Sutherland and Singh (2004) focus on the relationship between students' inappropriate behaviors and academic failure, articulating how this relationship may be mediated by learned helplessness in a reciprocally negative reinforcing cycle. In responding to their work, the authors suggest a thread of disciplined inquiry and contextual framework for…

This article describes a privately operated residential program called College Living Experience, a for-profit company, caters to a growing number of students with learning disabilities, Asperger's syndrome, and various emotional or behavioral disorders. The program has a team of full-time staff members helping students with their social and…

To determine discrepancies between teacher training for behavioral disorders and the actual competencies needed by practicing teachers of severely behaviorally handicapped (SBH) students, 167 public school administrators, regular educators, special education teachers and supervisors, and university teacher educators responded to a three-part…

The study compared states identifying either many or few students as behaviorally disordered on the variables of (1) average per pupil expenditure, (2) size of minority population, (3) number of students identified as learning disabled. No significant differences between the two groups of states were found for the three variables. (Author/DB)

Studies of the reliability, normative data, construct validity, and concurrent validity of the Social Perception Behavior Rating Scale used with mildly learning-disabled, behavior-disordered, and nondisabled children indicated adequate reliability, marked differences in scores of handicapped and nonhandicapped children, and a logical pattern of…

A process to translate results of vocational assessment of learning disabled and behavior-disordered students into individualized education program objectives is described. The process addresses three concerns: (1) appropriate vocational assessment for all; (2) adequate use of assessment results; and (3) inclusion of transition objectives and…

The behavior ratings and psychometric profiles of children with attention deficit disorders (ADD) and children with developmental reading disorders (DRD) were compared. DRD children were more impaired in academic attainment and showed evidence of qualitative disturbances in reading and spelling. ADD children showed no qualitative reading or…

Observation of 97 teachers during group instruction of elementary students with mental retardation, severe multihandicaps, and learning disabilities and/or behavior disorders revealed that teachers made limited use of praise over criticism in managing classroom behavior. (CL)

A student (age 15) classified as behaviorally disordered tutored a student with learning disabilities. The peer tutoring brought about improvements in the tutee's on-task and academic performance but not in the tutor's disruptive behavior. Self-monitoring and a self-instructional component were then implemented to eliminate the tutor's disruptive…

Describes how a third-grade teacher worked with a child in her class who had attention deficit disorder. The child was easily distracted and frustrated and had low self-esteem. The teacher's sensitivity to his ups and downs and her flexibility in modifying lessons helped the child succeed. (SM)

Reviews the increased use of Ritalin in the United States and offers some reasons for its growing use. These include public misconceptions about the benign nature of the drug, the political and medical clout of organizations promoting its use, unclear concepts of attention-deficit disorder, and a desire to have children behave compliantly in…

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) was studied in 233 students (ages 6-16) newly identified with behavioral disorders. Overall, 53.2 percent met at least one LD definition, ranging from 15.9 percent for low achievement to 42.9 percent for regression. Almost one-quarter showed overlapping between low achievement and discrepancy…

Several experiments were carried out to determine: (1) whether learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered (BD) students exhibit deficiencies with respect to appropriate test-taking strategies and (2) if so, whether these strategies could be successfully trained. In the test-training evaluation, 92 LD or BD elementary-age students…

A comparison between teacher and computer delivered instruction was conducted with 17 children (ages 4 to 14 years) with severe learning and behavior problems. The investigation was intended to analyze the stimulus functions of the presence of a teacher in the task-demand situation. The task employed was a two-choice discrimination that became…

A curriculum in affective education was developed for learning disabled and emotionally impaired high school students. The initial course in the curriculum was one on personal growth (in which students were encouraged to become more aware of identity, competencies, preferences, influences, and body). Objectives were written for three major subject…