Nearly 30% of U.S. schools have students with severe disabilities who participate in a self-contained adapted physical education (SAPE) setting, separate from their typically developing classmates. It is imperative that physical education teachers become familiar with pedagogical strategies for planning and teaching SAPE. The purpose of this…

The field of special education's focus on moderate and severe disabilities (MSD) has undergone a number of changes in the past five decades. Some have been philosophical, some based on research, some based on mandated practices through U.S. law, and some based on the development of better technologies. While pioneers in the field first established…

This article was written as a response to Ayres, Lowrey, Douglas, and Sievers (2011) who commented on the degree to which promoting the teaching of functional skills had a higher probability of leading to a more independent life for students with severe disabilities. In doing so, the authors take issue with the use of a standards-based curriculum…

Hunt and McDonnell have provided an excellent overview of one of the most important aspects of planning for students with severe disabilities--an ecological curricular framework that is created with input from the student, family, and needs of current and future environments. The standards-based reform-movement has created tension for educators to…

This article explores how an online course was received by a group of teachers who teach students with severe/profound intellectual developmental disabilities. The intent of the course was to engage teachers in conversations, activities and reflections that support the development of curriculum and instruction in a least restrictive environment.…

A strategy for selecting what to teach, known as the Markaling strategy, is based on an environmental philosophy of curriculum selection. Commonly used approaches are reviewed, including the developmental approach, the basic skills approach, the eliminative approach, and the environmental adaption approach. (Author/CL)

The paper presents a model for organizing in formation about severely handicapped learners by categorizing educational advances into what-to-teach variables (goal selection), instruction variables, and curriculum modification. (Author/CL)

The article discusses procedures for development and implementation of a curriculum to shape functional skills for severely multiply or severely profoundly disabled preschoolers. Five response levels of increasing complexity are suggested. Teachers urged to be sensitive to child-determined instructional occasions in early assessment and…

The paper addresses the educational needs of severely handicapped students with emphasis on the redirecting and redesigning of current thinking, curriculum structure, and teaching methods so that students develop functional skills. Stressed are the need to reconsider the definition of the severely handicapped, the purpose of their education, and…

This module was developed as part of a federally funded study group project, to answer the question of how students with severe disabilities can actively participate in lessons within regular elementary classrooms alongside their nondisabled peers, while still meeting their individualized goals and objectives. The module presents a brief overview…

The final report presents summary data on the accomplishments of a project serving deaf-blind children who were also severely, multiply handicapped. The project operated a model classroom for six to eight students in a San Francisco public school to develop and demonstrate innovative educational practices and assessment systems for visual and…

Dealing with profound and severe mental retardation, the final report of Project TRAC (Training, Resources, Acquisition, and Control) describes activities and products of the project in the subject areas of parent involvement, educational/teaching techniques, assessment, and monitoring techniques. The report details the establishment of a resource…

The effects of the Individualized Curriculum Sequencing (ICS) model on acquisition and generalization of skills by two severely handicapped preschoolers were evaluated. Results preliminarily supported the efficacy of the ICS model. Criterion performance and generalization across novel classroom activities and materials were evident for four of…

The article presents a strategy for developing instructional programs for multiply handicapped deaf students, which has been successfully field-tested in New Mexico public schools. (DLS)

The first of five volumes on Project REACH (Regular Education for All Children with Handicaps) describes an approach for assessing and programing for the social skills needs of students with severe disabilities. Three major categories of social skills--social exchange, social rules, and body posture--are addressed. A section on assessment covers…