A study investigated the criterion validity and comparability of scores on the Miller Analogies Test when accommodations for 15 undergraduates with learning disabilities were in place. Scores from test administrations with accommodations were similar to those of controls on standard administrations, but less well associated with grade point…

A study examined the perceptions and knowledge of preservice general educators (n=293) and 131 inservice teachers toward early literacy instruction for students at risk for reading failure. Results found many general education teachers, at both preservice and inservice levels, are not prepared adequately for this challenging task. (Contains…

This introductory article briefly describes each of the following eight articles in this special issue on the neurology and genetics of learning related disorders. It notes the greater appreciation of learning disability as a set of complex disorders with broad and intricate neurological bases and of the large individual differences in how these…

This study examined passive genotype-environment correlations (GECs) for language related abilities by comparing environment-child language associations in adoptive and nonadoptive families. Findings indicate genetic mediation of the association between home environmental variables with children's language-related abilities. Implications for…

Examination of methodological issues in the design and interpretation of studies on the genetics of reading disability suggests three tests of increasing rigor for determining whether reading score distributions are categorical and thus not subject to analyses which assume a continuous normal distribution. Also noted are interactive relationships…

This study investigated the role of the myelin oligodendrocye glycoportein (MOG) gene to reading disability in 22 children with dyslexia and 96 random controls. Results suggest that, although alleles in the MOG gene may be in linkage disequilibrium with a locus that contributes to reading disability, the MOG gene itself is probably not involved.…

This study examined whether indicators of math learning disability were observed in 35 5- and 6-year-olds with either neurofibromatosis, Turner Syndrome, or fragile X syndrome and compared to controls. Findings indicate that girls with fragile X or Turner syndrome but not neurofibromatosis are significantly more likely to have specific math…

This study examined event-related potentials (ERPs) to synthetic consonant-vowel syllables from 26 newborns with familial risk for dyslexia and 23 control infants participating in a longitudinal study of dyslexia. Results indicated that the cortical electric activation evoked by speech elements differed between children with and without risk for…

Analysis of data from 96 children in a longitudinal study found that foundation skills in speech perception and language as well as family demographics and home environmental variables were related to and predicted later reading scores. Event related potential measures of speech perception immediately after birth also predicted reading scores,…

This article criticizes the term "comorbidity" used to describe the overlap of developmental syndromes or disorders. Data from 179 school-age children are evaluated for criteria of seven disorders. Since fully 50 percent of the sample met the criteria for at least two diagnoses, the premise that these disorders are discrete categories on which the…

This paper reviews studies using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging in adults to study the reading process and notes that general networks of regions seem to be uniquely associated with different components of the reading process. Findings are evaluated in light of technical and experimental limitations and…

Previous findings on employer knowledge about learning disabilities were compared to 25 employers from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Findings indicate that employers are continuing to make efforts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 regulations but have little knowledge or experience with it in terms of learning disabilities.…

A study investigated the kinds of instructional and assessment accommodations received by 280 students with disabilities and the extent to which instructional accommodations match assessment accommodations. Most students who had Individualized Education Programs in specific content areas received instructional accommodations in those areas.…

A review of 913 studies involving students with learning disabilities found treatment outcomes were significantly affected by the following violations: teacher effects, establishing criterion levels of instructional performance, reliance on experimental measures, using different pretest and posttest measures, using a sample heterogeneous in age,…

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical computation skill was examined in 98 children and adults with and without mathematical disabilities. A hierarchical regression analysis, when partialing for reading ability, age, and gender influences, showed mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal…