This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. Self-determination is discussed as a movement requiring major changes in culture, values, and support in the general direction of partnership and inclusion, including a more accessible approach to…

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. The author views them as competing ideologies and puts forth guidelines for evaluating any such set. The difficulty of effectively assessing the preferences of individuals with severe disabilities is…

This article introduces two major articles and four commentaries on facilitated communication with people having severe disabilities. Ten basic facilitated communication questions which these papers address are listed. (DB)

This response to Green and Shane (EC 609 759) and Biklen and Duchan (EC 609 760), which presented opposing views of facilitated communication (FC) with people having severe disabilities, focuses on alternative meanings of the controversy itself. It concludes that the controversy shows the need to resolve the conflict between systematic inquiry and…

The outgoing editor of the "Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps" (JASH) reflects on his tenure and provides data on the journal's impact compared to that of related journals, trends in JASH submissions, the editorial review process, and trends in editorial decisions. (DB)

This study of 20 elementary-school children with severe disabilities examined differences in their interactions with friends without disabilities compared with interactions with acquaintances without disabilities. Friends and acquaintances did not differ in developmental level, language age, functional movement, or social competence. Group…

This response to Green and Shane (EC 609 759) and Biklen and Duchan (EC 609 760) on facilitated communication (FC) with people having severe disabilities addresses the importance of evaluating FC from a variety of research traditions; of focusing on the practical issues of families, teachers, and clinicians; and of solving the issue of authorship.…

This response to Green and Shane (EC 609 759) and Biklen and Duchan (EC 609 760), which presented opposing views of facilitated communication (FC) with people having severe disabilities, focuses on science as viewed through positivist and constructivist lenses. The paper uses Biklen and Duchan's social constructivist approach to identify three…

This article reviews how the term "self-determination" has been defined and conceptualized, examines misperceptions of the term that may have contributed to the exclusion of people with severe disabilities, and seeks to find common ground to move forward to promote self-determination for people with severe disabilities. (Author/PB)

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. It is concluded that self-determination is based on community relationships more than individual decisions, and that individuals should be valued regardless of whether or not they know what they…

This observational study compared instructional context, teacher behavior, and engaged behavior for 15 students with severe disabilities in general elementary classrooms and 15 similar students in self-contained classrooms. Students in general classrooms received more instruction through academic than functional activities and received more…

This discussion of the role of research in improving systems for people with severe disabilities identifies flaws in current research, including problems of topics, methods, and analyses. Solutions proposed include: (1) linkage of quantitative and qualitative research; (2) democratization of research by including subjects as collaborators; and (3)…

This article introduces a special journal issue about the impact of inclusion on students with severe disabilities. It comments that children belong with their peers in their communities, that schools need to be ready for inclusion, and that empirical research is needed to ensure that inclusion proceeds in a way that will benefit all children.…

A study explored the peer cultures of 10 children with significant disabilities in six inclusive preschools and found that the children expressed the desire to participate in peer culture through a range of social-communicative and symbolic behaviors, and experienced inclusion by coordinating social activity and establishing reciprocal…

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. The meanings of self-determination discussed are explored as separate social and psychological components of the construct, which leads to a discussion of how the construct obliges caregivers to…