Ginger Blalock is an educational consultant in the area of career development and transition for youth with special needs, currently serving as facilitator for the NMPED-funded Transition Outcomes Project and Statewide Transition Coordinating Council, educational consultant for Technet's administration of the NMDWS WIRED Project (Workforce…

Although "the good life" is a concept not easily defined or agreed upon, without a doubt it is something people want and strive to achieve. For young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID), efforts toward the good life are often hindered by harsh realities and numerous challenges encountered on the road to adulthood. School librarians can play…

Older people with a lifelong disability, such as intellectual disability, face significant barriers to enjoying "active ageing" as they transition into retirement. Active ageing involves enhancement of quality of life through optimising the health, participation, and security of individuals and populations (World Health Organization [WHO], 2002).…

Much has been made of the advantages of active support and person-centred planning, both of which have gradually been evolving and changing over the last 25-30 years. The latter is now mandated in the UK as part of the "Valuing People" strategy on disability (Department of Health UK, 2001), and is also central to the follow-up policy…

Discusses community development strategies for preventing resistance against community-based learning disability projects with illustrations from the Hong Kong experience. Suggests that community acceptance requires fundamental changes in images projected by the media and service providers along with involvement of the government and social…

This article first differentiates educational and transitional services for students with significant disabilities, ages 18-21, and then reviews options for age-appropriate educational and transition experiences for this population. These include: (1) programs that serve public school students on college campuses and in community settings and (2)…

This article comments on a study that found teachers believed that both inclusive education and community-based instruction were effective in preparing students with disabilities for adulthood. It argues that secondary students should be members of age-appropriate high school classes and receive educational and community-based services during…

Discusses community-based assessment and how it was linked with the job-matching process to assist students with severe disabilities in the job development and placement process. (JOW)

Current approaches to instruction of students with autism and severe behavioral disorders are reviewed, specifically the behavioral framework and the community adaptation framework. In contrast to such approaches, which overemphasize teacher control over student behavior, a facilitative approach to enhancing students' communicative competence is…

This report describes deliberations and recommendations of a Maryland task force to examine issues and develop policy recommendations related to "special instruction" as an early intervention service. It specifically concerns the relationship between special instruction and specialized child care; personnel qualifications; and provision…