Meta-analysis was used to arrive at a quantitative synthesis of the results of 94 studies of the validity of Wechsler regroupings for differential diagnosis of learning disabilities. The primary findings indicated that no recategorization, profile, factor cluster, or pattern showed a significant difference between learning disabled and normal…

Although earlier claims to identify specific compounds in the urine of people with autism had been discredited, it was subsequently suggested that there might be biochemical characteristics that were specific to early childhood, particularly in those who also did not have a severe degree of intellectual disability This study was to establish…

Comorbidity with other psychological problems (PP) complicates the course of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and makes treatment more difficult. The purpose of the present study was to (a) study the correspondence between the perceptions of parents and teachers about PP, (b) determine which PP predict the severity of the…

The paper summarizes several approaches to the identification of learning disability and then discusses the nature of learning disability in the context of competing hypotheses as possible explanations of insufficient or unsatisfactory achievement. Because learning disability may only be inferred as a cause of unsatisfactory learning, the…

The practice of posthumously diagnosing historical figures is discussed. Emphasis is on the unsatisfactory nature of evidence found for those diagnosed as learning-disabled or dyslexic and the possibility of other explanations for identified problems. Posthumous diagnoses of Auguste Rodin, George Patton, Thomas Edison, Woodrow Wilson, and Albert…

Using a symbolic interaction perspective, the study focused on the extent of agreement between various parties involved in referring children (N=240) with educational difficulties to a university clinic for psychoeducational assessment. (Author)

The study examined the use of A. Bannatyne's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) subtest score recategorization hierarchy in identifying elementary students with learning disabilities (LD). The results indicated that Bannatyne's pattern was of little value in differentiating between LD students and nonLD students and, if…

One-hundred and sixty-four Black, White, and Latino children (7-15years old) with possible learning disabilities were administered the WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and the WISC-R (Revised) to examine the similarity in the amount of subtest scatter equivalence of meaning, and degree of equivalent diagnosis between the two tests.

This study attempted to determine whether children with the combined subtype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impairments in cognitive functioning and motor skills. The specific effect of the comorbidity of learning disabilities (LD) was also investigated. A battery of cognitive tests was administered to 26 children with a…

Examined the factor structure of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision in a population of learning-disabled children (N=100). Factor analysis and varimax rotation revealed three factors: a language-general intellectual factor, a reading-written expression factor, and a sensory-motor factor. (Author/MCF)

Research in the genetics of behavioral traits, undertaken by family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, has revealed information on normal variation in cognitive abilities as well as specific learning disabilities (primarily dyslexia). Genetic evaluation of learning disabled students have implications for counseling and recurrence risk…

The author suggests that controversies over defining learning disabilities (LD) have resulted from confusion between diagnosis and definition and from disagreement over the discrepancy issue. He further suggests that LD students are a subset of age- and ability-referenced underachievers. (CL)

The role of visual imagery is explored as an information processing strategy, and its relationship is counterpointed to the linguistic system. The importance of visual imagery as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool to aid both visual and nonvisual performance and learning problems is discussed. (Author)

The literature relating visual problems, reading, and academic difficulties with neurophysiological mechanisms shows positive interaction among these factors. Both visual-evoked response and encephalographic studies show parietal or occipitoparietal neurophysiological anomalies which can be used to discriminate between normal and disabled readers…

The Canter Background Interference Procedure of the Bender Gestalt Test and the Quick Neurological Screening Test were found to discriminate neurological/organic signs in 23 adolescent learning disabled students. Methodological problems, research needs, and implications for the use of these tests are discussed. (Author)