This book is a collection of essays on helping people with developmental disabilities communicate successfully. It is intended for practitioners and students in special education, speech-language pathology, and psychology. The essays are as follows: "Communicative Behaviour in the Least Restrictive Environment" (Ken Linfoot); "Play…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a project which developed, implemented, and evaluated the effectiveness of a microcomputer/videodisc math instructional management system for grades K-4. The system was designed to operate on an APPLE II microcomputer, videodisc player, and input-output devices. It included three…

This final report documents achievements of a project to assess social impact and achievement gains resulting from the use of interactive videodisc technology to teach fractions in mainstreamed classrooms across multicultural settings. Subjects (N=294) were regular upper elementary students and students with mild handicaps (MH) in Utah, Wyoming,…

This paper presents a rationale for teaching higher level thinking skills to students with special needs, including those with mild mental handicaps and learning disabilities. It briefly reviews the literature on teaching such skills, stressing that thinking skills can be taught through specific teaching methods such as a four-step method…

This teacher's guide and student workbook are part of a series of supplementary curriculum packages presenting alternative methods and activities designed to meet the needs of Florida secondary students with mild disabilities or other special learning needs. The Life Management Skills PASS (Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students) teacher's…

This document reviews the research on achievement and successful practices related to educating students with disabilities in inclusive general education classrooms. First, it examines the meaning of "inclusion" and distinguishes inclusion from mainstreaming and integration. The following section explains legal requirements under the…

This paper discusses a study that investigated whether competencies identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) could be used to document job skills of students with mild disabilities. Participants in the study were 17 teachers, job coaches, and parents associated with a high school special education department…

Pre- and in-service special education teachers (n=173) rated the job competencies of hypothetical high school students with mild and moderate disabilities. Teachers rated students described as having a behavioral disorder lower in social coping skills than students described as having mild mental retardation. The type of transition-related school…

A survey of 1,345 high school students and 2,321 university students found that 30-37% reported having experienced a head injury, with 12-15% reporting loss of consciousness. Significant relationships were found between mild head injury incidence and gender; sleep difficulties; social difficulties; handedness pattern; and diagnoses of attention…

This study investigated general education classrooms in one elementary school to determine impact of grade and disability on interactions among students, teachers, and the environment (i.e., instructional context). Twelve students were randomly selected from four strata (mild disabilities/grades 1-2; mild disabilities grades 3-5; severe…

This guide for high school-age students with mild disabilities encourages students to be involved in planning their future. Students complete exercises that promote their involvement in transition planning and help them start thinking about decisions for the future. Consideration is given to: the student's dreams for the future, supports for the…

This paper reviews and summarizes six research projects exploring possible methods for teaching vocation-oriented social skills to adolescent students with mild learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, or mental retardation. Projects discussed vary in terms of target social skills, intervention methods, settings, and generalizability. The six…

This directory describes current and newly expired projects funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services' Secondary Education and Transition Initiative. An introduction describes the Transition Initiative and the role of the Transition Institute at the University of Illinois. A series of one-page case studies describes…

This practicum involved the development of an 8-month inservice training program to give teachers (N=71) at a rural high school basic information concerning the mainstreaming of students with learning disabilities (LD) as well as to influence their attitudes toward inclusion of such students in their classes. Initially, teachers were confused…

Mexican American children have made poor progress in special education programs as currently structured. Existing data appear to indicate that minority children, particularly Mexican American, continue to be placed in special education out of proportion to their numbers in the general population. Although the Education for All Handicapped Children…