This article discusses the extent to which former special needs students--now in their late 20s--achieve economic independence. The emphasis is on class placement--that is, whether being educated in special or regular classes in upper secondary school contributes to favourable occupational outcomes. The empirical evidence is based on interviews of…

Facilitating the learning and participation of pupils with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (herein referred to as AS) in mainstream schools is complex and poorly understood. We report on a small-scale qualitative study of the views and experiences of 20 such pupils drawn from four secondary schools in north-west England. Data were…

Examines the ways in which school counselors are most likely to be affected by the mainstreaming of children with disabilities. Counselors will most likely have expanded roles on multidisciplinary teams, be responsible for promoting acceptance by nondisabled peers, experience more interaction with school social workers and parents, and develop…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on issues in including students with disabilities in regular education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act calls for students to be placed in the least restrictive environment, which is presumed by some educators to be the regular classroom. The drawbacks of separate programs are not felt to be…

Discusses the myths related to inclusive education and offers suggestions for enhancing every child's education. (SR)

Uses school social work practice vignettes to describe strategies for easing disabled students' social and emotional adjustment in inclusive schools. Vignettes explore ways to prepare students to celebrate human differences, to facilitate transitions for new students, to consult collaboratively with teachers, to expand inclusive education…

This paper considers two major movements affecting the lives of people with intellectual disabilities: normalization and inclusion. It reviews the aims, processes, and outcomes of the normalization and social role valorization movement and explores its compatibility with inclusion. Lessons from normalization are applied to the inclusion movement.…

Outlines issues of personality factors/communication style, teaching style/philosophy, and classroom management style that should be explored by teachers before they embark on a collaborative venture into inclusion, where special and general education teachers team for extended periods of the school day. (SR)

Discussion of ways to promote inclusion for individuals with severe disabilities first establishes the principle of normalization, then describes conditions and practices that reflect this principle and foster inclusion across the life span. These include universal design, person-centered planning, self-determination, and positive behavior…

Describes the integration into a hearing classroom environment of a third grader who learns to rely less on other individuals' help and more on her own abilities. Includes list of suggestions for teachers of similar special needs students. (ET)

This booklet presents information helpful in implementing laws intended to extend full societal participation to individuals with disabilities. Information concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA) addresses the law's major provisions, provisions for medically fragile children, amendments and modifications, and case…

These two newsletter issues focus on training strategies for developing more inclusive programs for children with disabilities and for developing collaborative programs. An interview with Dr. Barbara Wolfe addresses successful inservice teacher training strategies. Additional information in the first issue includes guidelines for empowering…

This study examined 95 secondary students' perceptions of teacher adaptations to meet the special learning needs of students in general education classrooms. All students felt they needed further assistance to learn from textbooks and would benefit from using learning strategies. Students also identified grouping preferences and types of…

Examined a teacher-created inclusive environment for elementary students and its endurance in the midst of administrative change, budget cuts, a teachers' strike, and class size reduction. Found that the inclusive environment sustained when teachers shared the vision, resources were available, training was provided, and a culture of inclusion was…

Using a comparative analysis group care for children and young people is examined as an occupational focus, as a field of study and as a domain of practice in programs that range from residential institutions to group homes and kin group foster care. Structural issues that shape the interplay between organizational dynamics and interpersonal…