Comments on the two previous articles (EC 628 520-521) support the studies' explorations of how at-risk students' and teachers' thinking help define the educational environment; raise questions about the possible complicating of unreported factors of race, class, and gender; and suggest that qualitative studies are needed to complement…

This article provides an introduction to the use of event-related potential (ERP) approaches to study language processes. First, a brief history of the emergence of this technology is presented, followed by definitions, a theoretical overview, and a practical guide to conducting ERP studies. Examples of language studies that use this technique are…

The stability of peer status of children (ages 9 to 12) with (N=38) and without learning disabilities (LD) was examined through sociometric measures twice in the same school year. Although test-retest reliability was good, children with LD were likely to lose peer status and be seen by peers in less favorable terms at Time 2 than Time 1. (Contains…

This study addressed the validity of using a five-state multifaceted approach to defining reading disabilities. Comparison of 204 reading-disabled (selected by criteria such as intraindividual differences and low achievement) and normally achieving junior high students on motivational, cognitive, and metacognitive variables (usually associated…

Responds to Miguel, Forness, and Kavale, who argued that the social skills deficits typically found in children with learning disabilities are largely due to the comorbidity of learning disabilities with psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorder. This review finds this relationship for LD…

The authors of an earlier article, which argued that the social skills deficits typically found in children with learning disabilities (LD) are largely due to the comorbidity of LD with psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorder, respond to a critique that did not find this relationship…

Three themes are identified in response to several papers about teachers' cognition and instructional improvement of students with learning disabilities: (1) the teacher's dilemma between attention to the individual or the group; (2) the content of the curriculum and perspectives on knowledge and knowing; and (3) staff development. Researchers are…

The authors of an article on research and professional development of general education teachers who have students with learning disabilities respond to a commentary. They address the distinct research traditions of general education researchers and special education researchers and urge the integration of their particular research methodologies…

Fifteen children (ages 5.1 to 6) received a 12-week intervention on measures of phonological processing skills and reading. At posttest, students performed significantly better than the control group on measures of phonological processing skills and in reading. Results suggest such early intervention may enhance early reading and possibly reduce…

Two studies evaluated the Process-Based Reading Enhancement Program (PREP) with 150 grade 4 economically disadvantaged children. Pre- and posttesting with the Word Attack and Word Identification subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised found significant group-by-time interactions. Results support the efficacy of the PREP to improve…

Describes three years of research in intensive long-term writing intervention with adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) and low achievement. Successful intervention was attributed to the genre-specific strategies used, the focused and intensive nature of the writing instruction, and the use of interactive dialogs in conferences between…

Two studies with poor readers in grade 4 (total N=68) examined the relationship between word identification speed and story reading fluency. Benefits were found for single-word practice prior to reading stories containing those words, even for children who were particularly poor namers. Results are related to theoretical links between fluency and…

Phonological training with an articulatory component was compared to phonological awareness training without a specific speech-motor component with 45 second- to fifth-grade children with reading disabilities. The only significant difference found between the two training methods was that the nonarticulatory group was slightly superior on phoneme…

Two studies of intermediate grade students with and without learning and writing disabilities evaluated the Self-Regulated Strategy Development model in teaching students how to plan persuasive essays before and during composing. Instructional effects were investigated using different research designs, in different settings, and with different…

Sixteen children with severe reading problems in first grade received a year-long individual tutorial intervention. Growth curve analyses found significant gains on measures of orthographic and phonological coding, word identification, word attack skills, reading comprehension, letter automaticity, and spelling and marginally significant gains in…