This page intentionally left blank T ABC L HE S OF EARNING D ISABILITIES Second Edition This page intentionally left blank T ABC L HE S OF EARNING D ISABILITIES Second Edition B Y. L. W ERNICE ONG FacultyofEducation SimonFraserUniversity Burnaby,BritishColumbia Canada L G ORRAINE RAHAM SchoolofEducationalStudies University ofNewEngland Armidale,Australia M AUREEN HOSKYN FacultyofEducation SimonFraserUniversity Burnaby,BritishColumbia Canada J B EANETTE ERMAN CommunicationsandEducationDepartment University ofCanberra ACT,Australia AMSTERDAM • BOSTON (cid:129) HEIDELBERG (cid:129) LONDON NEW YORK (cid:129) OXFORD (cid:129) PARIS (cid:129) SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO (cid:129) SINGAPORE (cid:129) SYDNEY (cid:129) TOKYO Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier CoverDesign:JoanneBlank CoverImages:#iStockphoto,JupiterImages ElsevierAcademicPress 30CorporateDrive,Suite400,Burlington,MA01803,USA 525BStreet,Suite1900,SanDiego,California92101-4495,USA 84Theobald’sRoad,LondonWC1X8RR,UK Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper. Copyright#2008,ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyany means,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformation storageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher. PermissionsmaybesoughtdirectlyfromElsevier’sScience&TechnologyRights DepartmentinOxford,UK:phone:(+44)1865843830,fax:(+44)1865853333, E-mail:[email protected] viatheElsevierhomepage(http://elsevier.com),byselecting“CustomerSupport” andthen“ObtainingPermissions.” LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData TheABCsoflearningdisabilities/editors,BerniceY.L.Wong...[etal.].–2nded. p.cm. Rev.ed.of:TheABCsoflearningdisabilities/BerniceY.L.Wong.c1996. Includesbibliographicalreferences. ISBN-13:978-0-12-372553-0(hardcover:alk.paper)1.Learningdisabledchildren–Education.2.Learning disabilities.3.Learningdisabilities–Research.4.Languagearts.5.Mathematics–Studyandteaching. I.Wong,BerniceY.L.II.Wong,BerniceY.L.ABCsoflearningdisabilities. LC4704.W6452008 371.9–dc22 2007043978 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN13:978-0-12-372553-0 ForallinformationonallElsevierAcademicPresspublications visitourWebsiteatwww.books.elsevier.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 08 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to Sorcha and Jamie Harrop; Joy (Lorraine’s mother); Tom, Corri, and Krysta Hoskyn; Kyle, Evan, and Rhianna Berman; Rod and Kristi Wong. v This page intentionally left blank C ONTENTS Preface xi 1 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 vii viii Contents 2 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 3 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 4 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