Children with disabilities are at increased risk of health risk factors including obesity, often because of low levels of physical activity and limited participation in sports. However, organized adaptive sports programs are increasingly available for individuals with disabilities. This article provides recommendations for establishing successful…

The work group report identifies three priority areas for improved community services for disabled adolescents: (1) service systems deficient because of lack of consumer orientation, integration, access to services and systemwide planning, (2) inadequate leadership, and (3) lack of adequate accountability. (CL)

This monograph presents principles and insights drawn from interviews and scholarly sources on the development of friendships between persons with disabilities and the nondisabled. Vignettes at the end of each chapter illustrate the chapter's principles. The first chapter looks at why friends are important and discusses intimacy and affection,…

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper reviews the literature defining "mainstreaming," notes that mainstreaming is not the wholesale return of exceptional students from…

The book examines approaches for developing supports for families with special needs. Following a brief introduction to the needs of families with disabled family members, a section considers basic questions to be used in determining the needs of individuals within the family and of the family as a whole. An example of short-term care services is…

A pilot project in rural Mississippi provided supported employment services to five handicapped persons. The project combined professional resources available through a community-based developmental disabilities program with existing community resources and social network systems. Project components, project development, and individual client…

Four papers focus on the processes involved in developing a community team for providng services to handicapped preschoolers. Jerry Elder and Elynor Kazuk review steps in beginning a community team approach in "Getting Started," including the mechanics of planning and conducting an initial meeting to explain the advantages of collaborative…

The workbook suggests a concrete procedure for initiating a cooperative effort to collect and summarize information so that plans can be made for serving handicapped preschoolers. Once the workbook is completed, it can be used as a baseline for evaluating the progress of community activities, to make revisions in the plans and to share changes…

This fact sheet focuses on principles and practices of collaboration, especially between community crisis nursery and respite care services for families of children with special needs. First, the paper distinguishes among various ways to share resources, including networking, coordination, cooperation, and then collaboration, which is seen as…

The report is based on a 1982 conference on the status of independent living programs, community based programs run by disabled persons to provide advocacy and support services to the disabled community. The philosophy of independent living is reviewed and its attributes of community responsiveness, provision of support services and advocacy, and…

The Coimbra Early Intervention Project was undertaken in Portugal to develop the first coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency program involving health care, education, and social service, using existing resources in the community. The program now operates regionwide and supports more than 100 families and children with disabilities or at…

The study examines the status of behavioral management services for disabled persons in Alberta, Canada, and offers recommendations regarding alternative service delivery models for the Northwest Region of Alberta. Existing systems are addressed in terms of centralized service models, outreach service models, and combined residential and outreach…

The team member's collaborative planning guide and leader's handbook are designed to help the reder work effectively with others to improve career related opportunities for handicapped persons in the community by addresssing and overcoming common barriers to interagency collaboration. The leader's handbook offers guidelines for conducting four…

The implementation guide for special education administrators and teachers provides a review and synthesis of programing in experienced based career education (EBCE) for the handicapped, describes exemplary programs, and gives implementation guidelines. The first chapter provides background information, an overview, and summaries of legislation…