美国对学习困难的研究

美国的学习困难研究的历史分两个阶段．在基础阶段,形成有关学习困难的理论并将理论上的设想应用于治疗实践;在早期阶段,建立学习困难的专门组织,政府立法保护学习困难者,为他们提供更多服务,很多不同领域的专家进入学习困难领域．美国的学习困难运动正向未来发展,但在定义、教学和干预方法、研究的外部效度等方面还存有一些问题．     

简单心算中数学学习困难儿童的数字距离效应

采用事件相关电位(ERP)方法,以阿拉伯数字的简单心算为任务,考察数学学习困难儿童(MD)的数字距离效应。行为数据的结果表明:MD组没有出现数字距离效应,对照组儿童出现了数字距离效应。事件相关电位数据显示:与对照组相比,MD组N270的潜伏期更长;两组被试在N270的波幅和潜伏期上都没有表现出数字距离效应。研究结果表明:MD儿童对数量信息的空间表征存在缺陷。     

关于我国学生汉语阅读困难的研究

旨在探讨在我国学生的汉语学习中是否存在阅读困难问题。研究分别采用了目前国外较常使用的两种阅读困难操作定义和新近提出的截点法,对我国学生汉语学习中的阅读困难问题进行了考查。结果揭示出阅读困难在汉语学习者中同样存在,检出率分别为４．５５％和７．９６％．中国学生的阅读困难既表现在词汇上也表现在理解上;研究还发现同为阅读困难者男生和女生呈现出不同的特点。     

影响阅读困难儿童信息加工过程的因素

文章探讨了学习不良儿童中阅读困难者信息加工过程的特点,重点介绍了阅读困难儿童在语音、命名-速度上存在的缺陷及据此提出的不同假设,并分析了相互补偿模型及其在阅读困难儿童阅读过程中的作用,最后介绍了对阅读困难儿童信息加工特点研究的展望及其实践意义。     

数学学习困难与工作记忆关系研究的现状与前瞻

工作记忆是一种对信息进行暂时加工和贮存的能量有限的记忆系统,在许多复杂的认知活动中起重要作用,工作记忆缺陷是造成数学学习困难的根本原因。数学学习困难儿童都存在视觉空间模板、语音回路以及中央执行器功能等方面的缺陷,工作记忆的各成分对数学困难者的影响不同。今后研究将以整体的、发展的视角,不断改进研究方法,将行为研究和神经加工机制研究相结合。     

韶关市中学学习困难学生心理状况及教育对策

1　问题提出学习困难 (ＬｅａｒｎＤｉｓａｂｉｌｉｔｉｅｓ,又称学习障碍 )问题是全世界中小学教育面临的一个主要问题 ,也是一个目前研究的热点问题。自从上世纪六十年代初美国教育家ＳａｍｕｅｌＫｉｒｋ提出学习困难的概念后 ,便开始了对学习困难真正原因的探索 ;西方学者在这方面进行了将近半个世纪的研究探索 ,先后出现了四种理论试图去解释学习困难的原因 ,尽管这些理论较好地解释了学习困难的原因 ,但缺乏可操作性 ;进入八十年代后 ,由于受认知心理学影响 ,开始对学习困难者认知过程、认知特征及非认知心理发展的研究 ,使帮助学生克…     

时间知觉和关联负变化

关联负变化（contingent negative variation, CNV）被认为是与时间知觉过程有关的ERP成份。有关研究发现,CNV波幅会随着时间知觉到的长度和时间知觉的准确性而发生变化;CNV波幅的潜伏期与时间比较的判断决策过程有关;时间知觉中所诱发的CNV的脑内源存在历时性激活的特点且存在半球效应。为了进一步揭示时间知觉的神经机制,还需要结合具有高空间分辨率的脑成像技术和神经心理学的研究     

人脑加工自我参照任务的时空特点:来自ERP的证据

以自我参照加工任务为范式,实验采用事件相关电位(ERP)技术,探讨了自我参照加工中符合判断和不符合判断加工的时间进程和大脑神经机制。结果发现,自我参照加工在时间上可以概括分为三个阶段:注意分配阶段N1(80~150 ms)波幅出现自我参照结果的差异;语义整合阶段N2(250~450 ms)波幅和潜伏期出现自我参照结果的差异;评价判断阶段P3(450~700 ms)波幅和潜伏期出现自我参照结果的差异。从我们选择的大脑兴趣区激活水平上分析发现,自我信息在大脑中的激活似乎是一个由右及左,由后及前再及后的动态变化过程。研究结果丰富了自我参照加工的已有结果,并且对未来研究具有一定的启示意义。     

语文学习困难儿童汉字记忆编码的神经机制研究

采用事件相关电位方法,探讨语文学习困难儿童汉字记忆编码过程的特点.研究发现:语文学习困难组和对照组在编码过程的300-700ms均存在显著的相继记忆效应.语文学习困难组与对照组的Dm效应存在着显著的时间与空间上的差异.在Dm效应出现前,语文学习困难组加工的P2潜伏期显著晚于对照组.同时还发现,不同能力组加工的N2和LPC差异与Dm效应十分相似,对照组比语文学习困难组更正,与Dm效应不同,不同能力组加工的分离明显大于Dm效应的分离,且持续时间更长,一直持续到1000ms之后,远远晚于Dm效应的分离时间,对照组比语文学习困难组有一个更正的晚正成分.语文学习困难组与对照组在加工程度上存在差异,使编码项目的记忆痕迹呈现出不同特点.     

卡通面孔分类与识别加工的ERP比较研究

通过ERP方法,考察卡通面孔分类（人和动物）的脑机制及其与卡通面孔识别（人与车）的差异。结果表明,分类任务中,动物面孔VPP潜伏期显著长于人,N170潜伏期主效应不显著、波幅半球效应显著,LPP波幅在顶叶和中央区最大;分类任务VPP和LPP波幅均显著大于识别。结论：卡通面孔分类比识别速度慢、强度大,消耗心理资源多。顶叶和中央区可能是执行分类任务的主要脑区,且加工人类面孔具有优势。面孔加工中结构编码和特征编码可能部分是并行的。     

The developmental course of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities

This study contrasted the development of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities. We examined whether the same global mechanism presumed to be responsible for the normal developmental improvement in processing speed might also be associated with the processing speed deficiencies observed in children with learning impairments. One hundred and twenty-two children with learning disabilities in reading and/or math and 206 non-disabled community controls participated. There were no differences in relation of age to the development of processing speed for children with and without learning disabilities. We interpreted these results as suggesting that the underlying etiologies for the normal developmental change in processing speed and for the relative deficiencies in processing speed seen among children with learning disabilities were different.     

Visuospatial working memory for locations,colours, and binding in typically developing children and in children with dyslexia and non‐verbal learning disability

This study examined forward and backward recall of locations and colours and the binding of locations and colours, comparing typically developing children – aged between 8 and 10 years – with two different groups of children of the same age with learning disabilities (dyslexia in one group, non‐verbal learning disability [NLD] in the other). Results showed that groups with learning disabilities had different visuospatial working memory problems and that children with NLD had particular difficulties in the backward recall of locations. The differences between the groups disappeared, however, when locations and colours were bound together. It was concluded that specific processes may be involved in children in the binding and backward recall of different types of information, as they are not simply the resultant of combining the single processes needed to recall single features.     

两类数学学习困难小学儿童抑制控制水平的实验研究

为考察单纯型数学困难与混合型数学困难小学儿童的抑制控制水平及特点,使用Stroop色词命名测验和颜色匹配反转作业,对各30名的单纯型困难、混合型困难和对照组小学儿童的优势反应抑制能力进行测试、分析。结果发现:单纯型数学困难儿童抑制优势反应的能力显著低于对照组,但其对事物初次学习的能力与对照组相当;混合型数学困难儿童在对事物初次学习能力及对优势反应的抑制能力方面均显著低于对照组儿童,其中对事物的初次学习能力也显著低于单纯型数学困难儿童。     

Developing empowering research practices with people who have learning disabilities

In this paper we report an exploratory attempt to design a practice that facilitates the extent to which ‘researched-upon’ and ‘researcher-on’ can be cooperatively involved in the planning, data collection and interpretation of research in the field of learning disability and community living. The informants were four people with learning disabilities who had been residents of long-stay mental hospitals but, at the time of the study, had all been living in the community for at least 1 year. After an extended period of informal familiarization, the research had three main phases. The first phase consisted of five individual, non-directive, depth interviews over a 2-month period. The second phase consisted of a meeting in which each participant became a paid co-researcher involved in the design and planning of the next phase of the research. The third phase consisted of three 1-hour guided neighbourhood tours led by the participants who had become co-researchers. Over the course of the three phases, the role of the researcher gradually became more a ‘newcomer-learner’ as he adopted the role of co-researcher and the role of participants with learning disabilities gradually became more ‘expert-teachers’ as they adopted the role of co-researchers. As the research progressed, the balance of power shifted, although modestly, in favour of those with learning disabilities. This led to an improvement in the quality and effectiveness of communication and understanding and an increase in the satisfaction with and enjoyment of the research process for all those involved. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Health-Related Quality of Life in College Undergraduates with Learning Disabilities: The Mediational Roles of Anxiety and Sadness

Little research has examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with learning disabilities in post-secondary settings and the potential relationship between a learning disability and anxiety or sadness. This study examined HRQoL in 68 undergraduate students: 34 students who reported having been diagnosed with a “learning disability” were compared to 34 students who indicated they had not been diagnosed with a learning disability. Participants completed an online survey of anxiety, sadness, and HRQoL, including the SF-36. ANCOVAs on the Emotional Well-Being and Role Limitations Due to Emotional Problems scales from the SF-36 revealed that students reporting a diagnosis of a learning disability were significantly more impaired in Emotional Well-Being. Regression analyses suggested that impairment in Emotional Well-Being was mediated by separate ratings of both anxiety and sadness. Results indicated that those undergraduates reporting learning disabilities suffered from an impaired sense of well-being associated with anxious and sad feelings. A portion of these data were presented at the 2005 annual meetings of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).     

Simplifying environmental cues in a Morris-type water maze improves place learning in old NMRI mice.

Old virgin female NMRI mice aged 17 months were compared with mice aged 3 months for their spatial learning abilities in two versions of the Morris water maze. The first one was a simplified version with a salient configuration of cues comparable to a black/white discrimination and the second one was the classical version of the Morris test with many distal cues surrounding the maze. In the simplified version, old mice presented a slower rate of acquisition and a transient poorer retention compared to young mice. However, old mice achieved a final level of performance statistically comparable to their young counterparts as assessed by latencies to escape onto the concealed platform and by the spatial bias measured in probe trials at intervals during testing. When subsequently subjected to classical Morris maze learning, the same old animals showed marked learning deficits and were persistently impaired in their latencies to escape onto the platform. They presented no spatial bias for the location of the platform in the different probe trials. When the goal was cued at the end of the experiment, the performances of old mice rapidly improved, showing that motivation, motor disabilities, or fatigue and ability to use proximal cues cannot explain the place learning deficit. Our results were discussed in terms of cognitive versus sensory/perceptual disabilities in aged rats and mice.     

Assessment of Reading and Learning Disabilities A Research-Based Intervention-Oriented Approach

Assessment practices for children with learning disabilities (LD) in reading are driven by the three primary components of the federal definition of LD: discrepancy, heterogeneity, and exclusion. This article reviews the implications of these three components for the assessment of children with reading disabilities and other forms of LD. We propose a rationale and procedures for more efficient approaches to the identification of children as learning disabled in reading or at-risk for these disabilities that are aligned with research on reading disabilities and other forms of LD. This approach emphasizes the assessment of academic skills and their components in an effort to develop intervention plans. Intelligence tests are not necessary for the identification of children as learning disabled and do not contribute to intervention planning.     

A Conversation Analysis of the ‘Acquiescence’ of People with Learning Disabilities

Contrary to received wisdom, ‘acquiescence bias’ in the responses of people with learning disabilities to questioning is not a simple phenomenon, and certainly not one to be laid at the door solely of people with learning disabilities themselves. Rather, it is probably an artefact of the conversational organization of interviews as tests. Analysis of Quality of Life assessment interviews show, we argue, that there is probably no uniform ‘acquiescent’ motivation which accounts for all inconsistencies and agreements that might be produced under such circumstances. Rather, the interview's logic produces a range of pseudo-acquiescent responses in the face of interviewers reformulations, and their pursuit of plausible and acceptable answers. There is also evidence of ‘anti-acquiescence’, in which respondents resist pressure to change their answers. We conclude that the traditional notion of submissive, willing-to-please acquiescence is probably unsustainable on current evidence, and ought to be replaced by a more respectful account of the linguistic and interpersonal competence of people with learning disabilities.     

Familial Association and Frequency of Learning Disabilities in ADHD Sibling Pair Families

In a sample of 235 families with at least two children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the frequency and familial association of learning disabilities (LD) were assessed. Familiality was examined both between sibling pairs and between parents and their children. Two methods for defining LD, a discrepancy-based and a low-achievement model, were employed to examine the occurrence of LD in this sample. The specific types of LD examined included Reading Disability (RD), Math Disability (MD), and Writing Disability (WD). The prevalence rates were highest for RD, followed by WD then MD. The two definitions of LD yielded similar prevalence rates but identified different groups of children with vastly different IQ scores. Strong familial association was demonstrated for RD both between sibling pairs and between parents and children, with weaker association for WD. There was evidence of nonrandom mating for LD among parents, but not for ADHD or for ADHD + LD. Despite the high comorbidity of ADHD and LD among parents, the presence of ADHD in the parents did not predict child LD supporting independent familial factors underlying ADHD and LD.     

A Better Look at Intelligence

The Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) model is offered as an alternative to the unidimensional conceptualization of intelligence as a general ability. The unidimensional conceptualization has not helped researchers and clinicians understand variations of cognitive functions within special populations such as individuals with learning disabilities, disorders of attention, or mental retardation. Neither has this conceptualization aided in program planning for these individuals. PASS is a model of cognitive function based on contemporary research in both cognition and neuropsychology and provides a theory for both assessment and intervention. This article reviews concepts and examples of PASS theory and its application to reading disabilities and mental retardation. For example, the article links dyslexia with a deficit in successive processing. It also identifies the major difficulties of individuals with Down syndrome in phonological memory and articulation. Further research on successive processing, and planning as it relates to language, is suggested.