After a 2-month combined reading and writing training period, followed by a 1 1/2-year lapse, a 16-year-old initially paraplegic cerebral palsied boy received a 1 year of reading training followed by 2 3/4 years of writing training. (Author/SBH)

The Teaching Research Transition Planning Project (Oregon) is implementing and evaluating the development of school/community teams to facilitate transition of handicapped students into the community. Preliminary evaluation results support the value of an outside stimulus to encourage collaboration, locally generated plans, and policy decision…

An historical analysis of early intervention efficacy research documents the need for longitudinal studies of early intervention with handicapped children. Sixteen such studies were recently funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The article describes the issues they will address, discusses their design characteristics, and summarizes their…

The Early Intervention Research Institute (EIRI) reviewed extensive data reported by early intervention projects. Among surprising findings were that half-day programs produced as many gains as full-day programs, and programs which expected parent involvement were not more effective than those which did not. Current EIRI research efforts are…

The effectiveness and efficiency of two instructional prompting procedures, progressive time delay and the system of least prompts, in teaching manual signs was evaluated with three moderately or severely retarded adolescents with additional handicaps. Results indicated both procedures were effective though the time delay method appeared to be…

Evaluated an instructional approach that combines the use of student worktexts with other strategies for mainstreamed classes. Found that increased learning resulted for normal, mentally handicapped, and learning disabled students. Recommends the development of student worktexts that coordinate with teacher materials. (JOW)

Presents an overview of research literature on the effectiveness of early intervention programs for handicapped and medically at-risk infants. Describes problems of intervention research and elements common to most programs. Reports that although analysis uncovered flaws, reviewers uniformly encourage further efforts to devise effective…

High school students with disabilities encounter many barriers to successful transition, and thus they are likelier to drop out of school than their nondisabled peers and have more difficulties finding employment. Policy makers and practitioners in many fields are increasingly using communities of practice as a core strategy for developing…

Supports for families of young children with disabilities--as provided by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act--are vital, according to a study that assessed family outcomes at the end of early intervention near their child's third birthday. This report summarizes the main findings of the study in response to the five broad…

Head Start programs provide critical comprehensive services for young children with or at risk of developing disabilities. Both the Head Start Act and federal Head Start performance standards require a mix of outreach, early child assessments, and evaluations, followed by comprehensive educational, medical, and social services provided in an…

This final report summarizes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded outreach project designed to provide training and materials to educators interested in replicating key aspects of the Regional Program for Preschool Handicapped Children, located in New York State. All the major objectives of the project's outreach efforts during the…

The 2000-2001 annual report of Minnesota's PACER (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) Center, a statewide organization that provides information, training, and assistance to parents of children and youth with disabilities, reports on 24 programs in three categories: parent training (12 programs); programs for students and…

At the Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education, Pennsylvania's largest independent multidisciplinary evaluation program, approximately 300 preschool aged children are evaluated annually to determine developmental performance in the areas of cognition, speech-language, gross and fine motor skills, social-emotional…

An in-service model for mainstreaming mildly handicapped children is described which combines competitive, accommodative, and problem solving approaches. (CL)