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PubMed2003

A comparative study of adults with and without self-reported learning disabilities in six English-speaking populations: what have we learned?

The purpose of this study was to compare adults with and without self-reported learning disabilities (SRLD and NSRLD) from six English-speaking populations including: English-speaking Canada, Great Britain, The Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and the United States. These six populations were selected because they were all English-speaking populations, participated in the first administration of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), and included the optional questions regarding the presence of a disability. In this study, we compared the groups on prevalence by population, percentage of each group by age and gender, awareness of learning disabilities and problems in school, document and quantitative literacy proficiency, educational attainment, reasons for dropping out of school, and employment, occupational and financial status. Findings were reported among these six populations within an historical perspective including differences in awareness and definition of learning disabilities, public policy, special education services, reading pedagogy, and teacher preparation. Recommendations are made for improving literacy and long-term outcomes for those with learning disabilities in all nations as well as future research directions.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Technology-Related Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities Act: relevance to individuals with learning disabilities and their advocates.

Assistive technology (AT) was recognized by Congress as a viable need for people with disabilities when it passed the Tech Act in 1988. The legislation, which was reauthorized in 1994, has resulted in numerous programs and services that have helped people with disabilities access and use AT devices. The Tech Act's implications for people with learning disabilities is discussed in this article.

Health Services Accessibility↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chemical dependency in students with and without learning disabilities.

To determine if students with learning disabilities (LD) demonstrate a higher frequency of chemical dependency than students without learning disabilities (NLD), a total of 191 adolescents with LD (101 males and 90 females) were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). The sample consisted of 88 students with LD and 103 NLD students between the ages of 12 and 18. The SASSI is an objectively scored self-report inventory that accurately classifies adolescents as chemically dependent (CD) or not chemically dependent (NCD). A significantly higher proportion of students with LD than NLD students were classified as CD. Of the 30 students who were classified as CD, 70% were students with LD. A discriminant analysis indicated that the presence or absence of a learning disability was a better predictor of classification as CD or NCD than gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, or family composition. The implications for evaluation and educational planning for students with learning disabilities are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Nursing students with learning disabilities: guidelines for fostering success.

Learning disabilities can be devastating for the nursing student, interfering with academic performance and with success on the NCLEX-RN. Within the past five to ten years, college educators are seeing an increasing number of students with learning disabilities diagnosed in the 1970s, who are now ready for higher education. This phenomenon is becoming apparent as well in schools of nursing in the United States. This article describes the problem, gives characteristics by which the student with a learning disability can be identified, and suggests methods for assisting the student to achieve success in school and on the national licensing examination following graduation.

Humans↗

PubMed1989

Auditory, visual, and multisensory nonverbal social perception in adolescents with and without learning disabilities.

Adolescents with and without learning disabilities (14, 16, and 18 years old) were tested to determine whether they differed in auditory, visual, and/or multisensory (combined auditory/visual) social perception abilities. Differences between the two groups in growth of auditory, visual, and multisensory social-perception abilities were also measured. Results of the data analyses revealed that adolescents with learning disabilities were not as adept at understanding nonverbal social information regardless of whether the information was visual or multisensory in nature. Further, nonverbal social-perception ability for both visual and multisensory information improved with increasing age for both populations. Finally, adolescents with learning disabilities continued to demonstrate comparatively poorer social-perception abilities through the 18-year level.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Information processed from brief visual displays by learning-disabled boys.

The spans of apprehension of learning-disabled and normal boys were compared by means of a forced-choice letter-recognition task involving tachistoscopic exposures of letter displays. This task provides an estimate of the span that is relatively insensitive to memory or motivational influences. In Experiment 1, the spans of learning-disabled and normal boys were compared under 4 information conditions: with no noise letters present or with 2, 4, or 8 noise letters present. Experiments 2-4 examined 3 possible interpretations of the deficit in the span of apprehension observed for learning-disabled boys in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the possibility that the noise letters were more distracting for learning-disabled boys was examined by varying the amount of physical similarity and redundancy between the signal and noise letters. In Experiment 3, the possibility that the visual afterimage of the letter displays faded more rapidly for the learning-disabled boys was examined. In Experiment 4, the possibility that the learning-disabled boys were slower to pick up information from the decaying afterimages was examined. The results of these three experiments indicated that the decreased spans of apprehension observed for the learning-disabled boys in Experiment 1 resulted either from greater distractiveness or from the slower pickup of information, or both. The implications for visual training are discussed.

Attention↗

PubMed1986

Cognitive profiles of some subtypes of learning disabled adults.

Test profiles of 100 learning disabled adults were analyzed in an attempt to determine if patterns of learning disability subtypes which have been identified in children also persist into adulthood. On the basis of Wide Range Achievement Test reading and arithmetic grade level scores, subjects were classified into one of three subgroups. The classification resulted in finding 32 subjects who were substantially better at reading than arithmetic, 17 who were better at arithmetic than reading, and the remaining 51 with less than a 1.5-year grade level discrepancy between reading and arithmetic. Subgroup membership was used as the independent variable in a series of one-way analyses of variance which tested for differences in performance patterns on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and components of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. While results support the view that most learning disabled individuals do not have specific disabilities, results suggest that it is possible to identify relatively small specific subtypes similar to those previously identified in learning disabled children, with some doing well at reading but poorly at arithmetic, and others doing very poorly at reading but relatively better, but not normally, at arithmetic. Cognitive testing of the first of these two specific subtypes revealed particular deficits in visual-spatial, nonverbal problem solving and complex psychomotor tasks. The second subtype did better on tasks of that type, but poorly on linguistic tasks.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1981

Abnormal head circumference in learning-disabled children.

The head circumferences of 73 learning-disabled children were compared with those of a matched control population of 71 children. Macrocephaly was noted in eight learning-disabled children but in only three controls, and microcephaly was present in seven learning-disabled children but in none of the controls. Abnormal head circumferences were noted in nine learning-disabled males but in only three control males. Since this study revealed an increased prevalence of both macrocephaly and microcephaly in children with learning disabilities, future studies of such children should include accurate measurements of head circumference. It may be found that abnormal head circumference, when accompanied by other signs, can be used to identify preschool children potentially at risk for learning disabilities.

Cephalometry↗

PubMed1996

Electro-oculographic recordings reveal reading deficiencies in learning disabled children.

This study was undertaken in order to learn the functional differences in reading tasks between two groups of children: those identified as learning disabled and a group of control children. During the earliest stages of learning to read, children adopt a logographic strategy, in which letter order is ignored and phonologic factors are secondary. The children later move into an alphabetic and then to an orthographic reading stage. Reading strategies can be studied by electro-oculographic (EOG) recordings during text reading. This investigation uses EOG to study text reading time, and number of saccadic and regressive movements, to test if learning disabled children show altered strategies on text reading. Nineteen learning disabled and thirteen control subjects were included in the study. Learning disabled children showed longer text reading time, and greater number of saccadic and regressive eye movements. Electro-oculographic recording is not a test customarily performed on learning disabled children. However, our results concerning the dynamic discriminative reading have shown that it can be a useful tool for the examination of learning disabled children.

Child↗

PubMed1989

The relationship between learning disability, emotional disorders, and neuropsychology; some results and observations.

Emotional disorders may precede learning disabilities, follow learning disabilities, or occur at the same time. This paper discusses evidence supporting each of these hypotheses, focussing on the possibility that both learning disabilities and emotional disorders, or at least some subforms of them, may have a common origin in neurological dysfunction. A model of interaction of the many factors involved in both the development and the persistence across age for both learning disabilities and emotional disorders is presented and avenues of research are discussed. Data from a 15-year follow-up study which illustrate some of these complex relationships are presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Intraindividual differences in motivation and cognition in students with and without learning disabilities.

The present study examines several cognitive and motivational variables that distinguish children with learning disabilities (n = 19) from children without learning disabilities (n = 20). The total sample included 30 males and 9 females and was composed of white, fifth-grade students from a middle-class community in the Midwest. Results showed that although the students with learning disabilities displayed lower levels of metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension, they did not differ from the students without learning disabilities on self-efficacy, intrinsic orientation, or anxiety. In addition, they did not show any signs of learned helplessness, although they did tend to attribute success and failure to external causes more often than the students without learning disabilities. Using a cluster analysis that grouped individuals, we found that differences in the motivational and cognitive variables cut across a priori categories of children with and without learning disabilities. Three clusters were formed: one with high comprehension, motivation, and metacognition (mostly children without learning disabilities); one with low levels of comprehension and metacognition but high intrinsic motivation (all children with learning disabilities); and one with low intrinsic motivation but average comprehension, metacognition, and attributional style (approximately equal numbers of children with and without learning disabilities). Implications for diagnosis and intervention for students with learning disabilities are discussed.

Anxiety↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Future directions for learning disability nursing.

Over the past decade learning disability nurses have had to make many changes in the way they practice. Changes in attitude towards the way in which people with learning disabilities are cared for has meant that nurses have had to adjust their practice to address different expectations in the way these services are delivered. Nursing now provides opportunities for people with learning disabilities to express themselves and become involved in decision-making that affects their lives. For nurses this is a totally new way of working with this client group. Learning disability nurses have risen to the challenge that has resulted from moving into community care and forming links with primary healthcare teams.

Community Health Nursing↗

PubMed2000

Increased risk of learning disabilities in low birth weight boys at age 11 years.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined learning disabilities among low birth weight (< or =2500 g) children, and those that have, have focused on very low birth weight children (<1500 g). We tested the hypothesis that low birth weight increases the risk of reading and math disabilities, examined possible sex differences in the effect of low birth weight, and assessed risk across the entire range of low birth weight. METHODS: Low birth weight and normal birth weight children were randomly selected from the 1983-1985 newborn lists of an urban and a suburban hospital in southeast Michigan. Children with neurological impairments were excluded. Children were evaluated at age 6 years and at age 11 years. Of the 823 children in the initial assessment, 717 (87.1%) participated in the second assessment. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised and the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery--Revised were used to identify children with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities were estimated in 574 children with IQs of > or =85. RESULTS: Low birth weight was associated with increased risk for reading and math disability in male children (odds ratio = 3.3 and odds ratio = 6.5, respectively) but not in female children. The increased risk of learning disabilities among male children applied to the entire range of low birth weight and was observed in both the urban and suburban communities. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of low birth weight on learning disabilities appears to be specific to male children. Although this sex-specific effect is consistent with previous findings of a greater vulnerability of male children to pregnancy and birth complications, it remains to be replicated and clarified.

Apgar Score↗

PubMed1998

Right hemisphere, white-matter learning disabilities associated with depression in an adolescent and young adult psychiatric population.

Four hundred and eighty-four adolescents and young adults at an inpatient psychiatric facility were diagnosed as nonverbal learning disabled, verbal learning disabled, general learning disabled, or normal psychiatric controls. The nonverbal learning disabled group had the highest incidence of depression and was clearly different from the reading disabled group (66.3% vs. 33.3%). Nondisabled subjects were significantly more likely than the other subjects to be diagnosed with adjustment problems. Depressed subjects were significantly younger and more likely to be female. This study supports the contention that right-hemisphere, white-matter, arithmetic-disabled adolescents and young adults in a psychiatric population are at greater risk for depression than are psychiatric patients not showing this pattern.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

Generalist genes and learning disabilities.

The authors reviewed recent quantitative genetic research on learning disabilities that led to the conclusion that genetic diagnoses differ from traditional diagnoses in that the effects of relevant genes are largely general rather than specific. This research suggests that most genes associated with common learning disabilities--language impairment, reading disability, and mathematics disability--are generalists in 3 ways. First, genes that affect common learning disabilities are largely the same genes responsible for normal variation in learning abilities. Second, genes that affect any aspect of a learning disability affect other aspects of the disability. Third, genes that affect one learning disability are also likely to affect other learning disabilities. These quantitative genetic findings have far-reaching implications for molecular genetics and neuroscience as well as psychology.

Humans↗

PubMed1985

Signs of neurobehavioral dysfunction in a sample of learning disabled children: stability and concurrent validity.

Of 270 learning disabled children with average intelligence and significant delays in reading comprehension a sample of 37 were evaluated for signs of neurobehavioral dysfunction. All such signs--primitive reflexes, equilibrium reactions, and postrotary nystagmus--were reliably assessed. A subsample of 19 children was compared with developmentally normal and mentally retarded samples for the occurrence of tonic neck reflexes and equilibrium reactions. The learning disabled children consistently showed deviancies like those of the retarded children; both of these groups differed from the normal children on most measures. These deviant responses persisted over a 9-mo. period for the learning disabled group. Compared with norms, the total learning disabled sample displayed hyponystagmus, and this depressed nystagmus persisted for 11 mo. Results are discussed in relation to the lack of correlation among the various signs of neurobehavioral dysfunction in the learning disabled children.

Achievement↗

PubMed2006

Cognitive behaviour therapy and people with learning disabilities: implications for developing nursing practice.

People with learning disabilities are an ageing and increasing population and have been the subject of policy initiatives by the four countries of the UK, detailing the range of supports that need to be in place for this group. The evidence base of their mental health needs is growing and with it the need to ensure the full range of psychotherapies available to the general population are made available to people with learning disabilities. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is now a widely accepted and effective form of psychotherapy for many mental health problems and the evidence base is growing on the effectiveness with the learning disability population; however, the model needs to be applied differently for this group to take account of their cognitive impairment and support needs. Registered Nurses in Learning Disabilities are well placed to apply this approach within their clinical practice; however, there is an absence of leadership and direction in the development of CBT for this group of clinicians. There is a need to support education and practice development to contribute to addressing the emotional needs of people with learning disabilities. Action is required to support education to prepare Registered Nurses in Learning Disabilities to practice CBT and to contribute to the ongoing development of research in this area of clinical practice.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Smoking prevalence and knowledge of associated risks in adult attenders at day centres for people with learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Increased longevity among people with learning disabilities is accompanied by an increase in morbidity. A possible explanation is that living in the community and a move to greater independence may bring higher health risks through obesity and smoking. The study aimed to see if rates of smoking have increased from earlier published rates and to ascertain the awareness of the risks of smoking among people with learning disabilities. METHODS: A total of 435 people attending four social services day centres in a large urban area were assisted to complete a questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-seven (6.2%) reported that they currently smoked. Those with mild disabilities were much more likely to smoke than those with more severe disabilities and they also reported smoking more heavily. For those with mild levels of learning disability, a higher than expected proportion living in hospital and staffed housing smoked, a lower proportion living with parents smoked but for those living independently the proportion who smoked was no higher than expected. Smokers were more knowledgeable about the risks than non-smokers even if the level of learning disability was controlled for. Only a third of smokers were concerned about the risks. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides no evidence that rates of smoking are increasing among people with learning disabilities nor that those living independently were more likely to smoke. Knowledge of health risks is poor across the group, but higher among the smokers who were unlikely to express concern about the risks. This may indicate that more support may be needed along with health education in this group.

Adult↗