proving as effective as C&R in the management of violent incidents, with interventions being much shorter in duration and non-aversive in nature.
Prior research demonstrated that the relationships between age and neuropsychological test scores are much weaker in brain-damaged adults and children than in non-brain-damaged subjects It appears that the effects of brain damage on test scores are sufficiently strong to diminish the influence of age and education Similar results have been found with learning-disabled children The present study evaluated the effect of age adjustments on WISC-R IQ values and subtest scores The results suggest that conventional scoring of the WISC-R, which requires an age adjustment to obtain the IQ, underestimates the IQs especially of older LD children, apparently reflecting the learning-disabled child's limited rate of acquisition of intellectual abilities with advancing age.
Social outcomes of students who participated in two different educational settings designed to provide special services for students with learning disabilities (LD) placed full-time within the general education classroom were examined. Participants were 185 third-through sixth-grade students: 59 students with LD, 72 low to average achieving, and 54 high achieving. There was an overall educational setting effect, with students on the consultation/collaborative teaching setting demonstrating more positive outcomes than students in the co-teaching setting on friendship quality and peer acceptance. Students with LD in the consultation/collaborative teaching setting also demonstrated moderate increases in the number of reciprocal friendships from fall to spring. Discussion addresses the positive social outcomes for students with LD and high-achieving students in the consultation/collaborative teaching setting, and the importance of monitoring student progress in all settings.
Four-year colleges and universities identified as offering special programs for post-secondary students with learning disabilities were surveyed to determine the types of services provided. Results related to students served, assessment and referral procedures used, academic and nonacademic services offered, and procedures employed for staff training are discussed in this article.
The role of the eye in vision and its relationship to learning disabilities is discussed in this very timely article. A historical overview is included, as well as a consideration of the more recent neuroanatomic research in this area.
The purpose of this study was to explore whether college normally achieving writers (n = 35), writers with learning disabilities (n = 35), and underprepared writers (n = 35) demonstrated any differences in their ability to utilize the semantic roles and syntactic rules needed to apply cohesive referencing in written text. Cohesive referencing (the ability to assign roles to the speaker and addressee in written communication) is a critical aspect of written language. In addition, the study explored the relation between referential cohesion and the quality and coherence of a written text.
A review of 208 studies of children with learning disabilities (LD) published in 10 major journals between 1988 and 1990 was conducted to determine the extent to which recommendations made in 1980 and 1984 regarding reporting and design of LD research have been followed. A number of problems continue to threaten the interpretability and utility of results, including imprecise subject descriptions, heterogeneous samples, and methodological weaknesses. Implications for the field are discussed and recommendations for improvement are provided.
The current study examined the bidirectional relationship between academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems of adolescents with learning disabilities. Forty-three students attending a residential school were assessed for externalizing behavior problems via parent and teacher reports on the Child Behavior Checklist and the Children's Attention and Adjustment Survey. The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised was used to estimate academic achievement in reading, spelling, and arithmetic. Achievement measures did not predict externalizing behavior problems 1 to 2 years later, although verbal IQ predicted parent reports. Teacher reports of externalizing behavior problems predicted reading and spelling achievement scores 1 year later, and parent reports of externalizing behavior problems predicted changes in reading achievement. There was evidence that attentional problems were the component of externalizing behavior accounting for these relations, consistent with the explanation that inattentive students have difficulty achieving in an intensive learning environment.
In this article, we analyze critically available definitions of learning disability (LD). The general problem of definition is discussed first followed by a discussion of individual LD definitions from the earliest to the latest. We conclude that LD definitions fail to provide substantive insight into the nature of the condition. The reasons for this failure are discussed in relation to the nature of definition and the difficulties in providing operational definitions of LD that are meaningful and significant. Finally, means for resolving the problem of definition are discussed.
This study sought to identify clusters or subtypes of children with learning disabilities (LD) and documented brain damage (BD) on the basis of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Sixty subjects, 24 with LD and 36 with BD, participated in the study. The standard scores for several measures from the Intermediate Battery of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and other select measures were submitted to Q-Technique factor analysis for the entire sample. Five clusters were determined. No one cluster was composed exclusively of LD or BD subjects, with the proportions of LD and BD varying considerably from one cluster to the next. There were some qualitative differences between the clusters, while quantitative differences also figured prominently.
Psychological interventions aimed at seizure management are described with a 14-year-old boy with a learning disability and intractable epilepsy. Baseline records suggested that a majority of tonic seizures and 'drop attacks' were associated with going off to sleep and by environmental 'startles'. Psychological formulation implicated sudden changes in arousal levels as an underlying mechanism of action. Cognitive-behavioural countermeasures were employed to alter arousal levels and processes in different ways in different 'at-risk' situations. A multiple baseline design was used to control for non-specific effects of interventions on non-targeted seizures. Results suggested significant declines in the number of sleep onset and startle-response seizures were attained by these methods. Gains were maintained at 2-month follow-up.
The diagnosis and treatment of chemically dependent adolescents with a second diagnosis of learning disabilities (LD) or an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) poses a challenge. Like other so-called dual diagnoses, these conditions must be assessed against the background "noise" of the adolescent chemical dependency syndrome. This syndrome is coincident with the onset and cessation of chemical dependence and abuse. A diagnostic framework for assessing chemically dependent adolescents is presented, with specific reference to the differential diagnosis of LD and ADHD from other conditions. The role of LD and ADHD is assessed with regard to being a risk factor for chemical dependence in adolescence. Treatment approaches, on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, with the chemically dependent adolescent who also has an LD or ADHD are discussed.
This study investigates the behavioral and emotional problems of children with learning disabilities (LD), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and LD/SED, using the Teacher Report Form (TRF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The sample consisted of 217 students with LD, 72 with SED, and 68 with SED/LD, ages 6 to 18 (mean age = 11.5). The students with SED were rated more impaired than the students with LD on all TRF scales except Attention Problems, and on three of the eight CBCL syndrome scales. The children with LD differed from those with SED mainly in terms of severity of problems, not with respect to type of problem. It is concluded that students with co-morbid LD and SED are underidentified and underserved in special education systems.
Our case study is of a 55-year-old man who has a moderate learning disability. He has been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and is currently in remission. At Christmas six years ago while Dave Croft was on home leave from an NHS unit, his father died suddenly. His mother, acting in what she felt were Mr Croft's best interests, arranged the funeral and did not inform her son until after the ceremony had taken place. Mr Croft appeared to have adjusted to his loss, until November 2001 when he became increasingly upset and agitated at the mention of death. A multidisciplinary team approach and the use of a 'life event book' helped Mr Croft come to terms with his bereavement and allowed staff at the unit to put a strategy in place to help him prepare for future family bereavements.
A single dose of 30 mg i.m. ACTH4-10 or placebo was given to a sample of 20 hyperactive, learning-disabled children. No significant drug effects were obtained on measures of visual and auditory memory, new learning, impulsivity, attention, perceptual motor skills, anxiety, or behavior during testing. There was a slight increase in pulse rate for drug compared with the placebo group. These findings are in keepeing witth other recent reports of limited or insignificant cognitive effects in adults of a single dose of this peptide.
Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have difficulty learning and performing age-appropriate perceptual-motor skills in the absence of diagnosable neurological disorders. Descriptive studies have shown that comorbidity of DCD exists with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD). This study examined the consequences of the comorbidity of DCD and LD for the severity and pattern of perceptual-motor dysfunction. Compared to children with DCD without LD, children with comorbid DCD and LD performed lower on a standardized assessment of perceptual-motor ability. Furthermore, it appeared that children with combined DCD and LD have particular difficulty performing manual dexterity and balance tasks but not ball-skill tasks. Implications for understanding the relationship between LD and perceptual-motor problems are discussed. We conclude that the comorbidity of DCD and LD not only affects the severity of perceptual-motor dysfunction but also is associated with a distinctive pattern of perceptual-motor dysfunction.
The effects of tape-recorded self-instruction cues on the mathematics performance of students with learning disabilities (LD) were investigated. Nine students were assigned to one of three conditions: an experimental condition, in which students attended two training sessions in self-instruction (SIT); an observer condition, wherein students observed SIT but did not participate; and a control condition, wherein students received neither training nor the opportunity to observe. Using a multiple probe design, data (problems attempted, problems completed correctly, and time for task performance) were collected across two baseline phases, two brief instructional periods, and two generalization phases. Without access to taped cues, experimental and observer students did not successfully utilize the SIT after the first self-instructional training. However, when experimental students were trained to use taped cues, they demonstrated the ability to accurately solve their problems. More important, they were able to successfully use SIT procedures when the taped cues were faded.