Perceptual and conceptual variants of the oddity task as a predictor of learning disability

This paper compares LD and non-LD peers on eight variants of the oddity task. This study is part of a larger programmatic research effort aimed at the development of a screening test to detect preschool children who currently pass existing screening tests but, nonetheless, subsequently experience school failure. The theoretical orientation of this approach is to assess active, ongoing cognitive processing ability. The oddity task, which can be structured to assess such processing ability, was evaluated in the present study as a potential component of this screening test. Consistent with a priori predictions, the data resulted in strong group and developmental differences. Oddity performance increased over age, with the non-LD children performing consistently better than their LD peers at each age. Perceptual and conceptual factors were manipulated across the oddity variations, and both factors contributed to group differences. These results were discussed in relationship to early diagnosis and prognosis for learning disabilities that might result from deficiencies in abstract processing ability.The authors would like to express their thanks to the schools, teachers, and students who participated in this study. This research was supported in part by the Mailman Foundation and FDLRS/MAILMAN, a specialized university center of the Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources System, funded through State General Revenue appropriation to provide multidisciplinary evaluation services in exceptional student education programs.     

Learning disability and hyperactivity: Deficits in selective attention

Differences in performance on a variety of cognitive measures and differences in patterns of ability between learning disabled (LD) and nonlearning disabled (non-LD) children were examined. Younger and older LD and non-LD children were administered tests of central and incidental learning and selective attention. Teacher ratings of classroom hyperactivity were also examined. LD children, particularly the younger ones, performed significantly more poorly than non-LD children on both attention/memory tasks. Performance on the two tasks was consistently interrelated for the non-LD children and less consistently so for the LD subjects. Hyperactivity was also related to poorer performance on the cognitive measures. Results are discussed in terms of components of selective attention.     

The pattern of exceptionality across domains in learning disabled children

The purpose of this study was to examine the intellectual, academic and behavioral competencies in learning disabled and normally achieving children. Fifty-eight pairs of children (LD and non-LD) in first, second, and third grade were administered the WISC-R and the PIAT; were observed with the SCAN Observational System in their regular classroom; and had teachers who filled out the Classroom Behavior Inventory. Results indicated that the LD children performed l less well on the WISC-R and the PIAT. There was no evidence of greater variability within the LD children nor was there a different pattern of performance in comparison to normally achieving children. The learning disabled children were consistently rated by their classroom teachers as displaying less desirable classroom behavior. The Observational System SCAN corroborated these results, indicating that LD children were more off-task than non-LD children. These result suggest that we re-examine the definition of learning disabilities in the public scholl to put more emphasis on behavioral indices and to refocus the interpretation of test scatter as an index of learning disabilities.     

Strategies in landmark use by children, adults, and marmoset monkeys

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus), human children, and human adults learned to find a goal that was located in the center of a square array of four identical landmarks. The location of the landmark array and corresponding goal varied across trials, so the task could not be solved without using the landmark array. In Experiment 1, a matrix of discrete goal locations was presented and the landmarks surrounded and were adjacent to the correct location during training. After training, an expansion test was given in which the distance between landmarks was increased. Marmosets, children (ages 5–9), and adults all readily learned to use the landmarks to search accurately during training. On the expansion test, adults uniformly searched in the center of the array. Monkeys and children concentrated their searching near the landmarks rather than in the center. The monkeys, but not the children, searched more often on the directionally appropriate side of the landmarks than on other sides of the landmarks. In Experiment 2, children (ages 3–5) were trained with a continuous search space and with the goal farther from the landmarks so that a beaconing strategy rule could not be used. Several of the children failed to acquire the training task. Of those who learned to find the goal, three searched in the middle on expansion tests but most searched nearer to the landmarks. The “middle rule” strategy that is uniformly used by adult humans does not appear to be a preferred strategy for children or non-human primates.     

Abstract categorization ability as a predictor of learning disability classification

Based on a theoretical analysis of the type of cognitive processing that should be sensitive to population differences, this study evaluated the diagnostic validity of a task measuring abstract categorization ability in six-, seven-, and eight-year-old learning disabled (LD) and non-LD peers. This research is part of a project, the major goal of which is the development of a cognitive-based preschool screening test for the early detection of children who may subsequently fail in school. Diagnostic validity is being evaluated within the context of the research strategy we have adopted. Data are presented that demonstrate that the component of abstract category knowledge that best discriminates LD children from non-LD peers, is knowledge of how members of abstract categories differ from each other. This is consistent with a priori predictions from theory.     

Communication Deviances and Clarity Among the Mothers of Normally Achieving and Learning-Disabled Boys.

The main purpose of the study was to reexamine the association between maternal communication deviances and learning disabilities in children. In this study, we adapted and extended the procedure used b Ditton, Green, and Singer (1987). A two-part experimental task was used: one in which the child could not request any clarification of mother's insruction, and another in which the mother and child could communicate. Both communication deviances and the clarity of mother's communication were analyzed. The subjects were 60 mother-child paires in which half of the children had learning disabilities and the other haalf were normally achieving children matched for age and parents' SES. The dyads were vedetaped in a laboratory setting. The mothers o f learning-disabled (LD) children were found to give less exact instructions and to present more ambiguous messages to the child than the mothers of non-LD children.     

Self-control behavior in hyperactive and nonhyperactive children

This study was aimed at evaluating the self-control behaviors of hyperactive (HA) and nonhyperactive (NHA) first-grade pupils under conditions of repeated failure on a previously learned concept formation task. Subjects were divided into HA and NHA groups on the basis of their scores on the Conners (1969) Teacher Rating Scale. During the training stage of the experiment the children learned a concept formation task under a schedule of contingent positive reinforcement. In the test stage they performed the same task but under a negative noncontingent reinforcement schedule. The results revealed no differences in initial rate of learning the task between the groups. After the introduction of the negative noncontingent reinforcement schedule, however, the HA group showed a marked decrease in the use of effective problem-solving strategies. The HA children's performance on the concept formation task was accompanied by the emission of negative self-evaluations and solution-irrelevant statements. The NHA group used significantly more statements showing useful goal directed cognitive mediations than the HA children. The results suggested that HA children may have deficits in self-control skills.Grateful acknowledgment is made to the two anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments were very helpful in producing the final form of this paper.     

Attentional deficits of learning-disabled children: Effects of rewards and practice

This study investigated the effects of rewards and practice on the attentional task performance of learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving children. Contingent feedback and rewards resulted in faster but less accurate performance by the LD children. Despite the speed-accuracy trade-off, the LD children still responded more slowly than the controls. However, limited practice on the tasks resulted in significantly improved performance, such that the groups performed similarly. Poorer performance of LD children on their first encounter with laboratory measures of attention may be due to inefficient strategies rather than to actual deficits in ability to attend.This paper is based on the author's dissertation. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Nancy Ponzetti-Dyer, Susan Shapiro, and Duane Kemp in the data collection, and of Raymond Romanczyk and two anonymous reviewers for comments on a draft of this article.     

Social sensitivity in adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.

This study investigated social sensitivity and self-concept in students with learning disabilities (LD) and their non-learning-disabled (non-LD) peers. Thirty students each from public junior and senior high schools and a community college participated in the study; at each grade level, half were identified as learning disabled and half experienced no learning problem. Students were individually assessed in 30-minute interviews for their accuracy in interpreting the thoughts and feelings of actors in tape-recorded stories depicting two adults in happy angry, anxious, and sad interactions. A questionnaire assessing four dimensions of self-concept in learning situations (motivation, task orientation, problem-solving ability, and class membership) was also administered. LD students at all grade levels were significantly less accurate at interpreting social situations than were their non-LD peers, and had significantly lower self-concepts. These results support the need for remediation efforts specifically aimed at social skills for overcoming social deficits in adulthood.     

Learning Disabilities and Psychosocial Adjustment: A Critical Review

Research is reviewed that assesses the extent to which difficulties in psychosocial adjustment are characteristic of broadly defined learning disabilities (LD) and of specific patterns of academic and neuropsychological assets and deficits (Rourke & Fuerst, 1991; Spreen, 1989). Overall, a majority of children and adolescents with LD are in the normal range of peer acceptance and socially competent behaviour. Some measure of difficulty in these social assessments is observed in approximately one third of children and adolescents with LD, compared with 10 to 15% of non-LD controls. Similarly, internalized emotional symptoms of depression and anxiety are assessed as somewhat higher for individuals with LD than for non-LD controls but are within the normal range of scores. Externalized emotional behaviours, specifically aggression, delinquency, and hyperactivity, are problematic but these too are at subclinical levels. In the few studies that examine psychosocial adjustment for subtypes of LD, there is some evidence that individuals with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) are at much greater risk for personality disturbance and behaviour problems. That the psychosocial adjustment of individuals with reading disabilities is within the range of non-LD controls remains to be convincingly demonstrated.     

TOO MUCH REINFORCEMENT,TOO LITTLE BEHAVIOR: ASSESSING TASK INTERSPERSAL PROCEDURES IN CONJUNCTION WITH DIFFERENT REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES WITH AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Task interspersal procedures have been quite effective in increasing autistic children's motivation to learn. These procedures have typically demonstrated that the inclusion of reinforced maintenance tasks (previously learned tasks) increases responding to new acquisition tasks because more reinforcers, in general, are available. However, studies have not specifically addressed the effects of various schedules of reinforcement, used in conjunction with task interspersal procedures, upon response acquisition. In the present study, a multiple baseline design across subjects was used to assess different reinforcement schedules. Five autistic children participated in learning sessions, during which trials of an acquisition task were interspersed with trials of three maintenance tasks. Correct responses to acquisition tasks were continuously reinforced throughout all conditions, while the reinforcement schedule for competent performance of maintenance tasks differed systematically. Results indicated that all children learned the new tasks when food reinforcers were presented only for acquisition tasks. Results are discussed in terms of behavioral contrast and improving the effectiveness of motivation-enhancing procedures for autistic children.     

An analysis of the conceptual framework underlying definitions of learning disabilities

Various theoretical perspectives have contributed to the different types of definitions of learning disabilities (LD) that have been developed since the category was first established. To date, there has been little consensus on the definition of learning disabilities. In the present study, three kinds of definitions, ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter, were examined to determine the extent to which there was common variance. The subject were 48 school-identified LD children and 96 non-LD children. Both samples had previously been administered a battery of psychoeducational tests. These data were used to classify each child as LD or non-LD according to each of 14 operational definitions. A factor analysis resulted in two distinct groupings of LD students; low achievement accounted for over four times as much variance as ability-achievement discrepancy. Scatter did not contribute independently to classification. The implications for LD-identification practices are discussed.     

Development of learning-disabled and normally achieving children's causal attributions

The causal attributions of learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children in grades 3 through 8 were compared. Attributions were measured by two scales that asked children to attribute hypothetical academic failure situations to factors that were either within (e.g., insufficient effort) or beyond (e.g., insufficient ability, blaming others) their control. Consistent with a learned helplessness hypothesis, LD girls, regardless of age, were more likely than NA children to attribute their failures to factors beyond their control. In contrast, LD boys' explanations for their failures paralleled those of NA children. That is, with increasing age the LD boys were more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient effort. Explanations and implications of sex differences in developmental patterns of LD children's causal attributions are discussed.The authors wish to thank Ruth Dusseault and Betty Wallace for their help in conducting this research. We also wish to thank the teachers, children, and administrators from the Leon County Schools for their cooperation.     

The self: Your own worst enemy? A test of the self-invoking trigger hypothesis

The self-invoking trigger hypothesis was proposed by Wulf and Lewthwaite [Wulf, G., & Lewthwaite, R. (2010). Effortless motor learning? An external focus of attention enhances movement effectiveness and efficiency. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless attention: A new perspective in attention and action (pp. 75–101). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press] as a mechanism underlying the robust effect of attentional focus on motor learning and performance. One component of this hypothesis, relevant beyond the attentional focus effect, suggests that causing individuals to access their self-schema will negatively impact their learning and performance of a motor skill. The purpose of the present two studies was to provide an initial test of the performance and learning aspects of the self-invoking trigger hypothesis by asking participants in one group to think about themselves between trial blocks—presumably activating their self-schema—to compare their performance and learning to that of a control group. In Experiment 1, participants performed 2 blocks of 10 trials on a throwing task. In one condition, participants were asked between blocks to think about their past throwing experience. While a control group maintained their performance across blocks, the self group's performance was degraded on the second block. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to practice a wiffleball hitting task on two separate days. Participants returned on a third day to perform retention and transfer tests without the self-activating manipulation. Results indicated that the self group learned the hitting task less effectively than the control group. The findings reported here provide initial support for the self-invoking trigger hypothesis.     

The effects of cognitive-behavior modification on private speech and task performance during problem solving among learning-disabled and normally achieving children

Recent research has supported the hypothesis that poor performance among learning-disabled (LD) children is frequently the result of deficits in self-regulation of strategic behaviors, rather than structural or ability deficits. As a result, cognitive-behavior modification (CBM) techniques that emphasize development of self-regulation through self-verbalizations (private speech) have been strongly recommended. The present study examined the natural occurrence of regulatory private speech among LD and normally achieving children during problem solving, as well as the effects of CBM training on private speech and task performance. Results indicated significant deficiencies in private speech and task performance among LD children; CBM training resulted in significant improvements. These results provide further verification of deficits in self-regulation of cognitive activity among LD children and import implications for intervention.The author would like to thank Gerald Halpin, Glennelle Halpin, and Ronhie Wilbur for their assistance throughout this study.     

Quantification of Electroencephalography

In Experiment 1, a study by Messer was replicated with use of 18 children aged 40 to 67 months and nonsense words in which the phonemes of the consonant onsets of permissible and impermissible words were equated for frequency of occurrence. The children did not choose significantly more permissible words at any age, indicating that they did not use phonological rules as a basis for choice. In Experiment 2, similar materials were used with 14 children aged 56 to 74 months. By means of an operant conditioning procedure and a learning set paradigm, an experimental group (five children) was reinforced for choosing the permissible member of 10 permissible/impermissible pairs of nonsense words to a criterion of 80 percent correct responses. On transfer to a test task (16 problems given at a rate of 12 trials per problem) the group reached a mean performance level of 76 percent correct responses, which was significantly greater than that attained by either of two control groups (nine children). It was therefore concluded that some evidence for the existence of implicit phonological rules had been obtained, although the conclusion had to be qualified because (a) the mean level of performance of the experimental group during the test task was relatively low, and (b) because only children with high 1Qs performed at a level better than chance.     

TEACHING RECEPTIVE NAMING OF CHINESE CHARACTERS TO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM BY INCORPORATING ECHOLALIA

The facilitative effect of incorporating echolalia on teaching receptive naming of Chinese characters to children with autism was assessed. In Experiment 1, echoing the requested character name prior to the receptive naming task facilitated matching a character to its name. In addition, task performance was consistently maintained only when echolalia preceded the receptive manual response. Positive results from generalization tests suggested that learned responses occurred across various novel conditions. In Experiment 2, we examined the relation between task difficulty and speed of acquisition. All 3 participants achieved 100% correct responding in training, but learning less discriminable characters took more trials than learning more discriminable characters. These results provide support for incorporating echolalia as an educational tool within language instruction for some children with autism.     

That's More Like It: Multiple Exemplars Facilitate Word Learning

Previous research indicates learning words facilitates categorisation. The current study explores how categorisation affects word learning. In the current study, we investigated whether learning about a category facilitates retention of newly learned words by presenting 2‐year‐old children with multiple referent selection trials to the same object category. In Experiment 1, children either encountered the same exemplar repeatedly or encountered multiple exemplars across trials. All children did very well on the initial task; however, only children who encountered multiple exemplars retained these mappings after a short delay. Experiment 2 replicated and extended this finding by exploring the effect of within‐category variability on children's word retention. Children encountered either narrow or broad exemplars across trials. Again, all children did very well on the initial task; however, only children who encountered narrow exemplars retained mappings after a short delay. Overall, these data offer strong evidence that providing children with the opportunity to compare across exemplars during fast mapping facilitates retention. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-year-old children can access their own memory to guide responses on a visual matching task

Many models of learning rely on accessing internal knowledge states. Yet, although infants and young children are recognized to be proficient learners, the ability to act on metacognitive information is not thought to develop until early school years. In the experiments reported here, 3.5-year-olds demonstrated memory-monitoring skills by responding on a non-verbal task originally developed for non-human animals, in which they had to access their knowledge states. Children learned a set of paired associates, and were given the option to skip uncertain trials on a recognition memory test. Accuracy for accepted items was significantly higher than for skipped on a subsequent memory task that included all items. Additionally, children whose memory-monitoring assessments more closely matched actual memory performance showed superior overall learning, suggesting a correlation between memory-monitoring and memory itself. The results suggest that children may have implicit access to internal knowledge states at very young ages, providing an explanation for how they are able to guide learning, even as infants.     

Detecting performance invalidity in children: Not quite as easy as A,B, C, 1, 2, 3 but automatized sequences appears promising

In adult populations, embedded performance validity indicators are well established, as they are time efficient, resistant to coaching, and allow for more continuous monitoring of effort than standalone measures. Although several recent studies have demonstrated the appropriateness of using standalone validity tests with school-age children, a paucity of pediatric work has examined embedded indicators. The present study investigated the value of a simple automatized sequences task to detect performance invalidity in 439 clinically referred patients with mild head injury aged 8 through 17 years. Sixteen percent of the participants failed the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT). Thirteen percent failed the MSVT and also performed below established cutoffs on either the Test of Memory Malingering or Wechsler Digit Span subtest. The group classified as providing invalid data performed significantly worse than the group passing the MSVT across all sequencing conditions. Sensitivity and specificity for the total time on the sequencing task compared favorably to data produced for many respected adult-based embedded indicators (i.e., sensitivity around 50% when specificity ≥ 90%). Classification statistics for any embedded performance validity test can be expected to be worse in more severely affected populations; however, the current sequencing task appears to have value in detecting invalid performance in relatively high-functioning older children and adolescents. The fact that the task takes less than a couple of minutes to administer makes it especially appealing.