Project (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1983. / Bibliography: leaves 119-123.

Thesis (PhD(Opvoedkundige Sielkunde))-Universiteit van Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Project (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1983. / Bibliography: leaves 119-123.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

No description available.

M.Phil. (Optometry) / The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of vision deficiencies in the children from the schools of the learning disabled compared to the children from the mainstream schools. One hundred and twelve (N = 112) children from the two learning disabled schools and eighty (N = 80) children from the mainstream school, in Johannesburg had their vision assessed. The evaluation of functional vision included visual acuity (Snellen Acuity), refractive status (Static Retinoscopy), ocular health status (Internal and External evaluations), accommodation (Monocular Estimate Method (MEM), ±2.00D Flippers, Donder's push up method), binocularity (Cover Test, Vergence Facility, Smooth Vergences, Near Point of Convergence (NPC) and ocular motilities (Direct Observation). The results of this study revealed a significant relationship of poor vergence facility (Cramer's V =0.369); lead of accommodation of the right (Cramer's V = 0.379) and left eye (Cramer's V= 0.386); poor amplitude of accommodation of the left eye (Cramer's V=0.316) and the mainstream group. A significant relationship was found between the learning disabled group and poor saccadic accuracy (Cramer's V=0.343) and a high lag of accommodation of the right (Cramer's V= 0.379) and the left eye (Cramer's V= 0.386). Both the learner groups in the current study present with different visual deficiencies, and thus comparisons in terms of prevalence is complicated. It will be erroneous to say one group presents with a high prevalence of visual deficiencies than the other nor to conclude that the prevalence of visual deficiencies is the same in both groups. The results of this study provide further support for full vision screenings (including visual integrity pathway, and visual efficiency skills) to be routinely done in both mainstream and schools for the learning disabled.

Case studies and a small number of group studies in the neuropsychological literature on adults and children with brain dysfunction suggest that certain cognitive skills are important determinants of social skills. However, standardised measures of social skills designed expressly to measure this construct have not been used previously in the neuropsychological field. The goal of this study was to determine neuropsychological correlates of social skills in children referred for neuropsychological assessment, and compare the findings to the cognitive skills identified in social information processing models from developmental and clinical psychology. In younger children (6 to 9 years), only a measure of conceptual ability was related to social skills. However, from a clinical standpoint, differences in conceptual skills between socially impaired and socially skilled children were minimal. In older children (10 to 13 years), sustained attention and verbal reasoning were strong, unique predictors of social skills. However, only differences in sustained attention between socially skilled and unskilled children were clinically significant. Results were discussed with regards to 1) social information processing models, 2) the effect of age on the cognitive correlates of social skills; and 3) the relationship between insight and social skills. / Graduate

The purpose of this paper is to review traditional and emerging models in the field of learning disabilities, to examine emerging methodological approaches and techniques, and then to propose a holistic model for the treatment and education of children with learning disabilities.

The study was not concerned with those students who have seevere problems of phasia, agnosia, apraxia, or alexis. It was not concerned with the “non-reader” or the child diagnosed as dyslexic. The focus of the study was on those students who exhibited the following behaviors: (1) those who can read although no necessarily at “grade level” or at a level considered to be “normal”; (2) those who cannot copy correctly; (3) those who do not finish their written work; (4) those who make correct verbal responses but incorrect written responses; (5) those who have established a delaying routine of sharpening pencils, losing materials, or making trip to the wastebasket; (6) those who work while the teacher is beside them and stop working when the teacher goes away form them.

Cognitive and academic assessment are fundamental to learning disability diagnosis in children and adults. This study sought to evaluate the relationships between cognitive abilities and reading skills in a sample of referred postsecondary students. It was hypothesized that the relationship between cognitive ability and reading skills may change at different points in the ability distribution, such that the relationship between the two variables is strong and linear up until a certain point and then the relationship weakens or becomes non-significant. The study assessed relationships between four empirically supported indices of cognitive ability and eight measures of reading skills (a total of 32 combinations of relationships). First, linear relationships were analyzed. Strong linear relationships were found for each of the variable combinations, consistent with prior research on non-referred and referred child samples. Next, curvilinear regression was used to see if data were better fit using a curved line (evidence of a threshold effect). There were generally null effects for added variance, though there may be some evidence for a curvilinear relationship between cognitive ability and the specific skill of decoding. These regressions were also re-run while controlling for demographic variables, and again a third time when individuals with possible response bias (i.e., low effort or malingering) were removed; the results did not change. Finally, linear correlations were calculated separately for students in different parts of the distribution of cognitive ability. Again, results indicated that the relationships remain linear across the distribution of cognitive ability. While our primary hypothesis was not supported, this study extended previous research to better understand the linear nature of cognitive-achievement relationships among referred adults. Implications for practice are nuanced and depend on which model of learning disability diagnosis is used.