A mother recounts how her kindergarten-aged daughter (who has severe cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic and nonverbal) is able to participate in mainstream school life with the assistance of an electrically powered wheelchair, an electronic speech output device, and a computer. (DB)

Strategies for teaching students with disabilities in regular physical education classes include: checking for medical concerns, checking for previous school records, assessing skill level, choosing appropriate lesson objectives, establishing cooperative (not competitive) learning environments, using peer tutors, creating games that make everyone…

Peer tutoring is an effective teaching method for students with and without disabilities. Using peer tutors can reduce the emphasis and stigma sometimes associated with peer instruction. Peer tutors for students with disabilities should be selected according to age, maturity level, communication skills, physical skill level, and willingness to…

This article reports results of a survey of general educators, special educators, and classmates involved in the integration of middle school students with severe disabilities into eight general education classes in two communities. Integration was perceived positively by all of the educators and by most of the students. (DB)

This commentary points out the need for a working definition of "appropriate education" so that parents of children with disabilities have realistic expectations and educators know what is expected of them in providing services. Educators must ensure that court actions do not make "regular education" children second-rate citizens. (JDD)

This paper describes the Early Childhood Social Skills Program developed at the University of Pittsburgh's Early Childhood Research Institute. The paper discusses specific social skill strategies as well as steps for implementing the peer-mediated social skill program in an integrated preschool setting. (JDD)

Children with hearing impairments in three types of placements were evaluated three to four years after enrollment to determine whether changes had occurred in performance intelligence quotients. Results demonstrated significant gains for commuters and residents attending a residential school, in contrast to no change for children attending a…

The study compared the effects of an intensive apprenticeship training experience provided to two consulting teachers with the standard training provided six consulting teachers. Significant differences were found in favor of the intensively trained teachers in all aspects of instructional improvement. (Author/DB)

Twenty-eight regular and special education teachers surveyed indicated that they would like to teach more social skills but were constrained by limited resources and training. Teachers preferred proactive approaches over reactive responses and were about evenly split between wanting to conduct social skills instruction as a discrete content area…

Instructional strategies for special education and vocational teachers integrating special needs students into vocational classes include (1) clinical teaching that tailors learning to individual learning styles; (2) environmental and curricular modification; (3) direct instruction; and (4) individualized instruction. (SK)

This study examined the strategies teachers use to promote social play in a mainstreamed early childhood program that included five children with special needs and five nonhandicapped peers. Results indicated that teachers can successfully facilitate peer play through initiation of play, participation in group play, elaboration of group play, and…

Explains the concept of coteaching in the mainstream, which involves a special education and a regular education teacher teaming in the classroom. The article notes coteaching creates a dynamic, high-energy classroom situation that promotes increased learning for students and teachers. Two teachers discuss their experiences with teaming. (SM)

This analysis of national program record data since 1977 found that, overall, increases have occurred in placements of students with disabilities within general public schools and within general education classes. Integration patterns, however, have varied substantially across disabilities, with students having sensory impairments showing the most…

Describes how a teacher of children with learning disabilities worked with three regular classroom teachers to teach mainstreamed children in whole-language classrooms. Shows how students' reading abilities, self-esteem, and motivation improved as the lines were blurred between abled and disabled, teacher and specialist, and right and wrong. (SR)

This study of 325 adolescents with deafness found that students who attended more classes and more academically demanding classes had higher achievement levels across placement categories. The cumulative effect of mainstream placement may be, in part, a product of different patterns of educational programing. Race was also a factor in achievement.…