The efficiency of Myklebust's pupil rating scale for detecting reading and arithmetic difficulties

Establishing Normative Data for the Number Cancelation Test Among Children in Kindergartens and Primary Schools in China

This study aimed to suggest an attention assessment tool using a Digital Pen for measuring the temporal-spatial parameters during the Number Cancelation Test (NCT), and then to establish the normative data for the NCT among children in kindergartens and primary schools in China by recruiting a total of 989 children (496 males). Four measures, i.e., selective attention (SA), speed of cognitive processing (SpC), averaged time of circlings (ATC), and averaged circumference of circled curves (ACCC), were proposed to evaluate the NCT performance. They basically have a development trend with fast speed in the beginning before Grade 1 or 2 of primary schools, and then enter an extremely slow development period (with ceiling or floor effect). SA and SpC have gender and grade main effects, while ATC and ACCC have the grade main effect, only. In particular, females have higher SA scores than males in middle class of kindergarten, and Grade 2-Grade 5 of primary school, but no gender differences in other grades; females have higher SpC scores than males in middle class of kindergarten, and Grade 3-4 of primary school, but no gender differences in other grades. More importantly, in clinical practice, if SA or SpC measure of a child is below than the 5th centile (i.e., p5 level) of his/her grade-specific normative data, then this child may be predicted to have a high-risk of learning disabilities. Findings suggest that the proposed method can be used for early screening of learning disabilities by setting appropriate cut-off values.

Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging as Predictor of Learning Disabilities in Extremely Low Birth Weight

It is difficult to predict the risk of the development of learning disabilities among extremely low birth weight neonates (birth weight > 501 and > 1000 g). In this study we assessed the relationship between the dilatation of the lateral ventricles on cerebral magnetic resonance (MRI) taken at the post-gestational age of 40 weeks and learning disabilities at school age. The means area of lateral ventricles of the learning disabilities-suspected group was significantly larger than that of the control group (396.4 and 281.7 mm2, respectively; P < 0.01). There were no differences between the groups of children in gestation, birth weight and developmental quotient at school age. We could say that the dilatation of lateral ventricles assessed by MRI performed at the correct term may be a predictor of learning disabilities recognisable at school age.

Cranial computed tomography scans of premature babies predict their eventual learning disabilities

It remains difficult to predict, early enough to intervene effectively, the risk of the development of learning disabilities among extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (birth weights less than 1,000 g). We prospectively studied the relationship between dilatations of lateral ventricles of the cranial computed tomography (CT) scan taken at the postconceptional age of 40 weeks and learning disabilities in their school age. Using a computer digitizer, we measured the areas of ventricles on cranial CT scans. The mean area of lateral ventricles of the learning disabilities-suspected group was significantly larger than that of the control group (392.9 and 277.4 mm2, respectively; P < .01). There were no significant differences between the two groups in gestation, birth weight, physical measurements, and developmental quotients at early school age. The dilatation of the lateral ventricles assessed by cranial CT at the corrected term may be one of the first predictors of learning disabilities recognizable at early school age.

Early reading performance: a comparison of teacher-based and test-based assessments

An unresolved question in early screening is whether test-based or teacher-based assessments should form the basis of the classification of children at risk of educational failure. Available structured teacher rating scales are lacking in predictive validity, and teacher predictions of students likely to experience reading difficulties have yielded disappointing true positive rates, with teachers failing to identify the majority of severely disabled readers. For this study, three educational screening instruments were developed: (a) a single teacher rating, categorizing children into three levels of reading ability (advanced, average, poor); (b) a 15-item teacher questionnaire designed to measure students' cognitive and language ability, attentional and behavioral characteristics, and academic performance; and (c) a battery of language and reading tests that are predictive of, or correlate with, reading failure. The concurrent validity of each instrument was assessed in a sample of 312 Australian schoolchildren from kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Students were assessed at the end of the 1989 school year after having completed 1, 2, or 3 years of schooling. The results suggest that the nature of the skills required for success in reading changes in the first 3 years of schooling. Both teachers and tests concur more closely as children progress through the elementary years and as the risk behavior (reading) becomes more accessible to direct measurement. Carefully focused teacher rating scales may be a cost-effective means of identifying children at risk of reading failure. Improved teacher rating scales should be developed and used to assist in the early screening process.