This bulletin describes toys and games found to be appropriate for use with children with disabilities. The toys, made by Discovery Toys, include products that promote exploration, play with both hands, sorting and matching, self-awareness, coordination, cause-effect relationships, imagination, construction, language use, and interaction with…

This article aims to strengthen the ability of parents of special needs children to function as stronger, more resilient parents by developing coping mechanisms. Coping mechanisms include allowing oneself to cry, dealing with anger, determining objectively the reasons for the anger, using anger constructively, finding support, becoming flexible,…

One of the goals of higher education is to develop the students' ability to think critically. However, little research has been done to indicate the impact of college on students' critical thinking skills. A study conducted at a midwestern university measured the critical thinking capability of college seniors. Subjects, 37 volunteers derived from…

This series of articles on the sport of soccer considers such topics as: who can play the sport, safety and preventive measures, and tactics and training methods. (JN)

The article discusses training and competing in wheelchair sports. General principles of training, including scheduling and content considerations, are listed. Principles for specific wheelchair events (shotput, discus, and javelin) are detailed. A final part addresses training for the wheelchair pentathlon, which includes archery, swimming,…

Papers from the meeting "Prevention Research: Deterring Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents" which focused on social skills and social inoculation approaches and also included a contrasting cognitive-developmental approach are presented in this document. These papers are included: (1) "Overview of Drug Abuse Prevention Research," (Catherine…

Generating writing ideas is often a serious obstacle for students. Some classroom techniques to help them out of this dilemma include word associating and self-questioning. Students can also construct a matrix chart with the subheadings from their information resources. Once ideas are generated, they can be arranged in appropriate presentation…

Sentence combining can teach students one of the most difficult aspects of the writing process--how to construct effective, versatile sentences. In sentence combining exercises, students take a series of short sentences and combine them into a longer and more elaborate sentence in such a way that the important information from each short sentence…

The popular notion that excellence in sports is inherited is seriously questioned by experts. The belief shared by many sports specialists as well as by some top athletes is that the characteristics that breed success in sports are developed. Sports experts offer the following advice to those who wish to improve their own performance: (1) relax;…

This issue of "Changing Schools" focuses on character education. The lead article, "Character Education: Finding Ways To Foster Ethical Behavior in Youth" by Diane McIntyre Wilber discusses the character education programs that have spread to nearly every type of school, whether public, private, charter, or faith-based. Since…

Adaptive skills are the perceptual, emotional, and behavioral tendencies that are learned at a young age. They can be a major block to competence by affecting one's functioning at the two higher skill levels of functional and work content skills. Because students and faculty relate to each other as members of a family, they can help each other…

This issue focuses on preparing department chairs for their leadership roles. It presents qualities that experienced chairs cite as being crucial to success, and asserts the need to develop formal training programs for people newly appointed to these positions. Articles include: (1) "Midlevel Management in the Community College: A Rose Garden?"…

This newsletter issue focuses on toys, games, and activities that entertain special needs children and sharpen their ability to think, speak, and play with others. Play is beneficial to special children as it develops their creativity, helps them explore their environment, allows them to socialize, and provides opportunities for them to act out…

One of a series dealing with current issues affecting language arts instruction, this paper focuses on spelling. The paper begins with the observation that when people complain that students cannot write, too often they mean that when the students do write, they misspell a few words. After noting that spelling improvement comes from using words in…

This issue addresses the linguistic equalization of men and women in Switzerland. It features articles in four languages (French, German, Italian, and Raeto-Roman), providing an overview over Switzerland's four linguistic regions, new perspectives, and work in progress. The articles include issues such as the "masculinization of the German…