The issue of underachievement among the gifted has captured the interest of educators sporadically over the past thirty years. In the most basic definition, an underachiever is a student who does not achieve in the academic areas at a level consistent with his or her capability. When underachievement is applied to the gifted, it becomes a more…

Background: This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of both mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities. Parent well-being is conceptualized in terms of mental health, parenting stress and parenting efficacy. Methods: These analyses are based on data from 67 families participating in…

Response-to-intervention (RtI) models utilize a proactive, prevention approach that requires the implementation of a sophisticated, multi-tiered problem-solving process in the regular education environment. Effective and sustainable implementation of these models will necessitate a mechanism to support professional development, treatment fidelity,…

Any discussions about specialized helping environments for children or young people would be incomplete without reference to the relationships found between practices in group care centers and schools. This involves thinking of a child's total environment as a curriculum for teaching competencies and learning outcomes important to daily living.…

Schools have been given the challenge to become better partners with not only families of children with emotional behavioral disorders but also with local community organizations that serve children, youth, and families. These partnerships are a necessity because current school and stand-alone community programs fall short of meeting the mental…

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation's leading legal advocate for the rights of adults and children with mental disabilities. The Center uses a coordinated strategy of federal policy advocacy, legal support for a nationwide network of advocates, and creation of educational materials to help families, professionals,…

Sociocultural contexts influence social behaviors in ways that may not always be reflective of majority-culture norms. They also may vary the impact social skills training (SST) programs have on minority students with learning disabilities. To better understand culturally sensitive and effective SST for students with learning disabilities, it is…

This study investigated the relationship between demographic variables of secondary Indiana career and technical education (CTE) instructors and program expectations for students with and without disabilities participating in CTE. Respondents' gender, age, level of education, years in current position, years in education, and training in special…

The "new federalism" paradigm offers an explanation why the federal government has devolved much of its administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC) and Medicaid (through managed care) programs. A review of child and family outcomes data resulting from these devolutionary changes in TANF and…

Improving the services for children with emotional or behavioral problems has been one of the priorities of the Department of Education for the last four decades. Since its implementation, the Office of Special Education Programs has been dedicated to funding and supporting research in the area of emotional disorders. Despite increased attention…

Adolescents with disabilities are at increased risk for school failure, and those in special education as the result of emotional disturbances consistently have the highest dropout rate of any disability. This paper discusses the importance of feelings of security in relationships for these adolescents and the results of a study designed to…

A study was undertaken to explore program policies and practices related to the accessibility of American distance learning courses to qualified students with disabilities. A literature review was conducted, a draft list of accessibility indicators was created, examples of applications of the indicators in existing distance learning programs were…

Parents of 209 children (162 males and 46 females) with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome or learning disabilities ranging in age from 4 to 21 years were surveyed about their perceptions of the education of their children. Items on the survey were categorized into 7 areas: school personnel's knowledge about the disability, best practices,…

The authors examined the effects of an intensive onsite technical assistance (IOTA) model on the inclusive practices of special educators. Three special educators received technical assistance that included performance assessments, workshops on inclusive practices, and intensive onsite follow-up support. Inclusive practices were measured using…

This paper offers facts and figures on Utah's education status for 2008. This paper contains the following: (1) Core CRT Language Arts Testing, 2007; (2) Core CRT Mathematics Testing, 2007; (3) 2007 Public Education General Fund--Funding by Source and Expenditures by Function; (4) 2007-08 Public School Enrollment Demographics; (5) Public Schools…