Learning Disorders (learning + disorders)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Graphic Organizers Applied to Secondary Algebra Instruction for Students with Learning Disorders

LEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 2 2007
Bob Ives
Students who have particular difficulty in mathematics are a growing concern for educators. Graphic organizers have been shown to improve reading comprehension and may be applied to upper level secondary mathematics content. In two systematic replications, one randomly assigned group was taught to solve systems of linear equations through direct instruction and strategy instruction. The other group was taught with the same methods with the addition of a graphic organizer. Students who received instruction with the graphic organizers outperformed those who received instruction without the organizers. They also better understood the related concepts as measured by immediate posttests in both replications. The difference in understanding concepts was maintained on a 2,3 week posttest. [source]


Predictors of pharmacoresistant epilepsy: Pharmacoresistant rats differ from pharmacoresponsive rats in behavioral and cognitive abnormalities associated with experimentally induced epilepsy

EPILEPSIA, Issue 10 2008
Alexandra M. Gastens
Summary Purpose:, Patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) exhibit an increased risk of psychiatric comorbidity, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, and learning disorders. Furthermore, a history of psychiatric comorbidity has been suggested as a predictor of lack of response to therapy with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with epilepsy. However, clinical studies on predictors of pharmacoresistant epilepsy are affected by several confounding variables, which may complicate conclusions. In the present study, we evaluated whether behavioral alterations in epileptic rats are different in AED nonresponders versus responders. Methods:, For this purpose, we used an animal model of TLE in which AED responders and nonresponders can be selected by prolonged treatment of epileptic rats with phenobarbital (PB). Behavioral and cognitive abnormalities were compared between responders and nonresponders as well as between epileptic rats and nonepileptic controls in a battery of tests. Results:, Fifteen epileptic rats with spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) either responding (11 rats) or not responding (4 rats) to PB were used for this study. The nonresponders differed markedly in behavioral and cognitive abnormalities from responders and nonepileptic controls in tests of anxiety (open field, elevated-plus maze test), behavioral hyperexcitability (approach-response, touch-response, pick-up tests), and learning and memory (Morris water maze). Discussion:, Our hypothesis that AED-resistant rats will show more severe behavioral and cognitive changes than AED-responsive rats was confirmed by the present experiments. The data substantiate that rodent models of TLE are useful to delineate predictors of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. [source]


Smoking Cessation Counseling for Pregnant Women Who Smoke: Scientific Basis for Practice for AWHONN's SUCCESS Project

JOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 3 2004
FAAN, Susan A. Albrecht PhD
Objectives: To review the literature addressing smoking cessation in pregnant women. To develop the project protocol for the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurse's (AWHONN) 6th research-based practice project titled "Setting Universal Cessation Counseling, Education and Screening Standards (SUCCESS): Nursing Care of Pregnant Women Who Smoke." To evaluate the potential of systematic integration of this protocol in primary care settings in which women seek care at the preconception, pregnant, or postpartum stages. Literature Sources: Computerized searches in MEDLINE and CINAHL, as well as references cited in articles reviewed. Key concepts in the searches included low-birth-weight infants and effects of prenatal smoking on the infant and the effects of preconception and prenatal smoking cessation intervention on premature labor and birth weight. Literature Selection: Comprehensive articles, reports, and guidelines relevant to key concepts and published after 1964 with an emphasis on new findings from 1996 through 2002. Ninety-eight citations were identified as useful to this review. Literature Synthesis: Tobacco use among pregnant women and children's exposure to tobacco use (secondhand smoke) are associated with pregnancy complications such as placental dysfunction (including previa or abruption), preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, spontaneous abortions, and decreased birth weight and infant stature. Neonates and children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for developing otitis media, asthma, other respiratory disorders later in childhood; dying from sudden infant death syndrome; and learning disorders. The "5 A's" intervention and use of descriptive statements for smoking status assessment were synthesized into the SUCCESS project protocol for AWHONN's 6th research-based practice project. Conclusions: The literature review generated evidence that brief, office-based assessment, client-specific tobacco counseling, skill development, and support programs serve as an effective practice guideline for clinicians. Implementation and evaluation of the guideline is under way at a total of 13 sites in the United States and Canada. [source]


Teaching paediatric residents about learning disorders: use of standardised case discussion versus multimedia computer tutorial

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2005
Carolyn Frazer Bridgemohan
Background, We developed a standardised case-based educational exercise on the topic of childhood learning disorders, and a multimedia computerised adaptation of this exercise, as part of a national curriculum project based on the Bright Futures guidelines. Objective, To explore resident perceptions of the facilitated case discussion (FCD) and the computerised tutorial (CT). Design, Quasi-randomised comparison of two educational interventions. Setting, Preclinic teaching conferences at a large urban children's hospital. Participants, A total of 46 paediatric residents years 1,3 assigned to either FCD (n = 21) or CT (n = 25). Interventions, FCD residents met in groups of 8,12 with a trained facilitator for a structured case discussion, while CT residents worked in groups of 2,3 at a computer station linked to an interactive website. Outcome Measures, Participant responses during semistructured focus group interviews. Analysis, Focus group transcripts, field notes and computer logs were analysed simultaneously using qualitative grounded theory methodology. Results, Residents experienced CT as fun, offering flexibility, greater auditory and visual appeal and more opportunities for active learning. FCD allowed greater contact with expert faculty and made the material more relevant to clinical practice. FCD participants emphasised the clinical skills gleaned and stated that the learning experience would change their future patient management. Both groups reported that case discussion was more interactive than computer learning. Median time spent on learning was slightly shorter for the CT group. All groups of learners arrived at the correct final diagnosis. Conclusions, FCD and CT stimulate different types of learning among paediatric residents. Future studies are needed to determine how to integrate these two techniques to meet the learning needs of residents in diverse settings. [source]


Integrating Response to Intervention (RTI) with neuropsychology: A scientific approach to reading

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 9 2008
Steven G. Feifer
This article integrates the fundamental components of both Response to Intervention (RTI) and cognitive neuropsychology when identifying reading disorders in children. Both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology agree the discrepancy model is not a reliable or valid method to identify learning disorders in school. In addition, both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology agree that earlier intervention and the use of evidence-based intervention techniques must permeate the thinking behind any educational reform. Lastly, both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology concur with the National Reading Panel's (2000) five core components of the reading process. Given the similarities between RTI and neuropsychological models of reading, a more integrative assessment model will be introduced to better diagnose and remediate subtypes of reading disorders in children. In summary, it is the author's belief that cognitive neuropsychology will emerge as the leading discipline in forging the inevitable alliance between science and education. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


New Forms of Damage in Negligence

THE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
Donal Nolan
Although damage is an essential component of negligence liability, important extensions of the categories of actionable damage occur with little or no analysis or even acknowledgement of the fact. In this article, consideration is given to a number of new forms of actionable damage which appear either to have received recognition by the courts in recent years, or to be close to receiving such recognition. The article is divided into three core sections, dealing with negligent imprisonment, wrongful conception and educational negligence. The principal conclusions are that redress for negligent imprisonment is best achieved through recognition of imprisonment as actionable damage in negligence; that an unwanted pregnancy is a form of personal injury, albeit an unusual one; that the conventional sum award in wrongful conception cases is best analysed as compensation for a diminution in the parents' autonomy; and that while untreated learning disorders are now treated by the courts as a form of personal injury, in the absence of such a disorder educational under-development ought not to be recognised as actionable damage in its own right. [source]