Ten multihandicapped high-school students in the Dayton (Ohio) Public Schools were trained using a curriculum of independent community social skills, focusing specifically on restaurant skills, travel skills, shopping skills, self-care skills, and skills for visiting a business or government agency. The students made weekly trips into the…

The functional skills activity, "On Your Own," provides an opportunity for adolescents with mild disabilities to apply cognitive and academic skills in the program's four phases (choosing a career, finding an apartment, furnishing the apartment, and learning to budget) involve direct instruction, hands-on activities, small-group discussions, and…

This document describes a project that developed a life skills and financial management curriculum for senior citizens and presented a 10-day workshop series using the curriculum to a group of 20 senior citizen adult basic education students. The project was evaluated as very successful and the curriculum developed was made available for…

Children with autism cannot be taught independent and responsible behavior in the way that most "sociable" children are taught, due to their deficits in social interaction and communication. Children with autism must first build trust in order to feel secure and to be able to concentrate on learning new skills and behaviors. Environmental supports…

This text addresses curriculum development for students with mental retardation based on the premise that it is the primary job of educators to teach these individuals independence skills and also based on criticism of the academic focus of most current instructional approaches. Individual chapters consider the following topics: (1) an overview of…

This guide, part of a series designed to provide practical resources on topics critical to the process of preparing individuals with disabilities for adulthood, focuses on infusing real-life topics into existing elementary and secondary curricula. Chapter 1, "Teaching Real-Life Content," discusses the basic concepts and rationale for teaching life…

This guidebook provides behavioral-instructional strategies for teaching essential personal safety skills and promoting overall well-being to persons with developmental disabilities. Case studies demonstrate these strategies in practice, and detailed curriculum goals are included to guide intervention efforts. To ensure that learners both…

Gathered from teachers around the country, this collection of teaching ideas and lesson plans is designed to provide teachers with activities and strategies for educating students with visual impairments. Tips and information are provided on: making tactile teddy bears; memory strategies; making tactile books; creating art kits; using magnifiers;…

These guidelines were prepared to provide direction toward implementing a functional instruction curriculum that leads to independence and occupational skills for Ohio's developmentally handicapped and multihandicapped students. The curriculum uses a three-part definition of adaptive behavior, involving independent functioning, personal…

This book is written to assist the reader in understanding current thinking in the field of learning disabilities (LD), as well as current practices in that field. Part I describes the characteristics typically associated with LD, and includes the following chapters: "Neurological Basis of Learning Disabilities" (Richard M. Marshall and George W.…

This instructional guide is intended for use by adult education teachers who deal with homeless students either on an occasional or an exclusive basis. An introduction defines homelessness, describes how education can help, and offers a mission statement. The second section focuses on what teachers of the homeless need. It defines categories of…

This first of three manuals providing a curriculum for students with disabilities focuses on the development of functional daily living skills. An introductory chapter provides an overview of the functional curriculum and offers guidelines for developing instructional plans for the four units of study which follow. Unit 1 is about self-care…