This paper describes the need for and the structure of a socialization program designed to provide a social environment for five deaf adults with developmental disabilities residing in two different group homes. The program was developed to address the isolation experienced by such adults living in a community with others who do not use sign…

An instrument was developed to obtain data relevant to why minorities with developmental disabilities drop out of the service delivery system in Wisconsin. The questionnaire, after being pre-tested and revised, was sent to agencies, organizations, and schools, and to individuals with developmental disabilities who agreed to participate in the…

This report discusses the findings of a study that investigated whether the New York State Education Department's Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) has improved its oversight of special education by implementing a system for evaluating the performance of special education programs, and whether…

This report from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a federal agency that coordinates and promotes public and private efforts to enhance the employment of people with disabilities, describes committee activities during Fiscal Year 1999 (October 1, 1998- September 30, 1999). The first part of the report profiles…

Recent consensus reports concur in suggesting major changes in the federal regulatory approach to the identification of learning disabilities (LD). These reports recommend abandoning the IQ-discrepancy model and the use of IQ tests for identification, and also recommend incorporation of response to instruction (RTI) as one of the identification…

This "Third Annual Report Card" looks at improvements in the cradle-to-career educational pipeline, the areas where Boston has made modest progress but still has a great deal of work to do, and the places where observers have failed to see the gains that are needed to ensure that Boston is a city of opportunity for all. This report card…

The report summarizes a study of the individualization process for teaching handicapped students. Relationships were examined among three forms of the individual plan: the contractual plan, as written in the individualized education program (IEP) document; the phenomenological plan, the teacher's intent for the program; and the empirical plan, the…

Visits to 10 schools and residential centers in eight countries were made to investigate international applications of ecological models in the psychoeducational treatment of behavior disordered children. The ecological approach differs from other approaches because it views the problem as a disturbance in the relationship and reciprocity between…

The paper proposes a methodological expansion in evaluation research--an eco-behavioral approach. Implications of using the eco-behavioral approach in the evaluation of preschool programs for the disabled are discussed. This methodology is said to allow both determination of early intervention effectiveness and specification of factors responsible…

The article describes a program model that provides ongoing supported employment within a normal industrial setting to six persons previously judged to have severe disabilities. After one year, employees have dramatically increased earnings and productivity over previous earnings and national averages, and public costs have declined to one-third…

A program to meet special needs of fathers of young handicapped children provided them with information and access to professional and peer support. Preliminary results indicated that participants reported lower stress and depression and higher satisfaction with social support than parents newly enrolled in the program. (Author/CL)

Meta-analysis techniques were employed to integrate statistically the findings from 74 studies on early intervention with handicapped preschoolers. Findings indicate that early intervention produces positive sizeable effect size; that longer, more intense programs are associated with efficacy; and that little support was found for commonly held…

A parent training program emphasizing acquisition of general (as opposed to task-specific) techniques facilitated spontaneous generalization of parenting skills from the school to the home for one parent, but not for a second parent. (Author/CL)

In discussing the effectiveness of precision teaching, three questions are addressed: (1) What is different or unique about it? (2) What kind of data are necessary to prove that precision teaching affects learning? and (3) What evidence supports its use? (Author/CL)

Results of teacher ratings of 383 6-11 year olds in therapeutic classes (Israeli resource rooms) revealed a combination of behavioral and academic problems as reasons for referral; an overall inprovement in academic, social, and behavioral functioning; and differences in levels of teachers' cooperation related to levels of pupil performance. (CL)