Over the past 20 years, teachers have been under continuous pressure to increase students' academic achievement gains. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the latest effort in the 20+-year-old school reform movement, is a federal mandate that demands in part that school districts implement science-based instructional strategies to ensure…

For over 30 years, researchers have studied the social-emotional side of learning disabilities (LD). This article highlights the science-based research on three domains of social skills of children with LD: characteristics, interventions, and the impact of policy. The article concludes with concerns regarding the translation of research on…

Sixty middle school students, half average-achieving and half with learning disabilities (LD), were assigned to either a positive or neutral mood induction condition prior to receiving instruction in elementary Hindi language (to control for effects of prior knowledge). Across a two-week period, the LD students in the positive condition performed…

The language competency of learning disabled (LD) children as it relates to social situations demanding interpersonal communication skills was examined in 28 LD and normal elementary school children. (DLS)

The conversational strategies of the learning disabled and nondisabled children were analyzed for discourse and turn taking behaviors. Learning disabled children asked fewer questions and were less likely to produce open ended questions than nondisabled children. In turn, their conversational partners were less likely to provide elaborative…

Analyses of the children's communication patterns revealed that LD children were less likely to disagree with classmates, less likely to try to argue for their choices, and more likely to agree with their peers. (Author)

Self-ratings of 23 learning disabled (LD) and 27 nondisabled junior high school students were assessed to determine their willingness to conform to peer pressure to engage in antisocial and prosocial actions. LD students rated themselves more likely to engage in antisocial actions with friends. (Author/SEW)

The impact of individual or cooperative goal structures on the achievement, interpersonal behavior, and attitudes of learning disabled (LD) and non-LD students (grades seven and eight) was studied. Cooperative goals, especially following training in cooperative behavior, may facilitate achievement and interpersonal relations of LD and non-LD…

Results indicated that the mothers of LD children attributed successes less to ability and more to luck, while attributing failures more to a lack of ability and less to bad luck. (Author)

The selection of subjects for research on learning disabilities is a function of contemporary notions about learning disabilities, the purpose of the study and level of knowledge about the topic, and practical constraints. Denigrations of the extant research database, along with unaffordable demands for subject selection and descriptions, threaten…