This qualitative study addresses the need for campus-based programming that allows students to practice adaptive coping skills and increase well-being. Eight focus groups and seven individual interviews were conducted with students participating in credit-based leisure education courses to understand self-reported health-related motivations and…

The acquisition of independent living and leisure skills enables adults to experience an enhanced quality of life by increasing competence, self-reliance, and the development of autonomy. This study examined the effectiveness of simultaneous prompting to teach behavior chains (i.e., independent living and leisure skills) to adults with SID…

The Leisure and Recreation Behavior Evaluation (LRBE) measure is intended for use by direct care staff of mentally handicapped adults. The LRBE evaluates an individual's level of independence for a leisure or recreation behavior on a 4-point rating scale for 30 aspects divided into six major categories: (1) the activity, (2) preparation and…

This curriculum outline for the Sevier County, Tennessee, transition program for special needs students provides goals and objectives for the following domains: domestic, vocational, community functioning, and recreation/leisure. The domestic domain covers personal hygiene/grooming, first aid, home nursing, birth control/pregnancy, parenting, drug…

This book is one in a series of four volumes presenting a functional curriculum for students with disabilities, and addresses the three areas of interpersonal competence, competitive job-finding, and leisure-time skills. The curriculum, although meant primarily for teachers functioning within a special setting, can also assist collaborative teams…

Described is the "Taxonomy of Community Living Skills," a guide for curriculum developers. Experts (n=59) in mental retardation were surveyed to assess the taxonomy's coherence, appropriateness, completeness, etc. Responses to the model's five domains (personal maintenance and development, homemaking and community life, vocational,…

Parents (N=202) of students with severe/profound disabilities were surveyed concerning their children's educational programing in four curricular domains: domestic, community, vocational, and leisure. Parent satisfaction with programing was high. They rated the domestic domain as most important, the vocational next, the community third, and…

The importance of leisure education for severely disabled students is emphasized as a means of enabling them to purposefully use leisure time and to expand social and motor skills that facilitate independent daily living. Sample activities for inclusion in physical education programs are included. (DG)

The assessment of interests, skills, and needs of handicapped students related to work, home, community, and leisure should begin at a very young age and be closely connected to a functional curriculum. A framework for developing a community-wide interagency career assessment process is described. (Author/DB)

The Employment Training and Transition Model is presented as a comprehensive classroom model whose goal is to prepare students with severe handicaps to work, live, and recreate in their home communities while in high school and after graduation. The model is built on the assumption that high school programs should be integrated, age-appropriate,…

The need for a core curriculum for students with visual impairments, including those with additional disabilities, is evaluated. The curriculum's components include compensatory or functional academic skills, orientation and mobility, social interaction, independent living skills, recreation and leisure skills, career education, technology, and…

The Transition to the World of Work program of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools emphasizes developing functional skills and the ability to apply these skills outside the school. The ultimate goals of the program are to help students obtain meaningful, paid employment and function successfully in the community. The program provided…

The purpose of Project COMPETE is to use previous research and exemplary practices to develop and validate a model and training sequence to assist retarded youth to make the transition from school to employment in the most competitive environment possible. The taxonomy described in this project working paper focuses on instructional objectives in…

As participants in a "choice training" program, three moderately/severely handicapped adolescents were reinforced or prompted first to select a leisure activity and then to sustain the activity for gradually longer periods of time with decreasing teacher supervision. Results included sustained activity maintenance from one week to four months…

A community-centered recreational program that has served 12 mentally retarded young adults is described. Major features of the Rec Club include specific skill training activities and enhancement of independent recreational activities conducted in commercial community settings (e.g., bowling alley). Assistance is reduced as participants' skills…