Two parents recount experiences in keeping their severely physically disabled daughter in regular classes within their neighborhood school against the stated policy and pressures of the school system. Stressed is the value of group action by parents and the power of individuals speaking up. (DB)

Judy Schrag, director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), discusses the OSEP grant competition for personnel preparation in rural special education, rural dimensions of OSEP initiatives, and rural-urban differences in problems affecting special education and in approaches to mainstreaming disabled students. (SV)

This study of 100 children with mild and moderate disabilities and 24 normal children found no main effect differences between integrated and segregated groups in a special education preschool program. Aptitude-by-treatment analyses revealed that higher performing students gained more from integrated classes, whereas lower performing students…

A national survey found that approximately 75 percent of the states in the United States required general education teachers to have a course or two in special education or to meet some specific competency criteria--an increase over a 1984 survey. Research on how well teachers make use of such training is encouraged. (JDD)

This study involving 113 students identified factors (attentiveness, child's level of involvement, and feedback received from the teacher) differentiating children at risk for special education referral from other low achievers and low achievers from mainstreamed special education students and average achievers. Urban/suburban differences were…

This study interviewed 56 resident advisors at the Rochester (New York) Institute of Technology to explore the integration of deaf and hearing students on campus. Hearing students identified specific factors as contributing to positive interaction, including awareness of cultural diversity, communication sensitivity, effective communication…

Three seven-year-old males with autism included in social skills groups with nonhandicapped peers were successfully trained in such social skills as initiating, responding, keeping interactions going, greeting, conversing, giving and accepting compliments, taking turns and sharing, asking for help and helping others, and including others in…

This article uses a science learning activity to demonstrate how Key Stage 3 of the British National Curriculum in science can be made accessible to students with special educational needs. It explains 11 steps of instructional development that help in identifying differentiated learning objectives and allow for appropriate assessments. (DB)

A summer teacher education program at the University of North Carolina (Charlotte) focused on the effective instructional accommodation of mainstreamed students with mild disabilities. The program provided the regular education student teachers with an overview of special education, then observational experiences, and finally typical student…

A survey of special education personnel, child care providers, and parents found that barriers to the mainstreaming of preschoolers with disabilities were attitudes concerning (1) "turf" issues for special educators; (2) teacher preparedness; (3) awareness issues; (4) issues of communication and collaboration; and (5) the possibility…

Medical evaluation of seven third-grade children with developmental dyscalculia in a mainstream setting identified neurological conditions (including petit mal seizures, Gerstmann syndrome, and attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity) in all the children. Findings suggest that children who are not improving academically should undergo…

This article offers a history of special California schools for children with blindness since the mid-1950s, from the perspective of a special educator. It points out that the two delivery systems of regular schools and special schools should not work in competition but in cooperation to develop the best education for meeting students' needs. (JDD)

This paper defines "inclusion," discusses ways to think about curriculum related to inclusive education, presents a process of curriculum development to assist teams in including students with disabilities in regular classrooms, and provides specific curricular strategies and tools to assist in the curriculum development process for…

Local norms representing the reading skills of general education low reading group students on passages derived from their curriculum were used to represent satisfactory reading performance. Approximately 40% of special education students read as well as or better than low reading group peers and, thus, were identified as potential candidates for…

This article addresses implications of cooperative learning for students with mild disabilities in regular classrooms. These include the importance of a collaborative ethic among special and regular educators, the efficacy of cooperative learning with this population, cooperative learning's relationship to social integration of these students, and…