A panel of experts identified 13 seminal literature contributions in the area of educating persons with severe disabilities, and the 13 works were then rank ordered by a self-identified panel. The study also conducted content analyses and examined the particular journals publishing the classic articles. (Author/JDD)

The effects of three interventions (peer initiation, reinforcement, and prompting) delivered by nonhandicapped students (4th graders) on the social initiation behavior of untrained peers toward a student with severe handicaps were examined. Results indicated the prompt procedure produced the highest levels of positive social initiation from…

Using a peer nomination sociometric tool, the study measured the degree of social status change with high and low status nonhandicapped elementary grade children who participated in a peer initiation intervention with severely handicapped children. Nonhandicapped students who participated in the peer initiation program gained in social status.…

This article presents guidelines for providing individuals with severe disabilities with a wide range of personal choices. It provides a rationale for teaching all individuals to participate in meaningful choice-making; describes basic types of choices; and suggests ways to generalize choice-making skills across settings, times, and people. (DB)

This article reviews current literature on small group instruction with moderately to severely disabled students, discussing such components as group size, homogeneous/heterogeneous groupings, task selection, instructional strategies, attentional cues, presentation of the discriminative stimulus, trial presentation, choral and individual…

The attitudes of staff and management at 62 potential community training sites (such as restaurants, stores, and shops) toward integration of persons with severe handicaps was assessed and compared with those of high school teachers and students. Survey respondents expressed positive attitudes toward normalized use of community facilities.…

This study with 39 secondary students with severe disabilities integrated into regular programs in either home schools or cluster programs found that the proportion of students residing outside the normal school boundaries and the percent of students classified as Severely Multiply Handicapped were both negatively associated with both in-school…

The effects of an overcorrection procedure on stereotypic behavior of two students (ages 11 and 12) with severe multiple handicaps were investigated in a cooperative school/home program. Results indicated successful implementation of overcorrection by professionals, paraprofessionals, and parents in both school and home settings. (Author/DB)

The study assessed instructional program preferences of staff and management personnel of 74 potential community training sites for severely handicapped persons. Eight categories of community establishments were identified and responses were used to guide community based trainers in making instructional decisions appropriate to the site as well as…

The paper presents a seven-step model that job coaches may use to teach self-management to employees with severe disabilities in supported employment settings. Steps include: identifying the problem, establishing a range of acceptable behavior, selecting self-management procedures, training self-management skills by withdrawing external…

Self-control procedures were taught to a 16-year-old severely handicapped student preparing for employment. Although procedures taught during a preinstructional period did not generalize to the student's performance during actual production, systematic feedback did lead to self-instruction during production with no loss in performance after…

This study found little actual integration resulting from placement of 16 high school age students with severe multiple disabilities in special education classrooms within regular high schools. Guidelines for evaluating the integration of students are offered including a two-pronged test and examples of data appropriate for evaluating integration…

Eighty-six elementary teachers of students with severe disabilities in Alaska and Washington reported their levels of nonmandated parent involvement, attitudes toward parent involvement, and attitudes toward parents' roles. Results provided indications of low nonmandated parent involvement. Implications are offered for placement practices and…

The paper contrasts current curriculum and methodology for severely disabled students with that of 20 years ago in the context of such currently recognized best practices as: promoting generalization, improving attitudes toward people with disabilities, allowing daily interaction with non-disabled peers, integrating instruction into the natural…

This study employed direct observation to assess social interaction patterns of eight employees with severe disabilities and seven without disabilities in a supported employment setting. Variance was substantial among individual employees. Although patterns of interaction were similar between groups, statistically significant differences were…