Skateboarding, widely popular and often misunderstood, occupies a unique space in US society. Despite skateboarding's popularity little is known about the effects of skateboarding on youth and their educational and career trajectories. This report outlines the current landscape of skateboarding at this socio-historical moment in time--prior to…

Leisure activity is a significant factor in the personal-social adjustment of mentally handicapped adults. A particular leisure activity that holds promise for the development and appplication of age-appropriate social behavior is table games. Table games allow for participants to engage in problem-solving activities, sophisticated interpersonal…

A traditional view of social skills instruction, which is antithetical to promoting children's social development, is presented. Three explanations of social development are then outlined within the context of social integration of students with disabilities. Recommendations for general educators to promote children's social skills are offered,…

This article describes strategies to assist toddlers with special needs in inclusive settings to acquire social interaction skills. Strategies include: (1) arranging the environment; (2) group affection activities; (3) imitation of peers; (4) teacher prompts; (5) teacher reinforcement; (6) correspondence training; and (7) peer-mediated…

A step-by-step guide is presented for developing and implementing a social interaction intervention based on a study of an inclusive preschool program. Steps include developing a data collection system, selecting observation time, collecting baseline data, identifying target children, developing social interaction skills intervention, monitoring…

This training package includes a Facilitator Manual and a Participant Manual designed to provide information and instructional tools necessary to train Guam employers on awareness and skills related to the successful employment of individuals with disabilities. Module 1 dispels misconceptions and stereotypes related to disabilities. Attitudes and…

This practicum aimed to decrease the social isolation of preschool children with special needs in a mainstreamed day care setting by: (1) increasing initiatives by typical children towards four special needs children; (2) increasing social bids or responses by special needs children toward typical children; and (3) increasing positive…

Functional curricula are intended to facilitate the development of age-appropriate skills that are essential for participation of individuals with autism within a diversity of integrated environments. When one is considering which skills to teach, the longitudinal process of promoting increased independence throughout life must be considered, and…

Evaluation of integrated versus segregated schooling of 91 children with severe developmental disabilities found that integrated children spent less time with therapists, equal time with special education teachers, more time with other children, and less time alone. No differences were found on developmental skills; however, integrated children…

This sourcebook was developed to assist in systematically integrating persons with autism into the community. It offers practical methods and considerations in assessing student and family interests and needs, assessing community resources to meet the needs, and assessing students in community sites. Based on the assessments, individual student…

This project sought to develop a model for integrating students with severe disabilities which would include a strong social interaction programming component. The first section of the teacher's manual describes processes the special education teacher and/or administrator can use for determining and implementing overall integration objectives. A…