Imagery deficits in nonverbal learning disabilities

This study reports the observations gathered from 11 children referred to consulting services because of learning difficulties at school and diagnosed with nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD). These children had an average verbal IQ, but a WISC-R performance IQ lower than the verbal IQ by at least 15 points and experienced difficulties especially in mathematics and drawing. The children completed a battery of four tasks requiring visuospatial working memory and visual imagery: a memory task composed of pictures and their positions (Pictures task), a task that required them to memorize the positions filled in a matrix (Passive Matrix task), a task that required them to imagine a pathway along a matrix (Active Matrix task) and a task that required them to learn groups made up of three words, using a visual interactive imagery strategy (TV task). In comparison to a control group of 49 children, children with NVLD scored lower in all the tasks, showing deficits in the use of visuospatial working memory and visual imagery. By contrasting subgroups of children of different ages in the control group, it was possible to show that some tasks did not show a clear developmental trend. Thus the deficits shown by the children with NVLD cannot simply be attributed to a developmental delay of these children, but seem to reflect a more severe disability.     

Relationship between social perception and peer status in children with learning disabilities

This study was undertaken to examine the social perceptual skill deficit theory in explaining the low peer acceptance of children with learning disabilities. The quality of tests measuring social perception was also examined. Thirty 9- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities and a matched control group were given two measures of social perception: a laboratory task and a behavior rating scale. The behavior rating scale was completed by the children's teachers. In addition, the Peer Acceptance Scale (Bruininks, Rynders, & Gross, 1974) was administered to assess peer status. Results showed that the children with learning disabilities differed significantly from their nondisabled peers on each of the three measures-the children with learning disabilities obtained lower social perception and peer acceptance scores. However, the relationships between sociometric status and social perception varied as a function of task. A small but significant correlation wa found between the behavior rating scale and peer status. The laboratory task was not correlated with either the behavior rating scale or peer status. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric properties of laboratory versus naturalistic measures of social perception and the importance of establishing the external validity of social skill measures by correlating them with outcome measures such as peer status.     

Can mimetics,a theatre‐based practice,open possibilities for young people with learning disabilities? A capability approach

While the significance of the social model of disability for articulating inclusive approaches in education is recognised, the application of capability theory to education is less well developed. This article by Jo Trowsdale of the University of Warwick and Richard Hayhow of Open Theatre considers how a particular theatre‐based practice, here described as ‘mimetics’, can alter and extend the aspirations and achievements of children and young people with learning disabilities, and might be understood as applied capability theory or ‘capability practice’. Mimetics has been crafted from experimental psycho‐physical actor‐training processes by Open Theatre Company working in collaboration with actors with learning disabilities, and adapted to support the learning and development of young people with learning disabilities. This study draws upon an action research project set up by Creative Partnerships with Open Theatre Company and a special school, where children demonstrated increased motivation and capacity for communication and socialisation, improved well‐being, learning and wider achievement. To illustrate the process, we offer a case study of one child with an autistic spectrum disorder.     

Concerns of families of children with learning disabilities

The purpose of this report is to share the experiences and concerns of a group of parents of children with learning disabilities. Parents of eight different families were interviewed in depth, and seven themes emerged from the interviews. Parents discussed their involvement in their child's education, and their positive and negative experiences with school personnel as well as with seeking other sources of support. They expressed concerns about the social isolation and future well-being of their children with learning disabilities. They indicated many emotional strains from parenting children with learning disabilities, and that there are both positive and negative effects on the families. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.     

Metaphoric competence in children with learning disabilities

Metaphoric competence was examined in two groups of children with learning disabilities and one group of nondisabled peers ranging in age from 9-0 to 11-0 years. There were five girls and seven boys in each group. One group of students with learning disabilities had a history of spoken language impairment and the other group did not. Subjects were administered three verbal metaphor tasks (comprehension, preference, and completion) and a visual metaphor task, the Metaphor Triads Task (MTT). The three verbal metaphor tasks were administered in three contexts: (a) sentence, (b) story, and (c) story plus visual (pictorial) support. The group with a history of language impairment consistently performed more poorly on the metaphor tasks than the group without a history of language impairment, who, in turn, performed more poorly than the nondisabled children on all but the MTT. Context variations had no effect on children's performance. Theoretical and clinical implications will be discussed.     

学习不良儿童的心身症状与心理社会因素分析

本研究通过对初中一、二、三年级288名一般儿童和学习不良儿童实施问卷测量的结果发现，学习不良儿童的心理健康水平总体上明显低于一般儿童，且突出表现在躯体化，抑郁，焦虑，人际敏感和敌对性等方面，同时，学习不良儿童的个性特征，自尊及社会支持的获得等心理社会因素也与其心理健康水平有一定的相关性。     

Reading comprehension in adolescents with learning disabilities: semantic and syntactic effects

Ninety-two adolescents with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to four groups to determine the effects of semantic and syntactic complexity on the reading comprehension of content area prose. One group served as a control and read a social studies passage without change. The three treatment groups read passages with syntactic and/or semantic modifications. Comprehension was significantly better for those groups reading passages with combined semantic and syntactic modifications and syntactic modifications alone, when compared to the control group. Semantic modifications alone did not significantly improve comprehension.     

Usefulness of cognitive intervention programmes for socio-emotional and behaviour problems in children with learning disabilities

Behavioural and emotional problems occur more frequently in children with learning problems than in a cross-section of the general population, both at home and at school. While behaviour problems reportedly are a key obstructive factor impeding inclusive education, children with both behavioural and learning disabilities carry a high risk of social exclusion and school dropout when they are in mainstream environments. Meta-analyses indicated only a moderate impact of social skills training. To see what kind of intervention programme would be effective in modifying cognitive as well as socio-emotional behaviour and at the same time focusing on contextual interaction and intervention, a pilot study has been carried out in Belgium with 11–13-year-old students with learning disability and behaviour problems in special schools. A total of 24 children in the experimental group were matched against a control group of 24. Children in the experimental group, after having received 14 lessons of FIE (Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment Programme), showed a marked increase in some cognitive functions (hypothetical thinking, perception and understanding of humour) but not in others. A significant effect on socio-emotional behaviour could not be shown quantitatively, but was evident from qualitative interviewing. The mediating attitude of the teachers was a key influencing factor in producing lasting changes. Programmes such as FIE, provided they address children as well as teachers in a comprehensive way, focusing on cognitive as well as socio-emotional behavioural changes, may become powerful instruments to help children as well as teachers in a highly differentiated inclusive school environment.     

Neuropsychological aspects for evaluating learning disabilities

This review surveys the empirical literature for assessments of learning problems in children from a neuropsychological perspective. An evaluation of children with learning problems must consider measures of working memory, attention, executive function, and comprehension (listening and written), particularly for children who do not respond to intervention. These constructs must be tied to intervention techniques, and their connections must be empirically verified. The response-to-intervention (RTI) perspective provides excellent support for the process in young children but is still developing the process for students above the second grade. This review provides information about the existing research on neurobiological correlates of learning disabilities, possible areas for further evaluation, and the link to the RTI movement.     

The effect of extra time on reading comprehension scores for university students with and without learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of extra time on the ability of university students with and without learning disabilities to complete a reading comprehension test under timed and extra-time conditions. The participants were 16 students identified as having learning disabilities and 15 normally achieving students, all attending the University of California. The Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension and Reading Rate Test was used. Percentile ranks were obtained for reading rates on individuals, and for comprehension scores under timed and extra-time conditions. The major findings of this study were that there is a significant difference between scores obtained by students with learning disabilities and by normally achieving students under timed conditions and that there are no significant differences in test performance between students with learning disabilities and normally achieving university students when students with learning disabilities are provided extra time. Normally achieving students did not perform significantly better with extra time.     

The effects of summarization instruction on text comprehension of students with learning disabilities.

This study examined the effectiveness of a summarization strategy for increasing comprehension of expository prose in students with learning disabilities. Thirty students with learning disabilities from Grades 6 through 9 were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. In addition, 15 students without disabilities served as a normal comparison group for comprehension. Students in the experimental condition were trained to criterion on five rules of summarization. Direct instruction in the summarization strategy significantly increased reading comprehension of the students in the experimental group. Strategy usage was maintained over time, and students were reported to generalize its use.     

Story grammar and comprehension and production of narrative prose by students with learning disabilities

This study investigated both quantitative and qualitative differences between subjects with and without learning disabilities (LD) across three grade levels on two tasks requiring active processing of story grammar. There was no evidence, for either task, of developmental differences in relation to either story comprehension or production. However, there were significant differences between students with LD and normally achieving students in the amount as well as the type of information included in the retellings and written stories. The results provide support for the hypothesis that students with LD have acquired a rudimentary but not fully developed schema for narrative prose.     

A comparison of students with learning disabilities to low achieving and higher achieving students on three dimensions of social competence

Research continues to accumulate attesting to the fact that many children with learning disabilities are experiencing social difficulties in school. Nonetheless, it is also clear that achievement deficits, with or without the presence of a handicapping condition, are also related to social problems in the classroom. Several studies attempting to clarify the relative roles of handicapping condition and achievement in social adjustment have produced mixed results. The purpose of the present study was to clarify this issue further by examining the social differences between elementary school students with learning disabilities and other low achieving and higher achieving children on three social dimensions: sociometric status, behavior as rated by teachers, and self-ratings of social competence. The results indicated that the children with learning disabilities may be a higher risk socially than their low achieving and higher achieving peers. Variables that may account for these results are discussed as well as directions for future research.     

Rethinking the contributions of young people with learning disabilities to iPad storymaking: a new model of distributed authorship

Digital technologies such as iPads are now ubiquitous in classrooms and family homes, enabling new possibilities for all learners but particularly for those with disabilities. Existing literature explores how children with learning disabilities create and benefit from personalised digital stories but does not unpack theoretical understandings of their ‘authorship’. This paper addresses this gap by proposing an original model of ‘distributed authorship’ with three axes of distribution—interpersonal, technological and temporal—to account for the authorial contributions of young people with learning disabilities. Five families were given an iPad with Pictello storymaking app and instructed to use it with their young person in any way which was engaging for them. Data generation over 12 weeks included weekly diaries, home videos, semi-structured interviews and story collection. Findings indicated that whilst ability to directly engage with the app varied, all the young people could be said to exert authorial influence on the stories distributed across three axes: support from others, support from the technology itself and incorporation of prior embodied agency. The study has theoretical implications for our understanding of ‘authorship’ as well as implications for pedagogy and practice by reconceptualising severely disabled children as literate learners and co-authors.     

Maternal stress in nonverbal learning disorder: a comparison with reading disorder

Maternal stress was assessed in mothers of children ages 8 to 11 years with learning disorders (LD). Age-, gender-, and IQ-matched children with reading disorders (RD; n = 31), children with nonverbal learning disorders (NVLD; n = 21), and typically developing control participants (n = 23) participated. Mothers of children with LD reported higher levels of stress, although the specific nature of the stress appeared to vary by disorder subtype: Mothers of children with RD reported higher levels of general distress, whereas mothers of children with NVLD reported higher levels of dysfunctional interactions with their child. The severity of the LD was strongly associated with maternal stress in the sample of children with NVLD but not in the sample of children with RD. In the sample of children with NVLD, the best predictors of maternal stress were 2 variables associated with the child: The lower the child's Performance IQ, the higher the level of maternal stress. Furthermore, the level of the child's internalizing symptoms was also a strong predictor of maternal stress in the sample of children with NVLD. In our sample of children with RD, the 3 best predictors were all variables associated with the mother, including her age, her level of reported psychiatric symptoms, and her overall level of social support.     

Social effects of integrated classrooms and resource room/regular class placements on elementary students with learning disabilities

The social status of elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) served by the Integrated Classroom Model (ICM) was compared to the social status of elementary students with learning disabilities served in a regular class with resource room support. The ICM serves elementary special education and non-special-education students (1:2) together as one class. The comparison group was composed of students with learning disabilities who received special education services outside of their regular classroom for a portion of their school day. Social status was determined by assessing interpersonal relationships among students, using a peer rating method. The results of analyses of various dimensions suggest that while special education students in both programs have significantly lower social status on average than their non-special-education peers, the children in the ICM have a better opportunity to blend successfully into the classroom than the children who go out to a resource room.     

Learning disabilities as functions of familial learning problems and developmental problems

A family history of learning problems as provided on a specially designed questionnaire by maternal report was examined in families of 101 children with learning disabilities and 171 children without disabilities. Diagnoses of learning disabilities followed the U.S. Office of Education definition. Students were selected from the Special School District of St. Louis County and the Pattonville School District. A life history of developmental risk factors in the child subject was also examined in the same two groups. Learning disabilities were found to be strongly familial. In principle, the definition of learning disabilities excluded from the study children with problems attributable to child rearing, emotional, or motivational factors. The report of a family history of learning problems is therefore interpreted as consistent with, although not unequivocally supportive of, genetic factors as determinants. Among developmental factors, only male gender proved to have a significant association with learning disabilities.     

Cognitive correlates of social perception in students with learning disabilities

In investigating possible explanations for social skills deficits in students with learning disabilities, researchers have examined social perception-the interpretation of behavior in order to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. This study specifically examined cognitive correlates of social perception in individuals with learning disabilities. Thirty-two students with learning disabilities in elementary grades were measured on three subtests (Comprehension, Picture Arrangement, and Digit Span) of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and on the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity. Both Picture Arrangement and Comprehension seemed to have an inherent relation to social perceptual functioning. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Auditory, visual, and multisensory nonverbal social perception in adolescents with and without learning disabilities

Adolescents with and without learning disabilities (14, 16, and 18 years old) were tested to determine whether they differed in auditory, visual, and/or multisensory (combined auditory/visual) social perception abilities. Differences between the two groups in growth of auditory, visual, and multisensory social-perception abilities were also measured. Results of the data analyses revealed that adolescents with learning disabilities were not as adept at understanding nonverbal social information regardless of whether the information was visual or multisensory in nature. Further, nonverbal social-perception ability for both visual and multisensory information improved with increasing age for both populations. Finally, adolescents with learning disabilities continued to demonstrate comparatively poorer social-perception abilities through the 18-year level.     

Self-perceptions of first- and second-grade children with learning disabilities

The present study addressed the question of the effects of developmental positive bias and repeated experiences of failure on the self-perception of mainstreamed first-and second-grade Israeli children with learning disabilities. The self-perceptions of 44 children with learning disabilities and their 36 nondisabled classmates were assessed. In addition, teachers' evaluations and objective measures of cognitive performance and social acceptance were gathered. The children with learning disabilities were found to have a greater positive bias and lower self-perception in the cognitive competence domain than their normally achieving peers. Self-perceptions of peer acceptance among children with learning disabilities are similar to their normally achieving peers' self-perceptions, in spite of their significantly lower sociometric ratings and teacher evaluations in the social domain. These findings are analyzed in the context of the globality-specificity dimension of self-perceptions at the age level studied. The obtained pattern of self-perceptions is discussed in the light of the interrelationships between cognitive deficit and experimental factors among mainstreamed first- and second-grade children.