While historic house museums have traditionally employed verbal-based programming, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often feel most comfortable engaged in sensory learning. Historic house museums, due to their tangibility, have the potential to tap into sensory experiences that can teach history to this audience. Despite this…

The purpose of this document is to provide a brief overview of how links are being developed between the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience and the practice of special education. The first part of the document introduces definitions and terminology, provides an overview of how findings from neuroscience are being applied to the field of…

In this article, the authors describe VSA arts Tennessee's pilot arts in education project and the many good questions that have arisen from it. From VSA's inception in 2002, Lori Kissinger, Executive Director of VSA Tennessee, planned to find a way to partner with the Tennessee Department of Education based on other state models. VSA arts…

The public special education system of the Republic of Azerbaijan is built on the Soviet science of "defectology." In this system, most government-provided educational services segregate children with disabilities in special schools and home environments, separate from children without disabilities and from society at large. From 2005 to…

Six years after the No Child Left Behind Act became law, many states still haven't completed one of its most important tasks: establishing a testing system that meets the law's requirement that they track all students' progress toward proficiency in reading and math. Although the progress has been slow, U.S. Department of Education officials and…

Students with disabilities and special needs have faced challenges in accessing educational content, and in taking traditional pen-and-paper tests. How might technology improve the process, while making statewide tests truly accessible to all students? NimbleTools is the first computer-based test delivery system that incorporates principles of…

The Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Clinic was a pilot project to assess the feasibility and efficacy of providing university-based clinical practicum experiences for students. This program was based on an interdisciplinary model of education. Program evaluation data from patients, faculty, and students supported the success of interdisciplinary…

This article discusses the community-based vocational rehabilitation (CBVR) of persons with disabilities. In 1991, a pilot project was instituted by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme in conjunction with Oyo State Government in Nigeria. The aim was to facilitate the reintegration of persons with…

Describes an innovative intergenerational pilot project, Team Work, in Northern Virginia in which older adult volunteers help disabled young people progress toward secure competitive employment. (BB)

During l978-79, the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) implemented a pilot program to develop a vocational assessment process for handicapped students from secondary special education programs. The evaluation was designed to help students identify their individual interests, skills, and potentials, and thereby plan for realistic careers in…

Technical assistance given to facilitate implementation of continuous progress programs in a Georgia elementary school system is discussed in terms of long-range goals for staff development and general objectives for a continuous progress model and its mainstreaming program. (DS)

This article describes the development and structure of a self-advocacy training program, the Self-Advocacy Leadership Training Institute, to help individuals with disabilities to exercise choice in vocational rehabilitation services and in other areas of life. A pilot program and two institutes were conducted, resulting in the training of 36…

This article synthesizes 55 Quebec (Canada) pilot projects on mainstreaming of pupils with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, physical or sensorial handicaps, or mental handicaps, at preschool and elementary levels. It focuses on extent of integration, interventions, training and support for teachers, and evaluation methodology used.…

A 2-year pilot program in Toronto, Ontario, used in-school learning centers (LC) to enable 60 variously handicapped students in three junior schools to withdraw from self-contained classes and mainstream into regular classes. To develop the program, a Special Education Work Group performed such activities as writing issue papers, visiting 12…

Several Maryland schools are experimenting with Roots and Wings, a collaborative project of Saint Mary's County Schools, the state education department, and Johns Hopkins University. Funded by the New American Schools Development Corporation, the pilot project's goals are to guarantee every child's successful completion of elementary school and to…