This paper reports on a multi-method study that examined the effects of including higher and lower proportions of students designated as having special educational needs on student achievement in secondary schools. It explores some of the issues involved in conducting such research and considers the extent to which newly available national data in…

Newborn screening for fragile X syndrome (FXS) is technically possible, and in the relatively near future accurate and inexpensive screening technologies are likely to be available. When that happens, will America's public health system adopt newborn screening for fragile X syndrome? This article addresses this issue by first placing screening for…

The goal of this review of the research literature is to discuss approaches to the early detection of autism in infancy. Early detection would enable diagnoses to be made before 18 months of age rather than at 24-30 months, the age where diagnoses start to be made now. After summarizing the criteria for a deficit to be considered "core" to the…

Educators face many challenges in the classroom. One of the most difficult challenges is structuring school success for students who do not meet the goals and objectives of the educational system. Enrollment of these students, generally referred to as "at-risk", has dramatically increased (more than 250%) over the past two decades (Franklin,…

Special education as a percentage of total enrollment has risen significantly across the nation, increasing from 8% of the school-age population in 1975-76 to 12% in 2001-02. These growing numbers have garnered increased public attention and have raised questions as to whether the type of special education funding formula used by states may be…

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) in distinguishing preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) and specific subtypes of language delays. Three hundred forty-eight language-impaired preschoolers' response patterns across DAS General Conceptual Ability (GCA), Ability cluster, and…

The study conducted included four school districts that were addressing New York State Chapter 405 citations related to disproportionality. The purpose of this study was to identify the districts' common characteristics related to disproportionality, as well as common approaches and processes used to address the issue. An action research,…

Provisions for children with specific learning difficulties were studied in 27 secondary schools in 5 regions of Scotland. Specific learning difficulties were seen as functional weaknesses in students who might otherwise be intellectually able. Questionnaires were completed by the schools to determine: number of students with specific learning…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Pacific Basin Deaf-Blind Project, a 3-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations providing early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, early identification, and related services to…

This policy brief examines the relationship between fiscal policies in special education and the requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. It discusses the effects of state fiscal policy on the provision of special…

This final report focuses on activities and accomplishments of a 3-year federally supported project in North Carolina to identify and serve students with deaf-blindness. Major accomplishments included: an increase in identified deaf blind individuals in the state from 341 at the beginning of the project to 396 at the end; implementation of a Model…

This paper explores the problems of Arab children with hearing impairments living in Israel. It addresses the linguistic challenges involved such as the intrinsic problems of the Arabic language, the diglossia phenomenon expressed in colloquial dialects and literary registers, and the problems associated with a minority language in Israel. It…

This study investigated the utility of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) assessments in 70 children being evaluated for learning and attention problems, by assessing their relationship to auditory-based neuropsychological tests with varying degrees of attentional, linguistic, and cognitive complexity. Students were given several tests to…

This report to Congress examines the Social Security Administration's approach to assessing children's impairments through the individualized functional assessment (IFA) process mandated by the Supreme Court in Sullivan v. Zebley. Specifically, the report assesses the IFA's impact on number of Supplemental Security Income recipients, IFA's…

This manual provides guidance to Idaho school districts in identifying students with serious emotional disturbances (SED), as defined by federal and state laws and regulations. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the guide describe SED in the context of various factors, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the…