The use of microswitches has been considered a crucial strategy to help individuals with extensive multiple disabilities overcome passivity and achieve control of environmental stimulation (Crawford & Schuster, 1993; Gutowski, 1996; Ko, McConachie, & Jolleff, 1998). In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to extend the evaluation of…

In this article we discuss an application that translates hand gestures of the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet and converts them to text. The FingerSpell application addresses the communication barrier of the deaf and the hearing-impaired by eliminating the need for a third party with knowledge of the American Sign Language, allowing a user…

The disability rights movement grounds material critiques of the treatment of people with disabilities in a social constructionist perspective, locating disability in the social rather than physical realm, and demedicalizing the concept of disability. However, this conceptualization is threatened by the medicalization of non-normative erections as…

In Japan, there is a growing network of self-advocacy groups. Some groups are involved in campaigning. Other groups are involved in social events and education. The age of de-institutionalization is gradually arriving and community living for people with learning difficulties is becoming an urgent political issue. Self-advocacy groups can help…

This paper reflects on comments made by Samuel Gridley Howe in the 19th century and their continuing relevance to the state of institutionalization of individuals with mental retardation. The paper also cites Burton Blatt in his argument in favor of deinstitutionalization with all possible haste despite the inevitable challenges this will pose to…

This article describes an Irish video program that prepares mainstream students to meet incoming peers with severe, profound, and multiple disabilities, finding that students reacted positively to the video and found it helped relieve their anxieties at the prospect of contact. Implications for further development of structured contact sessions in…

Staff training at inclusive camps should include disability awareness exercises such as having counselors get around camp in a wheelchair. Techniques for handling health issues and helping campers through transitions are presented. During camp, have enough staff or volunteers to support campers with special needs. Disability awareness exercises…

Examines the ways in which school counselors are most likely to be affected by the mainstreaming of children with disabilities. Counselors will most likely have expanded roles on multidisciplinary teams, be responsible for promoting acceptance by nondisabled peers, experience more interaction with school social workers and parents, and develop…

This article examines the importance of self-determination for all people. A national survey of 4,544 adults with mental retardation concerning how independent, integrated, and productive they perceived themselves to be and how important each of these outcomes was to them revealed that people with mental retardation are not likely to be…

The mainstreaming concept has dramatically changed the lives of enumerable special needs children in positive ways but in some cases has become a travesty as it is extended beyond its logical limits. Developmental appropriateness is the pivotal priority in the education of children, especially those with severe/profound mental disabilities. (JDD)

A case study is presented of a girl (age six) with multiple disabilities including moderate to severe mental retardation who was fully included in a regular first-grade classroom. The experience indicated that students with multiple disabilities can learn to follow classroom routines, follow directions, acquire new skills, and improve their…

Examines five critical factors in creating accessible camping programs for children with disabilities: program mission expressing inclusivity and empowerment, staff training that creates awareness and skills for inclusive programming, fully accessible facilities, shift in program design from "accessible program model" to "universal design," and…

In the 1960s, since the Tokyo Paralympics and the National Sports Games for the Disabled were held, public awareness was heightened towards the issue of disability. In 1970, a law which was to ensure that persons with disabilities could participate in recreational, sports and cultural activities was passed. The Japanese government has implemented…

This article focuses on special education as cultural representation and explores how it is fashioned by the realities of the Caribbean diaspora. These realities are framed within the context of the Caribbean's response to the global agenda of education for all and the development of learning support systems that are relevant to regional and…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on issues in including students with disabilities in regular education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act calls for students to be placed in the least restrictive environment, which is presumed by some educators to be the regular classroom. The drawbacks of separate programs are not felt to be…