What do we know about young children with delays and disabilities, and how can we help them succeed in prekindergarten through third grade? To begin with, Kathleen Hebbeler and Donna Spiker write, identifying children with delays and disabilities to receive specialized services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act poses several…

Children in a vegetative state (VS) and a minimally conscious state (MCS) experience severe limitations as a consequence of nervous system deficits and require consistent environmental support. However, disability in VS and MCS children has never been described following a model that accounts for the presence of the symptoms, limitations and the…

Given the negative outcomes associated with problem behavior and the heightened risk for children with disabilities to display problematic behavior, the current study implemented hierarchical linear modeling to explore the growth trajectories of problem behavior in a nationally representative sample of preschool children with disabilities. Results…

The Ministry of Education's special education policy (commonly referred to as SE2000) has been progressively implemented since 1996. Although it is a funding rather than a professional-practice policy, it has had some negative and unintended consequences for the practice of educational psychology, for special education and it is suggested, for…

One important goal of Swedish educational policies is to integrate all pupils within regular education, irrespective of disability or difficulties in school, and to adjust education to individual needs. The aim of this paper was to explore how schools "socially construct", i.e. identify and support, pupils with special educational needs.…

This paper discusses various approaches to the phenomenon of disability in relation to special needs. Ever since disability researchers launched the social model of disability and criticised the field of special education for preserving an understanding of disability in accord with a medical model, the special education field has been in a state…

Reported here are the results of analyses to describe the patterns of identification and academic and developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, conducted as part of the 2004 National Assessment of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This report provides background context for National…

English language learners with disabilities (ELLWD) face many challenges in their academic career. Learning a new language and coping with their disabilities create obstacles in their academic progress. Variables relegating accessibility of assessments for students with disabilities and ELL students may seriously hinder the academic performance of…

The article summarizes concurrent policy and practice concerning categorical and noncategorical diagnostic procedures for young handicapped children. The strengths and weaknesses of four noncategorical policy options are discussed. Potential misuses of noncategorical policies are reviewed, and recommendations for policy research are offered.…

This classification system is intended to offer a conceptual framework for information; the framework is relevant to the long-term consequences of disease, injuries or disorders, and applicable both to personal health care, including early identification and prevention, and to the mitigation of environmental and societal barriers. It begins with…

This reprint of one chapter from the 1975 text, "Issues in the Classification of Children" by Nicholas Hobbs and others, addresses the theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues involved in the "labeling" approach to the sociology of deviance. It examines the social process of classification, the use of classification in social agencies,…

This report presents findings of an audit of the New York State Education Department's Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID). The audit concluded that VESID oversight of school districts may not be adequately targeting formal reviews of special education programs to those districts that pose the…

This research analyzes similarities and differences in how students with disabilities are identified in national databases, through examination of 19 national data collection programs in the U.S. Departments of Education, Commerce, Justice, and Health and Human Services, as well as databases from the National Science Foundation. The study found…

This reprinted paper was originally published in 1981 and addresses issues of classification of children with disabilities in the United Kingdom. It considers several "within-child" and several interactive models in special education and concludes by encouraging the stating of children's special educational needs rather than…

A study of 51,624 Michigan students declassified from special education indicated that the students were academically, socially, and behaviorally well adjusted in general education programs. Teachers and counselors felt that 11% continued to need special education. Four percent of declassified students returned to special education within three…