Reviews the year in public education-bashing. Debunks columnist George Will's claims about teachers' preference for private schools, Willard Daggett's claims about youngsters' VCR programming skills, and two outrageous "Family Circle" and "Business Week" articles. Meanwhile, SAT scores are rising, school buildings are…

In 2 experiments with 6 boys (ages 12 and 13) having mild and moderate mental retardation, directed rehearsal was used to teach subjects to either recognize or produce 6 basic facial expressions of emotion. Training in both skills was effective, and the recognition training was maintained at 8-week and 12-week assessments following instruction.…

The information gained from analysis of bilingual students' writing can be used to inform instruction that helps students improve their writing in Spanish and English. The writing of one native Spanish-speaking third grader is analyzed, and instructional strategies are given for helping the writer improve content and mechanics. (Author/TD)

This article highlights the importance of parents as intervention agents for young children with special needs. It describes individualized training in behavioral strategies for parents, explains procedures for helping parents gain skills that foster their children's development, and suggests that parents will maintain the skills and generalize…

This study evaluated effects of a multifaceted training procedure on acquisition and generalization of social behaviors of 9 language-disabled deaf children (ages 8-9). The intervention involved child training as well as supervision, feedback, and goal setting by teachers and staff. Results indicated increases in appropriate target behaviors which…

This study of two primary-grade students with learning disabilities and behavior problems found that an instructional package incorporating videotaped self-assessment, self-modeling, discrimination training, and behavioral rehearsal helped the children acquire cooperative classroom behaviors and generalize and maintain those behaviors. (Author/JDD)

Four adults with brain injuries were trained to use written checklists that identified potential in-home hazards. The checklist alone was sufficient to increase appropriate responses to many hazards, and individualized task analyses, subsequently faded to natural conditions, remediated the others. Generalization occurred to some degree, and skills…

Two severely handicapped children (ages 5-6) exhibiting self-injurious behavior were treated with negative reinforcement (brief escape from grooming activities) contingent upon a behavior that was incompatible with self-injury (pressing a microswitch that activated a "stop" message). Treatment led to decreased self-injury, which was maintained at…

This paper analyzes the methodology and effectiveness of the training approaches implemented in 28 empirical studies on basic motor skills instruction for children with neuromotor delays. For all types of training approaches (neuromotor interventions, sensory integration techniques, behavioral programing, and naturalistic programing), assessment…

Explored how drug and alcohol aftercare case management service for adolescents (n=18) contributed to maintenance of drug- and alcohol-free behavior, adherence to aftercare plans, and participation of schools and families in aftercare plans. Found different patterns of outcome results for each of four identified groups of adolescents. Results…

An Internet mailing list designed to conduct a council-style forum among American Indian people encountered problems such as non-Indians posing as Indians, intertribal differences impeding consensus, and the lack of socioeconomic diversity among participants. American Indian culture may be philosophically incompatible with the impersonal nature of…

Six individuals (ages 10 to 44) with communication disorders who used augmentative and alternative communication were provided instruction on the acquisition, generalization, and long-term maintenance of partner-focused questions. Instruction used least-to-most prompting hierarchy in real-world interactions and simulations. All subjects learned…

Explores the dynamics of ethnic identity for a Hispanic population, paying particular attention to determinants of inconsistent ethnic identification. Finds that English monolingualism and attendance of schools with few Hispanic students are strongly associated with inconsistent identity; areas with larger Hispanic populations are associated less…

Recently states have increasingly turned to managed care arrangements to finance and deliver health services to Medicaid beneficiaries. As this trend continues, states should carefully monitor changes in program costs and quality and implications for delivery of pediatric services and health outcomes for children. (SLD)

Frustrated by the ways in which large managed-care companies are controlling physicians' lives and professional practice, the American Medical Association has voted to form a union to represent physicians and medical residents. Academic physicians have shown less interest than others. (MSE)