Parents play a significant role in the education of children with special needs. Recent national policies have aimed to improve support for students with specific learning difficulties and their families in Hong Kong. Literature on the experiences of children with specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong is scarce. This study, by Kim Fong…

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the most common non-genetic cause of learning disability, affecting around 1% of live births in Europe, and costing an estimated $2.9 million per individual across their lifespan. In adulthood, non-reversible brain damage is often compounded by secondary disabilities in adulthood, such as mental health…

This study by Lio Moscardini of the University of Strathclyde shows how a group of 24 children in three Scottish primary schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties responded to word problems following their teachers' introduction to the principles of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). CGI is a professional development programme in…

Phonological awareness is a key factor in the development of literacy, and frequently presents itself as an area of weakness in pupils with reading difficulties. In this article, Anies Al-Hroub of the American University of Beirut sets out to define a distinguishing pattern of characteristics that supports the identification of pupils with…

Transition to post-statutory education and employment for young people with learning disabilities has become a hotly debated issue among professionals in education and support services in the UK. Partnerships between educational institutions and voluntary sector providers are supposed to be ideal vehicles for delivering transition services and…

In this article, Anies Al-Hroub, assistant professor of educational psychology and special educational needs at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, and David Whitebread, senior lecturer in psychology and education in the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, discuss the identification, by teachers, of children who are gifted in…

Consultation with pupils with learning disabilities through the use of person-centred planning methods is becoming increasingly common. However, little research has focused on pupils with multi-sensory impairment (MSI). Kim Taylor has taught children with special educational needs for over 25 years and holds a post-graduate diploma in…

We are entering a new phase in learning about childhood disabilities. While we have found out much of what we need to know about their causes and aetiology, solutions to many of the challenges we will face in the future will come from the evidence base held by practitioners. Practitioners are ideally placed to carry out "real world" research but…

This paper proposes that learning and teaching for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties could be enhanced by a closer focus on emotional factors and on the careful identification of what is meaningful for them. Phil Goss, senior lecturer in counselling and psychotherapy at the University of Central Lancashire draws on…

Carolyn Anderson is a speech and language therapist who is currently working as a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde. In this article she provides an early account of her ongoing research into communication between teachers and pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. Video recordings were made of teacher-pupil…

In this article, Dr Amanda Kirby, medical director at the Dyscovery Centre in Cardiff, Rhys Davies, a researcher for the School of Education at the University of Wales, and Amy Bryant, a psychology student at Cardiff University, report on their investigations into teachers' and general practitioners' (GPs') knowledge of six specific learning…

Current research highlights the prevalence of potentially undetected communication difficulties, often associated with major difficulties in literacy and learning, among pupils identified as having behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). In this article, Sarah Heneker, who is a speech and language therapist working mainly with…

The Gulliford Lecture 2003 was given by Professor Ann Lewis of the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. Professor Lewis's lecture, on which this article is based, focused on the process of listening to the views of children and, in particular, children with learning difficulties. Following the near-universal ratification of the…

Andrew Culham has been a lecturer in further education for seven years. During this time he has worked primarily with students with learning difficulties. He now works for Oxford and Chenveil College as a coordinator of provision for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties within the supported learning curriculum unit. In this…

A study involving 27 young people with learning disabilities and 27 parents found many left school without any transition planning. Where transition planning had occurred, there was a stark mismatch between topics families wanted covered and those addressed. Many students who received transition planning had little if any involvement. (Contains 9…