Empirical findings on the efficiency of memory processes in exceptional children are outlined. Cognitive deficits are considered to be central to many academic and social skill problems of children with mental retardation and learning and behavior problems. In response, educators and psychologists have devised ways of training such students to use cognitive strategies to improve their performance. Analysis of students' cognitive styles of learning can provide insight into learning difficulties, through consideration of reflective and impulsive cognitive styles, field-dependence and field-independence, memory, active and passive cognitive styles, and causal attributions and internal/external loci of control. Cognitive strategy training can be applied to such instructional techniques as self-instruction, self-questioning, self-monitoring, and memory strategies, but several limitations have been identified. An experiment tested the results of restrictions on voluntary cognitive control strategy use for 24 retarded and 24 nonretarded students (aged 10-14) during tasks lending themselves to use of these strategies. Retarded students demonstrated slower than normal and less efficient stimulus encoding, as well as deficits in the speed of information processing and faster than normal stimulus decay. The study concluded that less emphasis should be placed on cognitive strategy training procedures for the midly retarded child than for the learning-disabled child. A list of references is provided. (JDD)