The ABCs of Learning Disabilities / Edition 2

by Bernice Wong, Lorraine Graham, Maureen Hoskyn, Jeanette Berman

Overview

The ABCs of Learning Disabilities, Second Edition, discusses major research findings on learning disabilities in children, adolescents and adults in language, memory, social skills, self-regulation, reading, mathematics, and writing, with an additional chapter on assessment. This concise primer is intended for use as an undergraduate introductory text to the field. Written with an evenness of tone, breadth, and depth, the conveys an engaging style meant to encourage the beginning student to identify the “big picture” and to be interested in conceptual issues as well as research findings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780123725530
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	02/29/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bernice Wong is Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia. Prior to retirement, her passion had been writing intervention research with students with and without learning disabilities. In retirement, her love for writing has transformed from academic writing to short stories about interesting events in her life.

Table of Contents

Preface     xi
Learning Disabilities: From Past to Present     1
The Influence of Europe (1800-1920)     1
The Influence of America (1920-1960)     3
The Rise and Consolidation of the Learning Disabilities Field (1963-1985)     7
Definitions of Learning Disabilities     8
Some Additional Points     10
Etiology     13
Genetic Contributions to Reading and Writing Disabilities     14
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)     15
Characteristics of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Learning Disabilities     17
Achievements in the Learning Disabilities Field     19
Winds of Change     21
Critique of RTI     27
Summary     32
References     32
Language and Learning Disabilities     37
What Is Language?     38
How does Children's Language Develop?     40
Early Language Development and Learning Disabilities     43
Communication of Children with Learning Disabilities     46
Phonology     47
The Timing Hypothesis     49
Morphology     51
Lexical Knowledge and Access     53
Syntax     54
Discourse     55
Summary     55
References     57
Working Memory and Learning Disabilities     63
Working Memory and Learning Disabilities     63
The Construct of Working Memory     64
Theories of Working Memory and Working Memory Development     65
Constructivist Theories of Working Memory Development     66
Information Processing Models and Learning Disabilities     70
Summary     81
References     82
Social Dimensions of Learning Disabilities     89
Introduction     89
The Beginning     89
Social Cognitive Problems     101
Self-Understanding     108
Loneliness     114
The Risk and Resilience Theoretical Framework     117
Social Competence Interventions     121
Future Directions for Research     127
Summary     129
References     129
Self-Regulation and Learning Disabilities     133
Characteristics of the Whole Learner     133
Components of Self-Regulated Learning     134
Self-Regulation and Learning Disabilities: A Summary     143
Assessment of Aspects of Self-Regulation     144
Instructional Approaches     146
Cognitive Education     146
General Classroom Instruction for Self-Regulation     147
Concluding Comments and Continuing Questions     147
Summary     149
References     149
Assessment for Learning     153
A Classroom Framework for Assessment     154
Why Assess Learning?     155
What Are We Assessing?     155
How Do We Assess Learning?     156
Adapted Conventional Assessment Procedures     159
Alternative Assessment Procedures     160
Interpretation of Assessment Information     166
Conclusions     167
Summary     170
References     170
Reading     175
Reading: Word Recognition     175
Summary of Word Recognition Section     178
Reading: Reading Comprehension     178
Summary of Difficulties in Reading Comprehension Experienced by Students with Learning Disabilities     183
Effective Reading Comprehension Instruction     184
Implementing Effective Instructional Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities     185
Improving Students' Comprehension of Narrative Text     186
Improving Students' Comprehension of Expository Text     189
Conclusion     192
Summary     193
References     194
Mathematics     197
Mathematics     197
What Is Mathematics?     198
Mathematics Development and Communication     200
Mathematics and Learning Disabilities     204
Origins of Mathematics-Learning Disabilities     206
Summary     211
References     213
Writing Instruction     217
Prior Training     231
Instructional Foci     232
Training     233
Summary     255
References     258
Appendix I     260
Appendix II     263
Author Index     267
Subject Index     277

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A concise, introductory textbook to the field of learning disabilities.

Editorial Reviews

An undergraduate text introducing the concepts central to understanding learning disabilities and reviewing research findings, assessment, and remediation. Wong (editor, Learning about Learning Disabilities) comprehensively defines the field of learning disability study beginning with its history (its recognized birth date is only 1963), characteristics of children with various learning challenges such as ADHD, the function of memory in learning, the meaning of metacognition, and specific strategies used to challenge problems in reading, computation, and writing. Includes diagrams and charts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"The breadth of pertinent information packed into the 237 pages of text of this book is most impressive. The wide scope of essential material is presented succinctly and in a very readable and engaging style. The author did a tremendous job of selecting from current and relevant literature across different areas an summarizing the material into a very cohesive whole... The book is an excellent potential text for any undergraduate or beginning graduate class on learning disabilities. This book would also be valuable for special educators, regular classroom teachers, school psychologists, speech pathologists, and other education and health care professionals...It is rare to see a book that covers both the research and the practical applications components of a field so well." —CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY

From the Publisher