No description available.

Students with learning disabilities (LD) have been found to exhibit social difficulties compared to those without LD (Wong, 2004). Recognition, expression, and understanding of facial expressions of emotions have been shown to be important for social functioning (Custrini & Feldman, 1989; Philippot & Feldman, 1990). LD subtypes have been studied (Rourke, 1999) and children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD) have been observed to be worse at recognizing facial expressions compared to children with verbal learning disabilities (VLD), no learning disability (NLD; Dimitrovsky, Spector, Levy-Shiff, & Vakil, 1998; Dimitrovsky, Spector, & Levy-Shiff, 2000), and those with psychiatric difficulties without LD controls (Petti, Voelker, Shore, & Hyman-Abello, 2003). However, little has been done in this area with adolescents with NVLD. Recognition, expression and understanding facial expressions of emotion, as well as general social functioning have yet to be studied simultaneously among adolescents with NVLD, NLD, and general learning disabilities (GLD). The purpose of this study was to examine abilities of adolescents with NVLD, GLD, and without LD to recognize, express, and understand facial expressions of emotion, in addition to their general social functioning. / Adolescents aged 12 to 15 were screened for LD and NLD using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children---Third Edition (WISC-III; Weschler, 1991) and the Wide Range Achievement Test---Third Edition (WRAT3; Wilkinson, 1993) and subtyped into NVLD and GLD groups based on the WRAT3. The NVLD ( n = 23), matched NLD (n = 23), and a comparable GLD (n = 23) group completed attention, mood, and neuropsychological measures. The adolescent's ability to recognize (Pictures of Facial Affect; Ekman & Friesen, 1976), express, and understand facial expressions of emotion, and their general social functioning was assessed. Results indicated that the GLD group was significantly less accurate at recognizing and understanding facial expressions of emotion compared to the NVLD and NLD groups, who did not differ from each other. No differences emerged between the NVLD, NLD, and GLD groups on the expression or social functioning tasks. The neuropsychological measures did not account for a significant portion of the variance on the emotion tasks. Implications regarding severity of LD are discussed.

This study was designed to examine the most common characteristics, best practices, and gaps in service delivery at Early Intervention (EI) centres across Canada. A 29-item survey designed to investigate services, funding, waitlists, satisfaction, and perceptions of success was completed by 184 service providers. Provinces and territories were grouped according to time zone and five resulting samples were compared. Samples were comparable in terms of waitlists, perception of success and government contributions. Significant differences were found in terms of the number of professionals working at the centre, with the Mountain and Eastern samples having the most multidisciplinary centres. In addition to making cross-province comparisons, Canadian findings were also explored. As the proportion of government funding decreased and private funding increased, ratings of satisfaction significantly increased. Findings were discussed in relation to the relevance to Canadian EI centres and directions for future research were explored.

The effects of exercise frequency on the stereotypic behaviours of four children with developmental disabilities were examined. Two exercise treatments were implemented, differentiated by frequency. The single frequency exercise treatment consisted of one daily 10 minute walk/jog session, while the multiple frequency treatment involved three 10 minute walk/jog sessions per day. Stereotypic behaviours were observed prior to the exercise sessions, as well as immediately following exercise. / The results indicated similar reductions in stereotypic behaviours with the use of both treatments. In the single frequency condition, subjects demonstrated a mean reduction of 51.6%. These data confirm the results of past research, in which a decrease in stereotypic behaviours was observed following a single bout of exercise. However, the positive results are usually short-lived. The mean reduction of 58.9% following the multiple frequency condition can be viewed as more effective than the single frequency condition because the reduction was maintained throughout different periods of the day. Inter-rater reliability of stereotypic behaviours was 86%. / The use of a multiple frequency exercise treatment informally revealed the interaction between exercise, environment, and stereotypic behaviours. Observation in the classroom suggested that as the structure of the classroom increased, stereotypic behaviours decreased. Thus, exercise combined with a structured classroom is likely to yield an optimal decrease in stereotypic behaviours.

Peer relationships of students with developmental disabilities in self-contained classrooms were investigated. Eighteen boys enrolled in three separate classrooms participated in the study. The mean chronological age of the boys in each class were 6.7, 8, and 7.7 years, and their mean mental ages were 4.6, 5.8. and 6.7 years. Peer relationship measures included sociometric measures such as peer ratings and sociograms and observational measures such as coordinated group activity and dyadic interaction. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were obtained. Peer ratings shared high correlations with cognitive variables such as I.Q., for the middle mental age class. Behavioral variables were correlated to peer ratings for the middle and the highest mental age classes. Dyadic interaction variables were correlated to peer ratings for the lowest and the middle mental age classes. The importance of including observational variables in addition to sociometric variables and the possible effects of group characteristics such as cohesiveness on the variables that determine peer ratings are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to illuminate the lived experiences of children with specific learning disability in an attempt to move beyond the deficit and reductionist models of theorizing learning disabilities that currently inform our understanding. A paradigm shift is proposed, a shift in focus towards a holistic or comprehensive view of the person with learning disability. By viewing the phenomenon from the inside, as it were, I shift my focus from “what it is” to “how it is experienced” (Hall, 1998). It is suggested that a change in focus from the deficit to the whole child in his context will better inform practice This research follows the empirical phenomenological tradition, a qualitative analysis of everyday accounts of living with LD. Justification is given for using life history methodology in order to garner insights into the experiences of a child with learning disability. Five informants between the ages of 12 and 14 years were selected to participate in this study. A multi-method approach to data collection was used. Data were collected from a number of sources, including audio journals kept by participants, guided conversations typical of life history research and visual representations such as collages or life maps submitted by the participants. Data, interpreted on multiple levels, are represented in narrative form. Findings challenge current thinking around inclusive education by suggesting that learners with LD experience exclusion in a system meant to create a sense of inclusion. It is in the mainstream that the “identity as LD” is constructed because of the comparison to the performance of peers who do not have LD. However in a specialised educational environment where peers all presented with the same learning differences, difficulties and styles, instead of comparison there is a sameness. I suggest that this leads to the development of an “identity as capable.” Finally there is much we can learn about pedagogical intervention or management from these informants’ experience of LD. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Two studies were conducted to examine the hypothesis that compliance may be a "keystone" behaviour for intervention for children with developmental delays. The relations among children's behaviours were examined during teaching sessions conducted either by children's mother or an unfamiliar examiner. Specifically, the relations between children's compliance with instructional requests and their attention, affect (positive and negative), and inappropriate behaviours (inappropriate object use, inappropriate vocalizations, inappropriate sitting, wandering, and self-directed behaviour) were examined. In both studies, highly compliant children showed less negative affect and were more attentive to the tasks than were less compliant children. Highly attentive children, in turn, showed less out-of-seat behaviour/wandering, less inappropriate object use, and less negative affect, than did less attentive children. / In the second study, the hypothesis that delayed children may have greater difficulties with self-regulation than nondelayed children was investigated by examining-the effects of task difficulty on children's behaviour and affect during instruction. The responses of preschoolers with developmental delays Were compared to those of their nondelayed peers during two types of tasks (verbal and visual-perceptual) presented at three levels of difficulty (easy, moderate, and difficult). The tasks were presented in a standardized manner by an unfamiliar adult to minimize extraneous sources of variation in children's responding. To ensure that children in all groups received comparably difficult tasks, task difficulty was defined using an individualized procedure. Thus, group differences in children's responses to task requests could not be attributed to differences in their level of developmental functioning. Finally the associations between children's behaviours and task performance were examined to identify the behaviours that contributed to task success. / The results indicated that even when given comparably difficult tasks, children with delays showed less tolerance for task demands than did their nondelayed peers. The delayed children were less compliant than the nondelayed children during moderately difficult and difficult tasks and were also less attentive than the controls during difficult tasks. Also, whereas the delayed children showed reductions in compliance and on-task attention with increases in task difficulty, the nondelayed children were equally compliant and attentive at all levels of task difficulty. / All children were more compliant and attentive and showed less inappropriate behaviour during the visual-perceptual than the verbal tasks. Furthermore, compliance was strongly associated with children's performance on both types of tasks. The findings are interpreted as evidence that children with delays may have greater difficulties with emotion and self-regulation than their nondelayed peers.

No description available.

The questions investigated concerned the social problem solving skills of 41 learning disabled (LD) students compared to 41 typical students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Since (a) LD students are generally described as impulsive, lacking in social judgment, and unaware of consequences; since (b) these social problems have been described as some of the most devastating for LD students as they interfere with their everyday adaptation to living; since (c) social decision making has been found to be somewhat correlated with mental and emotional health and the self-concept; since (d) studies have indicated a range of from 26% to 73% of the criminal population have a Learning Disability - indicating a difficulty in adapting to society; it appears very important that we find ways to improve the social adaptation of LD persons. This study was a beginning of research with this goal in mind.The questions investigated were: 1) are LD students as good as Non-LD in social problem solving, as measured by the number of solutions they can spontaneously generate to presented social situations; 2) do LD students tend to select the same categories of response to social conflicts as non-LD students, as measured by their choices from a group of predetermined solutions to the same presented social conflict situations; are LD student's self evaluations of their problem solving ability as accurate as the self evaluations of non-LD student's as measured by their responses on a revised version of the Problem Solving Inventory and their ability to generate solutions to problem situations. First, the social situations, revisions of situations from the MeansEnds Problem Solving test, were read by the tester while the student followed along with a printed copy of the text. The student was informed as to what he preferred to do and what he was expected to do. After hearing the social conflict, he was then instructed, "In one minute, tell me as many ways as you can that you would deal with this this situation." Thus, no inappropriate behaviors were suggested. Second, the student was presented the same social situations in the same manner. He was then presented eight choices. He was told, "From the following choices, circle the letters next to the four choices you would most likely use to deal with this situation". The goal of the experiment was to determine if the LD person would choose the same types of strategies for adapting as the typical student. As there were no pre and post tests, the names of the individuals were not required, only whether or not they were LD and possibly their grade level. This would guarantee confidentiality. Tests were administered individually for generating solutions and in small groups where answers could be written.Next, the experiment attempted to determine if there is a relationship between one's ability to generate solutions and their self-rating as problem solvers. A modified version of Heppner's Problem Solving Inventory was prepared. It was believed that a statistical analysis of the two factors using LD and Non-LD students would give an indication of this relationship.The documents used in the test were: 1. the revision of the Means-Ends Problem Solving Test and 2. the revision of the Problem Solving Inventory. These are attached to this document in the appendices.The results of the study indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between the LD and the Non-LD students ability to generate solutions to the problem solving situations. There was no statistically significant difference in the self-evaluated problem solving ability of the two groups. There was a statistically very significant difference in the type of response category selected by the LD students when compared with non-LD students. / Department of Special Education

The present study was an attempt to look at the empirical classification of children's learning disabilities based on neuropsychological variables at differing IQ levels. Subjects were divided into four groups based upon Full Scale IQ (i.e., 70-79, 8089, 90-99, 100-110). Subsequent clustering of the test data within each group suggested that while the students in the 70-79 IQ range were represented by a single impaired cluster, each of the other IQ groups had both a moderately impaired cluster and a non-impaired cluster. The study attempted to respond to criticisms of previous research by using a large sample of subjects (N = 928), utilizing a broad range of subjects with a representative sample of abilities, and applying an interpretable structure to the cluster analysis (i.e., neuropsychological variables within IQ levels). The present research further offered a perspective on programming by way of neuropsychological functioning. As such, the results argued for placement procedures for learning disabled children that are apart from those formulas relative to achievement and intelligence. / Department of Educational Psychology