Basic numerical skills in children with mathematics learning disabilities: a comparison of symbolic vs non-symbolic number magnitude processing

Forty-five children with mathematics learning disabilities, with and without comorbid reading disabilities, were compared to 45 normally achieving peers in tasks assessing basic numerical skills. Children with mathematics disabilities were only impaired when comparing Arabic digits (i.e., symbolic number magnitude) but not when comparing collections (i.e., non-symbolic number magnitude). Moreover, they automatically processed number magnitude when comparing the physical size of Arabic digits in an Stroop paradigm adapted for processing speed differences. Finally, no evidence was found for differential patterns of performance between MD and MD/RD children in these tasks. These findings suggest that children with mathematics learning disabilities have difficulty in accessing number magnitude from symbols rather than in processing numerosity per se.     

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.     

Pupils' perceptions of self and of labels: Moderate learning difficulties in mainstream and special schools

Background: The study is set in the context of international moves towards more inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream schools and the greater importance attached to the child's voice in decision making in education. Aims: To examine how children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) in mainstream and special schools see themselves; to investigate their positive, negative and mixed self‐perceptions; to explore their evaluations of the terms and labels used by others to describe them; and to examine whether their perceptions vary according to special educational placement, age or gender. Sample: One hundred and one children; 50 in special and 51 in mainstream schools, of whom 51 were age 10–12 and 50 13–14 years; within each age group half were boys and half were girls. Method: Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews based on a common framework derived from the research questions. Results: Most pupils were aware of their learning difficulties and felt mainly negative about their difficulties. Pupils in special schools had more positive self‐perceptions of educational abilities than those in mainstream schools. Self‐perceptions of general characteristics were mainly a mixture of positive and negative with no differences by placement. ‘Stupid’ and ‘thick’ were perceived as the most negative labels, while ‘has help’ was the most positive label. The SEN term was infrequently recognized. Conclusions: The findings are discussed within the context of a multi‐dimensional, complex and contrary framework of self‐perceptions, and reference groups as the bases for self‐perceptions and as an active and interpretive process in the formation of self‐perceptions.     

Performance of students with learning disabilities on validity indexes of the Perception of Ability Scale for Students.

The present study examined the performance of 78 students with learning disabilities and 71 normally achieving students in regular Form 1 (Grade 6) classes on three validity indexes of the Perception of Ability Scale for Students, a measure of academic self-concept. The three indexes assess consistency of responding, negative or positive response biases, and misrepresentation of self-perceptions in terms of unrealistic perceptions of perfection in school. Analysis showed that learning disabled students obtained significantly lower Full Scale scores than the normal students, but no significant differences appeared on the three validity indexes. Users of the test can be confident that learning disabled students respond to items in as valid a manner as other students. Having specific learning problems in school should not interfere with response patterns on this scale.     

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.     

不同亚型数学学习困难儿童应用题问题表征过程的研究

采用自编数学应用题解决能力测验题对小学四年级单纯型数困儿童、混合型数困儿童和普通儿童问题理解阶段、问题整合阶段的差异,以及问题表征能力与数学问题解决之间的关系进行探究。结果表明：（1）单纯型与混合型数困儿童有效识别信息的能力弱,难于利用相关信息和排除干扰信息。（2）单纯型数困儿童比混合型数困儿童更擅于运用图式表征策略。（3）图式表征策略能促进数困儿童应用题的解决。     

Event and story structure recall by children with specific learning disabilities,language impairments,and normally achieving children

This study investigated the ability of children with specific learning disabilities (SLD), children with language impairments (LI), and children who are normally achieving (NA) to recall the events and story structures of a narrative and an expository text. Effects of group, verbal age, text structure, and order of presentation on recall as measured through listening comprehension were studied. Sixty students who were matched on verbal age served as subjects. Results suggested differences between the LI and SLD groups on text recall. Differences were also evident for text type, with recall of narrative text typically being superior to recall of expository text. In general, the performance of the group with SLD was similar to that of the NA group.     

Concrete operational thought in children with learning disabilities and children with normal achievement.

This study compared Piagetian cognitive development in normal achieving children and two groups of children with learning disabilities designated as either auditory-linguistic or visual-spatial on the basis of Verbal-Performance IQ differences on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R; 1974). The two groups with learning disabilities were matched with normal achieving controls on intelligence, socioeconomic status, sex, race, and age. Piagetian tasks measuring conservation, seriation, and classification were administered to each child to determine level of operative thought. The auditory-linguistic group scored significantly below normal controls in operativity, and significantly fewer were at a concrete operational level on a conservation of length task than were normal achieving children. The visual-spatial group did not differ significantly from normal controls. These results suggest that auditory-linguistic disabilities may be more detrimental than visual-spatial disabilities to development of operativity.     

Self‐evaluation and social comparison amongst adolescents with learning difficulties

Two studies are presented which examine self‐evaluation in adolescents with learning difficulties and how these adolescents strategically protect their self‐concept through the use of social comparison. Study one involved 145 adolescents with learning difficulties and the same number of non‐disabled adolescents aged between 11 to 16 years. All adolescents completed Harter's ‘Self Perception Profile for Children’ (SPPC). No significant overall differences were found between the self‐evaluations of the adolescents with learning difficulties and non‐disabled adolescents. In addition, adolescents with learning difficulties strategically devalued less favourable comparison dimensions and valued more positive comparison attributes. Study two utilized a four condition between‐groups design with a sample of 68 adolescents with learning difficulties. All participants completed the SPPC, but the availability of a social comparison group was systematically varied between conditions. The self‐evaluations made by adolescents changed significantly when the social comparison group made available was altered. The findings are discussed with regard to their theoretical implications and in terms of inclusion policies for adolescents with learning difficulties. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contrasting two models of academic self‐efficacy – domain‐specific versus cross‐domain – in children receiving and not receiving special instruction in mathematics

In social cognitive theory, self‐efficacy is domain‐specific. An alternative model, the cross‐domain influence model, would predict that self‐efficacy beliefs in one domain might influence performance in other domains. Research has also found that children who receive special instruction are not good at estimating their performance. The aim was to test two models of how self‐efficacy beliefs influence achievement, and to contrast children receiving special instruction in mathematics with normally‐achieving children. The participants were 73 fifth‐grade children who receive special instruction and 70 children who do not receive any special instruction. In year four and five, the children's skills in mathematics and reading were assessed by national curriculum tests, and in their fifth year, self‐efficacy in mathematics and reading were measured. Structural equation modeling showed that in domains where children do not receive special instruction in mathematics, self‐efficacy is a mediating variable between earlier and later achievement in the same domain. Achievement in mathematics was not mediated by self‐efficacy in mathematics for children who receive special instruction. For normal achieving children, earlier achievement in the language domain had an influence on later self‐efficacy in the mathematics domain, and self‐efficacy beliefs in different domains were correlated. Self‐efficacy is mostly domain specific, but may play a different role in academic performance depending on whether children receive special instruction. The results of the present study provided some support of the Cross‐Domain Influence Model for normal achieving children.     

Empathy Development in Adolescence Predicts Social Competencies in Adulthood

This 23‐year study explored the predictive associations between empathy development in adolescence and self‐reported social competencies and outcomes in adulthood. Participants were 1,527 adults aged 35 years (48.3% female). The predictor variable (adolescent empathy) was measured yearly at the ages of 12 to 16 years. The outcome variables (adult empathy, communication skills, social integration, relationship satisfaction, and conflicts in relationships) were measured at the age of 35 years. Five important results stand out. First, longitudinal measurement invariance was established for the measure of adolescent empathy. Second, empathy tended to increase during the adolescent years. Third, significant interindividual differences in level and change of adolescent empathy were found. Fourth, gender was related to level of adolescent empathy, favoring girls over boys. Fifth, not only level but also change in adolescent empathy predicted individual differences in social competencies in adulthood two decades later. These findings demonstrate that developmental processes that are relevant for adjustment reveal long‐term social consequences beyond the adolescent years.     

Understanding the bullying dynamic among students in special and general education

Students in general and special education experience bullying. However, few empirical investigations have examined involvement in bullying along the bully/victim continuum (i.e., as a bully, victim, or bully-victim) among students with disabilities. A total of 816 students, ages 9 to 16, participated in the present study. From this total sample 686 were not receiving special education services (categorized as "no disability"), and 130 were receiving special education services (categorized as "observable disability," "non-observable disability," and "behavioral disability"). Data on students' involvement in bullying, office referrals, and prosocial behavior were collected. Results indicated that students with behavioral disorders and those with observable disabilities reported bullying others more and being victimized more than their general education counterparts. Students with behavioral disorders also had significantly more office referrals than students in general education. Seventh graders in general education reported more bullying behavior than sixth graders and ninth grades in general education. Fifth graders in general education reported more victimization than students in all other grades in general education. However, the grade differences were not significant for students in special education. No gender differences on bullying and victimization were found. Students with disabilities reported less engagement in prosocial behaviors than their general education peers. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention across both general and special education are discussed.     

Global self-evaluations and perceived instability of self in early adolescence: A cohort longitudinal study

A cohort longitudinal design with four adjacent cohorts of students ( n = 1689) followed over two years was used to study key issues identified in the research literature on the development of self-evaluations in early adolescence. There was no clear relationship between age/grade and self-evaluations. We found no support for a "stressful periods" hypothesis with respect to self: Possible changes were very gradual and quite small. However, there was a consistent "relative age" effect implying that younger students within a grade had more negative self-evaluations. There were small but consistent sex differences in self-evaluations in favor of the boys; more detailed analyses of very negative self-evaluations suggested that the early adolescent years are the period in which a sex difference in depression related symptomatology begins to emerge. Finally, the usefulness of some kind of effect size measure and advantages and problems associated with a cohort longitudinal design were discussed.     

Cognitive procedures for correcting proxy‐response biases in surveys

To reduce survey costs, major surveys rely on self‐ and proxy‐responses. The use of proxies can reduce data quality introducing biases in the survey estimates. This paper identifies one source of systematic differences between self‐ and proxy‐reports: proxies' higher reliance on inferences. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey on Disability (NHIS‐D), proxy‐response biases were modelled by independently collected measures of cognitive inferences. Conditional likelihood judgements about a number of disabilities (e.g. likelihood that a person has a disability given another disability) predicted the conditional disability reports for proxy‐ but not for self‐respondents (e.g. the proportion of respondents who reported difficulty learning after reporting difficulty communicating). A model of self/proxy differences was estimated on data from the 1994 NHIS‐D and tested against 1995 data. The correlation between predicted and actual differences was 0.76. The correlation between predicted and actual proxy‐reports was 0.95. Such research can be used to estimate and correct for systematic proxy‐response biases. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genetic Risk Communication: Experiences of Adolescent Girls and Young Women from Families with Fragile X Syndrome

Little is known about how and what genetic risk information parents communicate to their children and even less is known about what children hear and remember. To address this void, we explored how genetic risk information was learned, what information was given and who primarily provided information to adolescent girls and young adult women in families with fragile X syndrome. We explored three levels of risk knowledge: learning that fragile X syndrome was an inherited disorder, that they could be a carrier, and for those who had been tested, actual carrier status. These data were collected as part of a study that also explored adolescent self concept and age preferences about when to inform about genetic risk. Those findings have been presented separately. The purpose of this paper is to present the communication data. Using a multi-group cross-sectional design this study focused on girls ages 14–25 years from families previously diagnosed with fragile X syndrome, 1) who knew they were carriers (n = 20), 2) noncarriers (n = 18), or 3) at-risk to be carriers (n = 15). For all three stages of information the majority of the study participants were informed by a family member. We identified three different communication styles: open, sought information, and indirect. The content of the remembered conversations varied based on the stage of genetic risk information being disclosed as well as the girls’ knowledge of her own carrier status. Girls who had been tested and knew their actual carrier status were more likely to report an open communication pattern than girls who knew only that they were at-risk.     

Disability, race/ethnicity and gender: themes of cultural oppression, acts of individual resistance

Community psychologists have called for research on human diversity and interactions between individuals and society with a focus on oppression. This study examines learning disabilities as they co-occur with other sociopolitical minority statuses. We examined dominant cultural narratives of and individual responses to learning disability, race/ethnicity and gender identified by low-income men and women of color with learning disabilities. Our qualitative analysis identified cultural narratives that suggest that: (1a) individuals with learning disabilities are perceived as having an illegitimate impairment and being of lower intellectual ability and unworthy; (1b) having an invisible disability facilitates passing as nondisabled, thereby lessening disability discrimination from within racial/ethnic groups; (1c) having a learning disability detracts from positive gender expectations and exacerbates negative ones; and (1d) gender and racial/ethnic narratives are relevant for individuals with learning disabilities. Our analysis also identified two overarching individual acts of resistance used to thwart internalization of oppressive cultural narratives: (2a) removing self from oppressive environments and (2b) reframing dominant cultural narratives (including discounting the validity of negative messages, using negative narratives for motivation, and engaging in positive self-talk). We discuss findings in relation to extant research and theory and consider implications for research, theory, and practice.     

Getting to Know Me: Social Role Experiences and Age Differences in Self‐Concept Clarity During Adulthood

ABSTRACT The current research had 2 aims: (1) to determine the cross‐sectional age differences in self‐concept clarity during adulthood and (2) to examine the importance of social role experiences for age differences in self‐concept clarity. These aims were addressed in 2 large samples of adults ranging in age from 18 to 94 years. In both studies, self‐concept clarity had a curvilinear relation to age such that self‐concept clarity was positively related to age from young adulthood through middle age and negatively related to age in older adulthood. This relationship was moderated by annual income and community investment. In addition, annual income and health‐related social role limitations mediated age differences in self‐concept clarity. Findings are discussed in terms of modern theories of identity development.     

Communication and Understanding in Parent–Adolescent Relationships

This research examined communication and parent–adolescent understanding, including understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self‐concepts, and immediate thoughts (or “empathic accuracy”). Fifty parent–adolescent triads completed questionnaires, held a discussion, and reported on immediate thoughts during the discussion using video‐assisted recall methods. Alternative measures of understanding produced distinct results. Parental understanding of the child's self‐concept was associated with frequent and open communication, high parent–child relationship satisfaction, and a strong child self‐concept. Parental understanding of conflict perceptions was associated with high conformity and low relationship satisfaction. Parental understanding of the immediate thoughts of children was quite low overall and was not consistently related to communication, relationship satisfaction, or child self‐concept. The results suggest that alternative measures of understanding reflect different family processes.     

Adolescent Sexual Assault Victims and the Legal System: Building Community Relationships to Improve Prosecution Rates

Adolescents are at high risk for sexual assault, but few of these crimes are reported to the police and prosecuted by the criminal justice system. To address this problem, communities throughout the United States have implemented multidisciplinary interventions to improve post-assault care for victims and increase prosecution rates. The two most commonly implemented interventions are Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs and Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs). The purpose of this study was to determine whether community-level context (i.e., stakeholder engagement and collaboration) was predictive of adolescent legal case outcomes, after accounting for "standard" factors that affect prosecution success (i.e., victim, assault, and evidence characteristics). Overall, 40% of the adolescent cases from these two SANE-SART programs (over a 10-year period) were successfully prosecuted. Cases were more likely to be prosecuted for younger victims, those with disabilities, those who knew their offenders, and instances in which the rape evidence collection kit was submitted by police for analysis. After accounting for these influences, multi-level modeling results revealed that in one site decreased allocation of community resources to adolescent sexual assault cases had a significant negative effect on prosecution case outcomes. Results are explained in terms of Wolff's (Am J Community Psychol 29:173-191, 2001) concept of "over-coalitioned" communities and Kelly's (1968) ecological principles.     

Differences in career maturity among adjudicated and nonadjudicated male students with and without disabilities

The authors investigated the level of career maturity of nonadjudicated high school students without disabilities and 3 groups of adjudicated high school students: those without disabilities, those with learning disabilities, and those with emotional disturbance. Also investigated was the relationship between career maturity and behavioral functioning, using the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐Self‐Report of Personality (BASC‐SRP; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1992). No significant differences existed between nonadjudicated and adjudicated students without disabilities. Adjudicated students with emotional disabilities and learning disabilities scored significantly lower than nonadjudicated high school students without disabilities on the overall measure of career maturity. Career maturity was found to be significantly but only moderately related to 8 behavioral domains on the BASC‐SRP.