In most elementary classrooms, students with autistic characteristics are too often dismissed from the literate community. The autistic child is frequently asked to practice memorizing sight words while classmates are introduced to literature. Although autistic children are increasingly being taught in general education classrooms, they are often…

This paper presents findings of research that examined the effects of two recent educational reforms--restructuring to produce effective schools and mainstreaming students with disabilities into general classes. Specifically, the relationship between general- and special-education achievement to school-environment quality indicators in 56 southern…

Results of studying inclusion of Illinois students with disabilities in regular education are presented. The moral, educational, and legal bases for inclusion in public school general education were reviewed. Differences regarding planning and decision making for children with disabilities were investigated in three schools that were relatively…

This document presents the final report of a 4-year project (ending in 1991) which conducted six studies of the impact of various peer-mediated interventions on the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of social interaction skills of preschoolers with severe disabilities. The report covers project objectives, the project's theoretical…

This monograph describes the functions of large-scale educational assessments and examines existing and developing policies as they pertain to transition-age youth with disabilities. It stresses that the level of representation of students with disabilities in such assessments will have impact on their level of representation in national and state…

This guide is intended to encourage parent participation as schools move toward more inclusive programs for children and youth with disabilities. The guide covers: the importance of "person first" terminology to refer to people with disabilities; what parents want for their children; parent participation under the Individuals with…

This report describes a process for improving the transition of special needs students from their special education setting to that of the regular education classroom in their neighborhood elementary schools. Analysis suggested that parents, administrators, and receiving teachers were apprehensive about the move to total inclusion for special…

A 59-item annotated bibliography on language arts instruction for the gifted organizes research into three main categories: (1) instruction of gifted students in tracked classrooms; (2) instruction of gifted students in mainstreamed or heterogeneous classrooms; and (3) instruction of gifted and nongifted toward the goal of developing higher level…

This manual provides information to caregivers on how to successfully develop a child care center that includes children with disabilities. The benefits of inclusion for children, parents, and providers are identified. Principles for developing an inclusive program are noted, such as developing a partnership with a special education agency. The…

This study surveyed general education teachers in four private elementary/secondary schools in New Delhi, India, concerning their attitudes toward mainstreaming students with mild to severe disabilities and factors that teachers considered essential for successful mainstreaming. The 98-item survey elicited 32 responses. Results are discussed in…

Noting that understanding the contexts, continuities, and controversies of early childhood education is a particularly challenging task because of the diversity of the field, this book provides a critical examination of the issues and controversies surrounding early childhood practices, policies, and professional development. The book's chapters…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a federally funded study of nine toddlers and preschoolers (ages 29-63 months) with a variety of disabilities. The project investigated the effectiveness of embedding systematic instruction within inclusive, developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), play-based environments to teach young children with…

This paper describes the present situation of special education in Bulgaria and discusses the results of a study of attitudes toward the mainstreaming of students with intellectual disabilities. The first part of the paper discusses the classification of children with intellectual disabilities into "educable" and "non-educable"…

The legal aspects of four issues concerned with obtaining educational services for children (ages 3 through 5) with disabilities are outlined and analyzed in this paper. Each issue is discussed in terms of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and/or the Americans with Disabilities…

This paper includes a qualitative study of the role of "inclusion specialists" in schools, a review of the history of special education, accounts of interviews with 17 special and 7 regular educators, accounts of day-long observations of four specialists, and the author's reflections. The literature review focuses on the relationship of…