The paper describes approaches and findings of an evaluation of 10 advocacy projects providing services to developmentally disabled and mentally ill persons across the country. The projects included internal rights protection organizations, independent legal advocacy mechanisms, self-advocacy training centers, and legal advocacy providers in…

The paper describes the planning, preparation and conduct of an academic treatment program for 120 adjudicated delinquents identified as learning disabled (LD). The remediation program, conducted in three locales, each representing a different demographic focus, was based on an academic treatment model incorporating elements of process training…

The report summarizes an evaluation of the effects of summer programs on the behaviors and skills of 186 severely handicapped children. Programs were categorized by their orientation and by their length, resulting in five groupings: (1) 6-week high structure (educational skill and behavior goal-oriented), (2) medium structure (mixed recreational…

Two assumptions underlying preschool programs for high risk students are examined: the belief that measurement instruments are available for diagnosing children who will eventually require some form of special education and that intervention will be beneficial to the child. Diagnosis favors teacher interaction with the student in an instructional…

The study explored preparation of 38 instructors of motor skills for the handicapped through a competency-based mastery learning format. Both mastery learning and non-mastery learning formats of instruction were used to train the potential teachers. A systems approach to training was employed in a performance-based practical competency-based…

Fifty students from intermediate level learning disabilities classrooms were administered the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as pretests and posttests to measure the effectiveness of creativity instruction on the creative written expression of the subjects. For 14 weeks the Purdue Creative Thinking Program was used to stimulate the learning…

Compared was the academic performance in the third grade of 75 children who had participated in the Complete Communication Development Program, a learning disabilities kindergarten, with the performance of 75 children in regular kindergartens. Stanford Achievement Test scores indicated that the Ss in the special class performed significantly lower…

The final report documents development and accomplishments of Project STEP (Sequential Training Experiences in the Psychomotor Domain) for elementary level special education students. Evaluation components are outlined for 1979-80, followed by a review of Project STEP activities as related to initial objectives. Target subcomponents listed include…

The final report details achievements and slippages of a model demonstration center which served 46 preschool handicapped children. Documented are milestones in such areas as direct and supplementary services to children (identification, evaluation); parent/family participation (large and small group meetings, individual parent participation);…

Investigated was the effectiveness of a flashcard and fading tutoring procedure in increasing the spelling performance of a 9-year-old boy. The S practiced word completion four times a week (20 minutes per session) on four different words each session, and was tested at the end of each week on all 16 words. During 3 weeks of tutoring, S's spelling…

The relative merits of four special education inservice approaches--instructional packets, master teachers, university personnel, and university campuses--in remote areas were investigated. Results showed that all four approaches produced significant gains in knowledge acquisition and perceived competence, with several groups also evidencing…

A recent study of reading instruction in 28 resource rooms designed for learning-disabled students is described. Program effectiveness was found to be determined by use of student time, method of instruction, and coordination between resource teachers and classroom teachers. Ways to use resource rooms more effectively are suggested. (MT)

The study compared effectiveness and efficiency of rehabilitation services in Colorado between Workmen's Compensation (WC) and general disability (GD) caseloads in terms of summative and formative measures. Among findings were that WC caseloads demonstrated greater congruency between planned and actual vocational goals. (DB)

Asserts that previous studies have adopted a methodology that consistently underestimates the true earnings gains for a significant percentage of vocational rehabilitation (VR) clients. Describes the nature of this methodological bias and suggests an alternative procedure to improve estimating benefits to clients from VR services (Author/ABB)