Overidentification of learning disabilities may be caused by applying a model of disability which does not allow for classroom accomodation. A minority model of disability with classroom modification and accommodation to differences in students who fail to meet behavior and achievement standards is proposed. (Author/DB)

The study with five mildly handicapped students (ages 10-12) found that changing setting (regular or resource classroom) alone had no significant impact on student performance. The combined effect of changes in test materials and test administrator, however, indicated that curriculum differences did affect extent to which skills were transferred…

Regular educators (N=128) and special educators (N=133) in 21 Ohio school districts responded to a questionnaire regarding handicap integration. Willingness of regular educators to teach handicapped students depended more heavily on demographic variables (e.g., total number of years in teaching); willingness of special educators depended more on…

Used mainstreamed children (N=250) from four different groups (behavior disordered, learning disabled, mildly mentally retarded/educationally handicapped, and nonhandicapped) to examine rater, ratee, and sex bias in the Teacher Ratings of Social Skills (TROSS) ratings by teachers; concurrent validity and reliability; and factor congruence with a…

An interview with Dr. Donald J. Treffinger, an author and educator involved in gifted education, reveals his views regarding a "better blend" between gifted programing activities and the total school program. Such an approach would include more students in a larger variety of enrichment activities. (CB)

Among findings of the study of characteristics of 249 seriously emotionally disturbed students (aged 7-19 years) were that half were placed for part of the day in regular classes, that behavior problem scores were related to reading achievement; and that Intelligent Quotient (IQ) was not predictive of amount or kind of behavior problem. (Author/DB)

Two studies involving an electively mute and a mildly retarded Native American student featured practice with a specific category of questions while programing peer presence to promote verbalization of verbal compliance to the same category of question in group reading. (CL)

A program to prepare elementary grade students for mainstreaming of handicapped students is described. An outline of objectives, student activities, and required media and materials to improve understand of hearing impairment, visual impairment, physical handicap, and learning disability are provided. (DB)

Wisconsin educational services for visually-impaired students include the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped, the Educational Services Center for the Visually Impaired, and the Instructional Resource Center. (CB)

Support teaching for children with special needs in regular classrooms in Great Britain is discussed. Focus is on a definition of classroom support, tutorial support, an example of in-class support, influencing factors for effective classroom support, and the role of the support teacher. (DB)

Analysis of characteristics of classroom placements for special needs elementary school students (N=958) in five urban school districts indicated that approximately two-thirds received some instruction with regular education students. Time spent in regular education varied by the child's primary handicap, the school district, and sometimes…

Two articles look at effective practices with the learning disabled. The first, "Facilitating Mainstreaming through a School-Wide Study Skills Program" (Gayle Smith), stresses one skill each month. "Semantic Feature Analysis: An Interactive Teaching Strategy for Facilitating Learning from Text" (Candace Bos and Patricia Anders) offers a method for…

The consulting teacher model may improve educational service in the mainstream to mildly handicapped children and other children at risk but should be implemented only with sufficient attention, resources, and planning. Potential problems include ineffective caseload management, inadequate training of regular and special educators, and…

Reviews the first decade of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and evaluates the process of providing education to handicapped students. Examines changes in the place of the disabled in American society. Argues that a single educational system, special for all students, is needed. (Author/CH)

A survey of 303 Missouri home economics teachers attempted to identify factors that positively affect teachers' self-perceived competence to teach clothing construction to mainstreamed, physically handicapped students. Primary factors were (1) personal clothing construction experience, (2) college course that dealt with disabilities, and (3) years…