Abstract. Although written language plays a critical role in academic success, little empirical evidence exists on the normal development of processes involved in producing written products. Even less is known about the writing performance of LD children. This study empirically compared the written products of LD and normal students at three grade levels on The Test of Written Language. Results showed that LD subjects scored significantly lower than normal subjects on most written expression abilities, especially in the mechanical tasks of spelling, punctuation, and word usage.The importance of written language to the success of any student in public schools cannot be overstated. Courses with varying titles--Language Arts, English, Rhetoric, Composition-have been the joy or pain of all students who have attempted to endure the educational system designed to make them literate. Still more significant is the fact that, from at least the intermediate grades through college, writing becomes the major means by which students demonstrate their knowledge and the major tool through which teachers evaluate student performance in all content areas. Considering the role of written language in a student's educational well-being, the amount of meaningful, research-based information regarding the nature of normal students' written products and their writing processes is discouraging (Petty, 1978). The works of Hunt (1965, 1966, 1977), Loban (1963Loban ( , 1966Loban ( , 1967 ability to convey thoughts, ideas, and understandings through writing. A growing number of researchers are voicing the concern that the least is known about the processes we go through as we prepare to write, as we write, and as we revise (Petty, 1978; Britton, 1978; Emig, 1978).The role of written language in school success is even more significant for the learning disabled (LD) child. Lerner (1976) considered poor writing skills to be the most prevalent communicative disability of learning disabled children. In a recent study at the Kansas Research Institute in Learning Disabilities (Research Report #13), poor written expression ability was determined to be a major characteristic distinguishing learning disabled high school students from their nondisabled peers. The importance of writing to survival and appropriate performance in the regular classroom necessitates that educators of learning disabled students understand the unique needs of their students, especially if integration in the regular classroom is to be the primary goal of remediation and compensation.Slim indeed is the research describing the differences between normal and learning disabled individuals' writing processes and their writing performance. The work of Myklebust (1965, 1973) has been considered the major source of information regarding the written language of the learning disabled and the writing of learning disabled and normal individuals. Using his test, The Picture Story Language Test (PSLT, 1965), designed to "... study the development and disorders of written language" (197...

This article reviews the results of 38 studies which attempted to train children in psycholinguistic skills and which used the ITPA as the criterion of improvement. It was concluded that the effectiveness of such training has not been conclusively demonstrated and therefore that the rapid expansion of psycholinguistic training programs seems unwarranted.

Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance) or environmental influences (e.g., cultural differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors), it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences.In 1981, after prolonged discussion and compromise, the representatives of the six organizations that constitute the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) reached unanimous agreement on a new definition of learning disabilities. The NJCLD comprises representatives from: the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities (ACLD), the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD), the Division for Children with Communication Disorders (DCCD), the International Reading Association (IRA), and The Orton Dyslexia Society (formerly The Orton Society).As the definition will undoubtedly receive considerable attention from the professional community, we felt that the membership of CLD would be interested in knowing (a) the reasons why the NJCLD considered a new statement to be needed; (b) the procedures followed by the Committee in generating the definition; (c) the Committee's intended meaning for each phrase in the definition; and (d) the current status of the definition. We would like to point out that this article is based on our participation (as CLD representatives) in the NJCLD meetings. To ensure accuracy, we have asked all NJCLD members who participated in the formulation of this definition to review this manuscript prior to its publication.

No abstract

A review of studies using correlational statistical procedures to examine the relationship of reading to measures of auditory discrimination, memory, blending, and auditory-visual integration is presented. The consensus of this research suggests that the auditory skills are not sufficiently related to reading to be particularly useful for school practice. The conclusions provide information regarding the desirability of training these skills with the aim of increasing reading ability. The direction future research must take to further explore the relation of other auditory variables to reading is indicated.