This brief covers issues related to the assessment of dual sensory loss in students with significant cognitive disabilities, including the impact of suspected dual sensory loss on communication and learning and recommendations for assessment.

As computerized speech-to-text (STT) technology has become more advanced over the past several years, more students with, and without, disabilities are using STT tools in the classroom and while taking assessments (Warren, Thurlow, Lazarus, & Strunk, 2018). Speech-to-text tools often are installed on school-provided computers or tablets and…

This report describes a project that uses existing data sets to describe the population of students with significant cognitive disabilities and known or suspected dual sensory loss. It includes students with suspected dual sensory loss because students with significant cognitive disabilities are reported to have unidentified sensory loss (Erickson…

This conference presentation examines concept development for congenitally blind students. It presents current research on best-practice for teaching this population. Examples of strategies to reinforce understanding of body concepts, spatial awareness, and positional language, while promoting mirroring, self regulation, and purposeful movement to…

It is widely recognized that the 12 percent of all youth in American public schools who have disabilities comprise a set of students with distinct capacities and needs. Federal legislation, including the most recent updates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, identifies different disability groups and mandates that…

The National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) is the third in the series of NLTS studies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to examine youth with disabilities receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a long-standing federal law last updated in 2004. Under IDEA, youth with…

It is widely recognized that the 12 percent of all youth in American public schools who have disabilities comprise a set of students with distinct capacities and needs. Federal legislation, including the most recent updates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, identifies different disability groups and mandates that…

This paper introduces educators to CHARGE syndrome (CS), a multiple anomaly developmental syndrome that is usually accompanied by some degree of hearing and visual impairment. We describe the defining medical characteristics of the syndrome, and following this, outline the behavioral features commonly seen in individuals with CS. Throughout, we…

This report was released by the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) on January 23, 2008. Orientation refers to one's ability to determine his/her location and relationship with other objects in the environment. Mobility refers to one's ability to move about in the environment. Orientation and mobility training may be provided to…

Service providers (n=48 and representing 30 states) for preschool visually impaired children responded to a questionnaire evaluating the number of visually impaired children, source of referral for services, age at referral, visual diagnoses, common additional handicaps, kinds of service delivery models employed, types of teacher certification,…

Intended for vocational education teachers, the booklet is designed to provide helpful information to assist teachers in better understanding special needs students in Pinellas County, Florida. Chapter 1 provides definitions, general information on methods of dealing with several categories of handicapping conditions, including mental retardation…

The 15 papers in this book on teaching students who have visual impairments and other disabilities are grouped into three parts which examine first, characteristics of students with visual impairments and other disabilities; second, the instructional process, curriculum, and methods; and, third, disability-specific curriculum. The papers are: (1)…

Results of a 1981 followup survey of a 1978 disabled freshmen group are presented, with attention directed to the current status of the students, their educational progress, and college experiences. Information is given on the research methodology, the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), and the CIRP annual freshman survey. A…

This manual provides basic information for teachers and others who are interested in helping children learn about different disabilities. Each section includes information about a particular disability and answers questions that children might have about the disability. The first section addresses visual impairments and contains information on…

This introductory text on special education combines principles and values with classroom techniques, uses real people in real schools to illustrate principles and techniques, and advocates the inclusion of students with disabilities in all aspects of schooling with the provision of supplementary supports and services. Three introductory chapters…