The transition to life after high school for students with disabilities and the vital role that school counselors have in assisting the students and their families to achieve success are discussed. As there may be unique requirements for these students in making this transition, it is important that school counselors are acquainted with particular…

Every year, under the federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), millions of children with disabilities receive special services designed to meet their unique needs. Early intervention services are provided through the state to infants and toddlers with disabilities under three years of age and their families. For…

One in every five Americans lives with at least one disability or disorder, including both the obvious, such as those requiring the use of a wheelchair, and the less evident ones, such as eating disorders or Asperger's syndrome. Those responsible for teaching disabled students and providing services and support for them need ready access to…

Students with a hearing loss often have an additional disability. Although the number of deaf students with multiple disabilities is growing, research on this population has significantly decreased over the past quarter-century. The article reviews the literature on identification and placement of deaf students with multiple disabilities,…

The article describes the program at Beech Tree House, an experimental unit providing short-term education for multihandicapped children (9 to 13 years old) with deviant behavior. Sections address the following components: referral and duration of stay, facilities, parents, use of punishment, and research. (SBH)

Alberta Education provides programming support and funding to school authorities to develop and implement special education programming for ECS children and students in grades 1 to 12. "Special Education Coding Criteria 2009/2010" outlines criteria within specific categories to help school authorities identify those children and students…

The two Desiderata programs which each serve 36 severely emotionally handicapped and emotionally handicapped/educationally mentally handicapped students as part of the Phoenix (Arizona) High School program are described. Results of the evaluation concluded that the two programs should be merged for consistency of programing, cost effectiveness,…

Among developmentally disabled persons (N=35,000) young and middle aged adults were found to receive psychotropic medication at higher rates than children, adolescents, or elderly persons. Medication increased with severity of retardation, restrictiveness of residential setting, severity of problem behaviors, and presence of a psychiatric…

Goals of the dual diagnosis movement in the U.S. have been to increase recognition of the mental health disorders of mentally retarded people, develop appropriate assessment techniques, establish both residential and outpatient services, and improve research by clarifying the roles of federal funding agencies. (JDD)

A review of existing emotional disorder assessment techniques confirmed that they are inappropriate for most children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and pay inadequate attention to affective symptoms in these subjects. A new instrument designed to evaluate mood and affect which has shown good interrater agreement is described.…

This paper describes diagnostic methods, treatment approaches, cultural factors, service delivery systems, and governmental roles important in the consideration of the status of mentally retarded people with mental health problems in four Spanish-speaking populations: Chile, Mexico, Spain, and Hispanic groups in the U.S. (JDD)

The Teaching Parents Program at a center for moderately retarded students (5 to 13 years old) who may also be visually handicapped, multiply handicapped, or emotionally disturbed allows parents to learn principles of behavior modification, task analysis, and data collection while working with a child in the classroom. Materials used in the program…

A survey was made of provincial ministries and voluntary associations in nine Canadian provinces and two territories, to assess service provision to mentally retarded citizens with emotional problems. The survey focused on government agencies' involvement in service delivery, settings for short- and long-term care, quality of services available,…

Services for people with mental retardation in the Netherlands are examined, with emphasis on normalization, placement options including group homes and institutionalization, guidance for families through the Social Pedological Service, and the care of mental illness in mentally retarded persons through special diagnostic and treatment centers.…

This article describes the development and validation of the Developmental Behavior Checklist for children with emotional and behavior problems along with mental retardation. The article discusses generating and refining the checklist items, results of a principal components analysis, establishing reliability and construct and criterion validity,…