Cognitive Processing in Mild Disabilities.

Research regarding the cognitive processing of students with learning disabilities, mild mental handicap, and emotional handicap is reviewed. In considering cognitive processing for students with mild mental handicap, research attention has been directed to the issues of memory and learning, acquisition and retrieval deficits, inefficient strategic plans, executive function, inadequate tactics and metastrategies implementation, production anomalies, and levels of processing. The following major topics have been addressed in cognitive processing research for students with emotional handicap: memory and learning, intellectual functioning, information processing, and levels of processing. The review found that there has been more research on cognitive processing of students with learning disabilities and mild mental handicap than on students with emotional handicap. The paper concludes that the argument used to support that students with mild disabilities have processing deficiency can also be used to suggest that they have neurological problems and structural differences. However, students' task performance can be improved with the appropriate use of learning strategies. (Contains 60 references.) (SW)