Learning disabled children

Pitch-matching tests were conducted with learning disabled (LD) and non-learning disabled (NLD) third through fifth graders to examine whether a significant difference between pitch-matching abilities exists. Subjects were given a two part pitch-matching test using a tape recorded vocal model. The vocal model was a 12 year-old boy with unchanged voice singing the test examples on the neutral syllable "loo." Subjects were instructed to echo the vocal model and were given a single point for each correctly sung pitch. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in the pitch-matching skills of the learning disabled and the non-learning disabled students.

This study compared the efficacy and efficiency of using constant time delay (CTD) with interspersal of known items (IKI) paired with an error correction technique to teach sight words to students with mild mental retardation and learning disabilities. Time delay is a technique that transfers stimulus control from a controlling prompt (a prompt that results in correct task performance) to the discriminative stimulus (stimulus presented before a response can occur) by delaying the presentation of the prompt after the stimulus has been presented. During the initial trial, the delay between prompt and stimulus is at 0-seconds; during all other trials the delay is fixed at 4-seconds. Interspersal of known items is a method of sequencing unknown or target words among known words. Two sessions were provided each day in the classroom, one with constant time delay technique and the other with interspersal of known items as the training technique. The parallel treatment design was used to assess the efficacy and efficiency of the two strategies. The results indicate that both techniques were effective for students with LD. Constant time delay was significantly more effective than interspersal of known items for the students with MMR. Based on both the number of minutes of instructional time and the number of sessions through criterion, the constant time delay procedure was more efficient for students with MMR. However, the interspersal of known items technique was more efficient in terms of percentage of errors and rate of correct responses for both students with MMR and LD.

Research has shown that most school leaders lack the knowledge necessary to deal with the many different aspects and issues that special education programs encompass. This lack of knowledge ultimately places special education teachers, programs, and students with disabilities at a clear disadvantage. With The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the reauthorization of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) in 2004, schools and school leaders are being held accountable for the learning gains of all students, including students with disabilities. This study sought to assess the knowledge of Florida school principals in the area of special education policies and procedures through survey administration. In addition, the survey was designed to establish the method by which school principals purport to have learned the majority of special education policies and procedures. Social justice as defined by Adams, Bell, and Griffin (1997) and ethical reasoning in educational leadership, developed and defined by Shapiro and Stefkovich (2005) were chosen as the conceptual framework with which to guide the design and analysis of the study. These underlying sets of ideas were used to help recognize the many inequalities that have hindered education for a variety of students, including those with disabilities (Lashley, 2007). FIndings of this study demonstrate the level of knowledge practicing administrators in Florida possess, the methods by which they acquired that knowledge, and the dire need for this knowledge under new state mandated reform initiatives.

Proficient reading is a necessary skill for a quality life. While educators would like to believe that most students master the art of reading and can understand what they read, national reports indicate that learning to read and becoming a skilled reader is not mastered by all (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001 ; NICHD, 2000a). One component of successful reading is the ability to read a text with appropriate speed, accuracy, and prosody. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (Pinnell et al., 1995) reported that 44% of the nation's fourth grade students were not able to read at an acceptable level of fluency that was considered necessary for comprehension. Since the publication of that report, research has shown that with direct instruction and remediation of fluency, students in the elementary grades can increase their reading rate. One of the most common fluency intervention techniques is repeated readings (Samuels,1979). However, most of the studies completed include ele mentary students and were focused on increasing their reading rate. Some students are arriving at the secondary level with reading problems which include fluency and comprehension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of repeated readings on the rate, accuracy, and comprehension of students with disabilities at the secondary level. This study involved a total of 35 students with learning disabilities in grades 6-9. A quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The treatment group received a total of 20 sessions of repeated reading with immediate feedback., goal setting, and independent practice with graphing of reading rate. The comparison group continued their reading instruction with no fluency intervention.The results indicate that this combination of repeated readings had a significant influence on reading rate only.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1975 has made a profound impact on millions of children with disabilities who now enjoy their right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). It is the goal of national policy, endorsed by Congress, to ensure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. With the enactment of IDEA, it ensures that all children, who participate in special education programs, have equal access to education. However, since IDEA's inception, a disproportionate number of African Americans children have been placed, or rather, misplaced in special education programs. African American students are three times more likely than Whites to be placed into categories as needing services in special education programs, making them subject to less demanding schoolwork, to more restrictive classrooms, and to isolation from their peers. For the purpose of this study, the goals were (a) to determine if there is disproportional representation of Black students and male students in the three categories of Educable Mentally Handicapped, Emotionally Handicapped, and Specific Learning Disabled and (b) to address whether the factors school districts' socioeconomic status, minority rate, and racial composition of instructional and administrative staff predict the representation of Black students and male students who participate in special education programs. A quantitative method, including the three disproportionality calculation methods of Composition Index (CI), Risk Index (RI), and Odds Ratio (OR), was employed to respond to the six research questions and test six corresponding null hypotheses. Sixty-seven school districts in the State of Florida were identified for data collection and analysis.