This guide offers specific recommendations to Texas school districts concerning the implementation of least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements for students with disabilities. Suggestions are grouped according to six issues recommended for consideration in the decision making process: These are: (1) the primacy of the individual student's…

This digest uses a question-and-answer format to summarize basic issues about the inclusion of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in classrooms with normal hearing students. It briefly reviews the history of the inclusion movement and identifies two general positions in the debate: (1) that all students have the right to go to school with…

Part 3 of a series on developing learning stations for gifted and talented students, the article discusses the various mental processes and components that evoke individual growth and flavor in the gifted child's life and act as foundation stones for future creative productivity. For Parts 1 and 2, see EJ 206 375 and EJ 211 095. (Author/DLS)

Intended for parents of gifted children, this book, in Spanish, stresses the importance of positive relationships between parents and teachers as they work to meet children's academic, emotional, and social needs. Individual chapters address the following topics: (1) parenting the gifted child as a wild roller coaster ride; (2) determining whether…

This guide examines the evolution of human services systems toward the recognition that individuals with handicaps can make consumer choices and should be included in decision-making sessions. Consumers with disabilities are seeking empowerment through their presence and participation in political processes and community events. Choices regarding…

In this book, the methodology of cooperative learning, defined as the teaching strategy that involves children's participation in small group learning activities that promote positive interaction, is applied to early childhood education. The book contains the following chapters: (1) A Rationale for Cooperative Learning with Young Children, which…

This paper presents a functional approach to assessment and associated program development for individuals with severe disabilities, with emphasis on informal strategies that target beginning communicative levels. In the first section, form, function, and context (three components of any communicative act) are defined and described. Three…

This issue presents two articles on the use of data to improve results for students with disabilities. The first paper examines how researchers supported by the Office of Special Education Programs are discovering innovative uses of scientifically derived information in instructional and administrative decision making as well as strategies for…