Sociometric and activity questionnaires were administered using a sample of 28 learning disabled (LD) boys (ages 6-13) enrolled in private school. Results suggested that the LD population is sociometrically heterogeneous. Popularity was found to be significantly related to informal get-togethers with friends, but not to levels of participation in…

A modified Social Performance Survey Schedule was completed by teachers of 534 learning disabled (LD) or socially normal (SN) subjects (ages 8-15). SN subjects were perceived as having significantly more prosocial and significantly less antisocial behavior than LD subjects. Females were perceived as having more prosocial behavior than males.…

Evaluation of the relationship between hyperactivity and learning difficulties in 1,593 Australian elementary students indicated twice as many males as females with learning difficulties; 11% of the sample were hyperactive; 41% of the subjects with learning difficulties were also hyperactive; and 3.2% of all subjects had both hyperactivity and…

Verbal and nonverbal measures of higher cognitive functions were used to examine the degree of difference between the thought processes of culturally deprived and learning disabled children. Four groups of 20 subjects (ages 8-10) were studied. Results of both traditional and qualitative scoring differentiated between the two populations. (JW)

This study investigated the ability of learning disabled, slow learning, and average children (N=39) to adapt learning strategies to different stimulus demands in small group learning situations. Findings demonstrated distinctly different patterns of strategy usage in each diagnostic category; all three groups were able to differentiate among…

An attorney involved in Individualized Education Program (IEP) hearings and placement decisions for children with special needs proposes specific measures to ensure that the learning disabled child's strengths as well as deficits are diagnosed, communicated at IEP hearings, and productively used in subsequent educational planning. (JW)

The Bender Gestalt Test was administered to 25 children (7-10 years old) referred for neuropsychological assessment and scored using the Koppitz system and the Watkins system. Although the scores obtained using the two different sets of criteria were highly correlated, the Watkins rules produced generally better performance. (Author/CL)

Prison inmates (N=565) classified as underachievers or adequate readers were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Analysis of recategorized WAIS-R scores suggested that, as a group, the underachieving readers exhibited a pattern different from that of genetic dyslexic Ss and different from that of reading and learning…

The combination of two cognitive behavior modification procedures--self-monitoring of attention and self-monitoring of academic accuracy--with a group of low functioning students in a LD self-contained class was effective for all four students in improving attention-to-task and for three of the four children in percentage of accurate responses on…

A program for 148 bright 6-14 year olds who were poor readers featured use of mentors to supplement four facets of a metacognitive/cognitive training program: (1) factors affecting thinking, (2) reasons for using strategies, (3) methods of self-direction, and (4) cognitive strategies. (CL)

To examine associative aspects of reading, the author explores the idiosyncratic evolutionary development of word meaning as theorized by J. Bruner and L. Bygotsky and relates to this the oral language deficits manifested by many children with severe reading disorders. A clinically effective method, based on these theories, is then presented.…

The paper reviews the existence and complicating nature of nonverbal learning disorders, noting difficulties faced by such individuals in elementary and secondary school. Problems in identifying these disorders are reviewed. (CL)

Power Spectral Fast Fourier analysis of the scalp electroencephalogram was obtained from six locations in 69 children with learning disabilities without hyperactivity and 34 control children, during baseline and while performing reading, arithmetical, and spatial tasks. Significant EEG power and percent differences for specific frequencies were…

Learning disabled and nondisabled readers (N=12 each) were compared on dichotic listening recall tasks that included semantic, phonemic, and structural orienting instructions. As expected, recall increases were a function of group, orienting instructions, and level of word processing. Most importantly, the results clearly demonstrated that group…

Self-reported reading ability of parents of 174 reading-disabled children and 182 controls was used to estimate posterior probability that a child of an affected parent will become reading disabled. It was found that the risk for reading disabilities is increased substantially if either parent has had difficulty in learning to read. (Author/CL)