An examination was conducted by a teacher who was interested in how the responses of three multihandicapped students (7-8 years old) differed in one-to-one and one-to-three instructional arrangements given (1) the physical limitations of the students; (2) an activity that demanded much physical prompting; and (3) limited instructional resources.…

An estimated 6,000 children and youth in Ramsey County have severe, long-term difficulties that make it very hard for them to function at home, at school, and in the community. The suffering and hardship for these children and youth is severe. The harm also extends beyond the youth themselves, affecting their families, their schools, their…

Nine teachers in programs serving school-aged children or adults with severe disabilities received training on applying rules in data-based instructional decisions. After one-two years of implementation, the teachers' decision making and the effect of these decisions on student progress were evaluated. Some support was found for the benefit of…

The study evaluated developmental progress in three groups of infants (9-30 months) presenting Down syndrome (n=28), mild disability (n=16), or moderate/severe disabilities (n=16). To evaluate intervention impact, formulas that measure rate of development and change in rate of development were computed. Findings indicated rate change formulas were…

Evaluation of a leisure skill instruction program with five high school age students with severe disabilities found generalization of trained skills in activities with nondisabled peers. Additionally, attitude scores of high school peers showed a significant improvement following four months of interaction with a disabled student. (DB)

This paper presents an example of "optimistic research," a qualitative approach which focuses on positive interventions helpful to practitioners, in this case an examination of programs successfully integrating people with severe disabilities. The study evaluated 40 programs through site visits which focus on observation, interviews, and…

This conference proceedings document serves to establish the state of the art, highlight important methodological and conceptual issues, and identify priorities for future research in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. The document includes the papers from two opening presentations, issue papers and reactant papers, a…

This project studied the use of still picture telephones by four Swedish adults (ages 25-45) with profound mental retardation and additional severe disabilities. After 5 to 6 months of subjects employing still picture telephones on a regular basis in their daily lives, relatives, staff from group homes, and other caregivers completed…