Practice of Learning Disabilities as Social Policy

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Shinn ◽  
Gerald A. Tindal ◽  
Deborah Spira ◽  
Doug Marston
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Regular Education ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
University Of Minnesota ◽  
Education Students ◽  
School Year ◽  
Definition Of

This research presents an analysis of learning disabilities from a social-policy perspective. The reading performance of three groups of elementary students was systematically measured during the spring of the school year: regular education students receiving no supplemental instructional services, regular education students receiving remedial Chapter 1 services, and students labeled as learning disabled. The measures consisted of Curriculum-Based Assessment procedures, following the format developed at the Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities at the University of Minnesota. Students' reading performance was compared across the three groups, including the means and semi-interquartile ranges. A discriminant function analysis was applied to predict group membership. The three groups were sorted by level of reading skill with (a) very different means, (b) minimum overlap, and (c) high accuracy in classification. The results support the notion that schools may be consistent in their decision making and allocation of service delivery on the basis of students' classroom achievement. Regardless of legal or scientific definition, it is argued that schools widely employ a social-policy definition of learning disabilities designed to serve students most deficient in achievement.

Reciprocity in the Teacher-Pupil and Peer Verbal Interactions of Learning Disabled, Behavior-Disordered, and Regular Education Students

1984 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Moore ◽  
Richard L. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Regular Education ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Verbal Interactions ◽  
Teacher Aide ◽  
Target Behaviors ◽  
Observation Instrument ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Behavior Disordered

The purpose of this study was to examine the reciprocal interactions of learning disabled (LD), behavior-disordered (BD), and regular education students. The interactions of 15 students from each diagnostic group (LD, BD, regular education) and their peers, teachers, and classroom aides were observed using a behavior observation instrument designed to monitor (a) frequency of 14 target behaviors, (b) direction of the interaction (i.e., given to or received from), and (c) status of the party involved in the interaction (i.e., peer, teacher, aide). A correlational analysis indicated that negative peer-student interactions were reciprocal. In contrast, neither positive or negative teacher-student interactions nor positive peer-student interactions were reciprocal. First-order conditional probabilities (i.e., the probability of a statement being followed by a selected response) showed that BD, LD, and regular students responded to others in a similar manner. Likewise, the teachers of the three groups were similar in their responses to students. In all groups, positive, negative, and neutral statements were most likely to be followed either by an absence of a response or by a neutral response.

Education Students' Overestimation of the Prevalence of Learning Disabilities

1994 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Flynn ◽  
I. W. Kelly ◽  
B. L. Janzen
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Training Institutions ◽  
Second Year

A number of studies have suggested that educators overestimate the prevalence of learning disabilities in the schools. In this study, we found that 339 first- and second-year education students estimated the prevalence of learning disabilities to be four times higher than the upper limits of prevalence established by experts. Given that mislabelling students as ‘learning disabled’ may have negative consequences for them, the meaning, etiology, and prevalence of students' learning problems should be addressed by training institutions.

Sources Used by Education Students to Conceptualize Learning Disabilities

1996 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 936-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Flynn ◽  
I. W. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Conceptions Of Learning ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Individual Source ◽  
Primary Individual ◽  
Primary Type

An earlier investigation indicated that the education students in this sample gave estimates of the prevalence of learning disabilities that were 4 times greater than those given by experts. In the present study, we identified the sources of information these students used to conceptualize and estimate the prevalence of these disabilities. These 140 first-year education students cited direct contact with persons identified as learning disabled as the primary individual source and personal experience as the primary type of source they used to form conceptions of learning disabilities. These findings raise questions about the effects exposure to possible stereotypes of learning disabilities and their resolution may have on the practices of educators. Faculty must present research to students so stereotypical views of pupils who have difficulty learning in school and the solutions to their problems are questioned.

Bip-Bender Protocols of Learning Disabled and Regular Education Students

1988 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry L. Mallinger ◽  
Kaye F. Longley
Keyword(s):  
School Children ◽  
Scoring System ◽  
Elementary School Children ◽  
Regular Education ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Scoring Methods ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Visual Motor

20 learning disabled and 20 normal elementary school children took the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test twice, once under standard conditions and again using Background Interference Procedure paper. Based on Koppitz's scoring system, the disabled pupils did equally poorly on both modes but performed significantly worse than the normal children when given the standard Bender first. No other differences were found. Other scoring methods are suggested for investigation.

94–142 — The Perspective of Regular Education

1978 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ryor
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Regular Education ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
National Education Association ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
National Education ◽  
Education Association ◽  
The Law

Since its passage in 1975, much has been written about PL 94–142 and its implications for the learning disabled. The majority of articles published in special education journals and other literature have been authored by special educators and, thus, they are usually presented from a special education perspective. In light of the obvious impact of PL 94–142 on all of education, there is merit in viewing the law from a different perspective. Consequently, the Quarterly invited Dr. John Ryor, President of the National Education Association, to discuss PL 94–142 from the perspective of the regular educator. His article addresses some of the major concerns as well as the expectations of the regular educator in regard to PL 94–142. The points raised by Ryor in this article have important implications for the professional in learning disabilities.

Cognitive Abilities and Early Precursors of Learning Disabilities in Very-low-birthweight Children with Normal Intelligence and Normal Neurological Status

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 563-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Ross ◽  
Evelyn Lipper ◽  
Peter A. M. Auld
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Neurological Status ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Auditory Memory ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Iq Scores

Fifty-nine of 88 children with birthweights ≤1500 grams had normal Full Scale IQ scores (≥80) and were judged to have normal neurological status at 7 to 8 years old. Twenty-two (37%) of these children were classified as being learning-disabled, as they had academic achievement scores ≤25th percentile. The children with learning disabilities had significantly lower Full Scale and Verbal IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (1974), but they did not differ significantly from the normal children without learning disabilities on Performance IQ. Learning-disabled children also scored significantly lower on some tests of auditory processing and auditory memory, but not on visuo-motor abilities. Discriminant function analysis indicated that it was possible to correctly predict classification of 81% of the children as learning-disabled or not, based on measures of neonatal respiratory distress and social class level, 1-year mental and neuromotor abilities, and 3-year-old measures of language and visuo-motor integration. Results suggest that verbal deficits, rather than visuo-motor ones, underly learning disabilities at school age in prematurely born children and that these children exhibit signs of subtle neurological impairment at earlier ages.

Social Skills Assessment Technology for LD Students

1989 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis L. Newcomer ◽  
Frank M. Gresham ◽  
Stephen N. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Skills Assessment ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Social Skills Assessment ◽  
Assessment Technology ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social Skills Deficits

Advances in a social skills assessment technology for students with learning disabilities are discussed. The modified definition of learning disabilities proposed by the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities is presented and discussed in the context of social skills assessment. The proposed definition identifies social skills deficits as a primary learning disability and evidence for this definition is presented. Social skills assessment techniques are reviewed and critiqued in terms of their psychometric adequacy. Finally, directions are suggested for future research in social skills functioning of students classified as learning disabled.

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