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The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of a computer simulation program on the ability of students with LD to: a) communicate mathematically, b) estimate problem solutions, and c) solve applied story problems. Eight students with LD, ranging from 9 to 11 years of age, took part in the study. The students participated in a computer-presented interactive software program, which used contextualized problem solving to target the above skills. A multiple baseline research design was used to examine: (a) improvement, or lack thereof, of student skills in problem solving, estimation, and math communication abilities, (b) interactions among the three targeted components, (c) generalization of skills to more traditional (e. g., paper and pencil/teacher directed) formats, and (d) extended generalization of acquired skills. Implications of these findings are presented as well. / text

The present study was an effort to empirically subtype children's learning disabilities. A review of the literature was presented with a focus on current and historical subtypingattempts. A cluster analysis was performed on 1144 school-age learning disabled children who had completed extensive neuropsychologica1, intellectual, and achievement measures. Four interpretable clusters emerged which were seen as (1) Verbal-Sequential-Arithmetic Deficits, (2) Motor Speed and Cognitive Flexibility Deficits, (3) Mixed Language/Perceptual Deficits, and a (4) No Deficit Subtype. Not only did these clusters indicate unique profiles for each subtype across the sample, but developmental differences were also apparent between all four clusters. The current investigation suggested the utility of an empirical-neuropsychological approach to subtyping children's learning disabilities, while also portraying the importance of neurodevelopnental considerations of subtypes. Future directions in research were discussed. / Department of Educational Psychology

Published Article / Various, multidisciplinary approaches can be used for the treatment of children with learning disabilities (LD). A multidisciplinary approach can include play therapy, remedial therapy, physiotherapy as well as a stimulant medication. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference between children with LD and children without LD in terms of differential-sensitivity. Twenty children that have been diagnosed with LD and twenty children without LD participated in and completed a range of actions such as interacting with a number of objects of different colours, sound stimuli, smell stimuli and a two-touch stimulus. The study found that children with LD have more difficulty in identifying their senses and its functions than children without LD. It could thus be possible that if sensory stimulants were integrated into play therapy mediums, that the unidentified child with LD could be identified earlier in that child's life.

Background: Evidence for the effectiveness of psychological treatments for sex offenders with learning disabilities is far from overwhelming. Qualitative studies can augment quantitative research by providing insight into the experiences of those who receive such treatment. There are a number of qualitative studies of the views of offenders but few that focus on the views of those with learning disabilities. Method: A systematic review was carried out of qualitative studies of the views of sex offenders, with and without learning disabilities, about their experiences of treatment. An empirical study, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, explored the views of men with mild learning disabilities about one particular group treatment. Results: The review identified that a supportive atmosphere, good therapeutic relationship, trust and positive peer interactions were highly valued. Some elements of treatment, such as offence disclosure, were seen as both difficult and helpful. In the empirical study, themes regarding offence disclosure and trust were also identified. In addition, treatment was characterised as being about giving and receiving advice. Participants struggled with some of the other concepts used in treatment but described gains including becoming a mentor and developing a sense of mastery. Most strikingly, participants described needing extensive time in treatment in order to gain benefit. Over time they moved from feeling anxious and angry about treatment to feeling positive, supported and trusting. Conclusion: Sex offenders with learning disabilities may need long-term treatment programmes in order to effect change. Treatment providers should be sensitive to offenders’ feelings of initial anxiety and anger.

This study compares the performance of unilingual normal, unilingual learning-disabled, bilingual normal, and bilingual learning-disabled groups of children from 8 to 11 years of age on acquisition of word meaning tasks. The tasks were derived from the Re-cognition Function Level of Kass's theory. Initial subject selection involved using teacher judgments and an examination of school files to determine the presence of learning disability. Bilingual linguistic background was determined by teacher and parental judgments and by ability in verbal conversation to achieve a criterion of approximate equivalence between English and Spanish. Four groups of at least 15 subjects each were established, reflecting linguistic background (unilingual, bilingual) and presence of learning disability (learning-disabled, normal). Final assignment of subjects to learning-disabled and normal groups was verified by the administration of four tests and a discriminant analysis of the results. Five experimental tasks involving the acquisition of word meaning were devised and administered to the subjects. These tasks were: Task 1, Word Classification; Task 2, Word Class Labeling; Task 3, Verbal Analogies; Task 4, Synonyms and Antonyms; and Task 5, Creative Language. Task 5, Creative Language, consisted of Parts A (written) and Part B (verbal). An Abstract-Concrete Scale score and a Words per Sentence score resulted from both Part A and Part B. The results of the study were as follows: (1) Learning-disabled subjects, regardless of linguistic grouping, scored significantly lower than normal subjects on the Word Classification, Word Class Labeling, Verbal Analogies, and Synonyms and Antonyms tasks. They also scored significantly lower than normal subjects on the Creative Language Task Part A (written) and Part B (verbal), Abstract-Concrete Scale. No difference was present on the Creative Language Task, Part A (written) and Part B (verbal), Words per Sentence. (2) Bilingual subjects, regardless of the presence of learning disability, scored significantly lower than unilingual subjects on the Word Class Labeling and Verbal Analogies tasks. They scored significantly higher than unilingual subjects on the Creative Language Task, Part A (written), Words per Sentence. (3) Younger subjects scored significantly lower than older subjects on the Word Classification and Verbal Analogies tasks and on the Creative Language Task, Part A (written) and Part B (verbal), Abstract-Concrete Scale. (4) No significant interaction effect (presence of learning disability x linguistic background) was obtained on any of the tasks. The results of this study support these conclusions. First, children labeled as learning disabled have skill deficits in acquiring word meaning, with the qualification that measures of the quantity of language production do not consistently correspond to measures of the quality of language production. Second, bilingual children may appear to display deficits in the acquisition of word meaning if task selection in the secondary language (English) does not take practice factors into account. However, bilingual learning-disabled children display these deficits in both primary and secondary languages. Third, skill in the acquisition of word meaning improves across the age span of 8 to 11 years regardless of the presence of learning disability.

Within the last few decades there has been a push to identify students who have or who are at-risk for learning disabilities as early as possible. Much of this recent focus is related to research showing the positive long-term benefits of early education for the general population and children in poverty, as well as to educational theory about early educational interventions. However, little to no research has been conducted on the long-term effects of age of first service provision for students with learning disabilities. Whether students with learning disabilities are doing better academically in high school or graduating high school at higher rates based on when they are identified or when they received services is yet to be known. This study analyzed data collected from families and schools for 2,000 youth with learning disabilities from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2), a study that investigated a nationally representative sample of approximately 12,000 students with disabilities. The present study used latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the effects of age of first service provision on high school educational achievement and high school graduation in order to better understand the long-term effects of the age of intervention for students with learning disabilities. Contrary to what was hypothesized, the age a student first received services for a learning disability did not statistically significantly affect his or her grades in high school or likelihood of graduating from high school. The age a student first received services for a learning disability was statistically significantly and positively related to standardized achievement tests in high school; however, the direction of causation was counter to what was hypothesized. Students who received services at a later age performed better on high school standardized achievement tests. An important limitation of these data is that measures of a student's cognitive abilities or the severity of a student's learning disability were not available for use in these analyses. Further limitations and possible implications of these findings are discussed. / text