Response to intervention (RTI) has emerged as a promising, but possibly vulnerable, alternative to the current model of identification and eligibility assessment in special education. Nested within a simple and compelling structure for RTI are many questions and challenges that make its future as "policy" at-risk unless these issues can…

In Canada over the past two decades many legal disputes have arisen concerning education for children with learning disabilities. Most often these disputes are concerned with equal access for children with disabilities and centre on the notion of appropriate education. Issues concerning equal access to appropriate education have a long history and…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the 3-year project, "Expanding the Circle of Services for Children and Youth Who Are Deaf Blind," a South Dakota project to improve services to this population through improved interagency cooperation and technical assistance. A highlight of the third year was the formation of the…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Georgia Deaf-Blind Project, a 3-year federally supported project encompassing 159 counties and providing technical assistance to 237 infants, children, and youth with deaf-blindness along with their families and their service providers. Project accomplishments included: (1) more…

This paper reviews the literature on assessment bias issues in special education. While assessment instruments yielding a single IQ score are seen as useful components in a comprehensive multifactored assessment, and are the primary tool of diagnosis for mental retardation, they are found to be irrelevant when applied to students with learning…

This monograph examines the particular problems that can beset creative children when their behaviors are mistaken for the frequently diagnosed psychoeducational condition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A brief history of ADHD is given, tracing the difficulty that researchers have experienced in defining and accurately…

This monograph presents 11 papers on a study of the problem of specific diagnosis with children who do not communicate effectively. About 500 children with inadequate communication skills, selected as having a developmental language disorder, autism, or low IQ without autistic features, were studied by a multidisciplinary team. Data collected…

This document presents excerpts from Chapter 388 of the Nevada Administrative Code, which concerns definitions, eligibility, and programs for students who are disabled or gifted/talented. The first section gathers together 36 relevant definitions from the Code for such concepts as "adaptive behavior,""autism,""gifted and…

This manual of recommended policies and procedures was developed to assist Ohio school districts in meeting the spirit and intent of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related federal and state regulations. Section 1 presents information on requirements concerning provision of a free appropriate public education for children with…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Kansas Services for Students with Dual Sensory Impairments Project, a project focusing on: (1) provision of services to infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness; and (2) technical assistance to public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations serving…

This guidebook is intended to provide teachers with basic information on special education legislation and definitions of a wide variety of specific physical and mental disabilities. The first chapter focuses on what educators need to know about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.…

This report describes the first module of the "First Steps" program, an early intervention program for at-risk kindergartners who show the early signs of antisocial behavior patterns. This module presents four options for screening and identifying kindergarten students at risk for antisocial behavior patterns. In option one, the…

The diagnostic framework presented in this manual seeks to address the need for a systematic, multidisciplinary, developmentally based approach to the classification of mental health and developmental difficulties in the first 4 years of life. An introduction discusses clinical approaches to assessment and diagnosis, gives an overview of the…

This book on attention deficit disorders (ADD) is designed to prepare current and prospective teachers and other school personnel to teach and work with students with ADD in the schools. Part 1 introduces the field; reviews characteristics of ADD, symptoms at different stages of life, and coexisting conditions; offers a brief history of the field;…

This booklet summarizes Part 3 of the 1993 Education Act (Great Britain) which makes major changes to the way local education authorities (LEAs) and schools must identify and provide for children's special educational needs. Following a listing of specific changes between this Act and the 1981 Education Act, the booklet briefly summarizes…