The Strategies for Effective Learning (SEL) Unit at the Alberta Vocational Centre focuses on developing and teaching cognitive strategies for adults rather than simply diagnosing them. In its initial stages the SEL unit has begun the task of assessing the value of various strategies, testing instruments, and procedures for learning disabled…

Describes and evaluates a student-administered group-oriented contingency technique for improving the arithmetic performance of grade school children. (KH)

Parental involvement is critical to the maintenance and generalization of language behavior established in the instructional environment, in this case, a day training center for the mentally retarded. This practicum project sought to teach parents from 46 families to work effectively in the area of communication with their severely/profoundly…

To ascertain whether impulsive responding in behavior disordered adolescents is amenable to change, 15-year-old normal and "acting-out" behavior disordered adolescents participated in an experiment designed to alter Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) scores through a modeling psychoeducational procedure. No significant…

In an in-school suspension setting, the effects of a therapeutic discipline program and a nontherapeutic discipline program on truants' attitudes and attendance were compared. It was found that therapeutic discipline students (a) held less positive attitudes towards attendance; (b) had better records of attendance; and (c) demonstrated greater…

The article presents a case study of the educational training program used with a 10-year-old (when first seen) learning disabled boy. The study covers the teaching methods used during a three-year period and includes followup data for over 12 years from the onset of therapy. (PHR)

Studied black five-year olds from a school in an impoverished urban area (n=32) and white five-year olds from a blue-collar suburban area (n=32) for their school achievement at the end of kindergarten. The same cognitive intervention was attempted with children from both school populations. Discusses research methodology and research findings. (KW)

Responses from 82 learning disabilities/behavior disorders (LD/BD) teachers were studied to investigate their understanding of the use of drug therapy with LD/BD students. (PHR)

Surveyed 100 directors of special education to determine how decisions are made about children in school settings and major problems in implementing the decision-making process. Although most directors agreed on some components of the process, there was considerable variation in how the process is carried out. (Author)

Individual Habilitation Plans for 32 persons with severe/profound mental retardation were developed in the Goal Attainment Scaling format. At the end of a designated intervention period (six months or one year) using Goal Attainment Scaling, only 14 percent of prescribed goals had been achieved at expected levels. (Author/JDD)

Sixteen eighth grade students participated in a five-month experiment to determine whether informal writing has therapeutic effects on students' perceptions of how they view themselves and their personal problems. The students were selected on the basis of teacher opinion, learning ability, and student cooperation. Eight students were used as a…

The importance of instrumental use of curriculum-based measurement in planning reading programs was investigated with 53 mildly handicapped students and 29 teachers. Students whose measured reading performance was used to design instructional reading programs achieved better than control group students and students whose reading performance was…

Film may be used in the classroom as a mental health intervention, offering a child with dilemmas, fears, or minor personality and social maladjustments an alternative means to mobilize his inner resources through expanding his acceptable models and coping strategies. Teachers using film in the classroom for this type of affective intervention…

A survey of 122 social work professionals from Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Switzerland identified practical issues related to the everyday functioning and social integration of disabled and elderly persons. Respondents expressed the desire for more effective teaching materials to communicate client needs to the able-bodied. (JW)

Four children, aged three-five years, were assigned to one of two phonologically based treatment procedures--a minimal pairs contrasting procedure or a modified cycles procedure. Clinical treatment results demonstrated that both treatments were effective and efficient and that correct production generalized to sounds that were not a focus of…