Outlines the major barriers to independent living faced by disabled persons in communities, and suggests alternatives. Utilizes quantitative data from a survey of 13,000 disabled persons in 319 communities in 10 states and qualitative data from local town meetings and public forums. (FMW)

A program for teaching orientation and mobility to New York City public school students with severe sensory and cognitive impairments incorporates tactile and tangible communication systems and embeds mobility education in students' daily school and home activities. This paper examines necessary prerequisite concepts and offers planning and…

Asserts that music teachers must become active participants in the process by which school policies concerning inclusion are established. Offers suggestions for enabling music teachers to successfully educate students with disabilities focusing on language use, social interaction, and physical involvement issues. Provides sources for additional…

Presents proactive strategies to help educators deal with challenging behaviors of children with visual impairments and neurodegenerative diseases. Strategies are provided for general noncompliance, difficulty with changed or novel routines, difficulty maintaining physical movement, significant variations in affect, and intense tantrums and other…

Examines the home care situation of urban chronically ill men and women and their caregivers in China. Findings reveal that women serve as caregivers in the majority of the cases and often are elderly spouses with health problems of their own. Physical, social, psychological, and financial problems experienced by these patients create an enormous…

This overview provides basic information on the causes of deaf-blindness and the particular challenges faced by individuals with deaf-blindness. Causes of deaf-blindness include various syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, congenital prenatal dysfunction, and various postnatal causes. Differences between people deaf-blind from…

Prepared by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Task Force at Lakeland Community College (LCC) in Ohio, this report assesses LCC's compliance with ADA provisions and presents recommendations concerning projects to be undertaken. Section I provides an introduction to the ADA and its impact at LCC. Section II describes the self-evaluation…

This report highlights 19 of the 48 recently completed public library construction projects in Michigan which received partial funding from the 1983 Emergency Jobs Act. The grants were administered under Title II of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). Introductory material includes listings of the State of Michigan Legislative…

This publication provides instructions and visual diagrams both for adapting existing structures and for building new facilities to meet the special needs of the disabled. Each of the two main sections is divided into two parts: "The Site" and "The Building." The first section, "Modification of Existing Schools,"…

This manual is designed for use with adult or secondary school home economics students to enhance their awareness of the tasks and physical limitations faced by aged homemakers, and to identify possible adaptations for making the laundry task easier and safer for older adults. The most frequently performed laundry tasks are presented in a…

Records of 16 patients (ages 6-19) who had undergone surgery for severe spinal deformity were retrospectively analyzed to document ten aspects of rehabilitation intervention, including mobility skills, patient and family training and education, daily living activities, ongoing medical problems, planning for school reentry, and management of…

This publication is intended to assist Wisconsin's public libraries and public library systems in providing service to adults with special needs (ASN). Twelve chapters cover the following topics: (1) planning for success, including planning services and measuring progress; (2) a Wisconsin vision for the future, including creating the vision and…

This paper explains what universal design is and is not and discusses slides of various products and environments that embody universal design principles. The paper explains that although the term "universal design" suggests a "one size fits all" approach to designing, quite the opposite is true. Rather, universal designers…

Presents survey data on low-income elderly people. Examined sociocultural and quality-of-life variables as they affected use of health care and transportation services. More than half of respondents did not receive medical care despite reporting multiple symptoms. Most participants relied upon public transportation to obtain health services. (RJM)

A physical therapy training curriculum is proposed for regular and special education teachers and paraprofessionals working with children having physical disabilities. Skills in physical management techniques of positioning, techniques for maneuvering wheelchairs, and utilization of appropriate equipment are stressed to prevent negative…