This article shows how even preschool children with significant physical disabilities can use the computer independently to learn social skills if given the correct positioning, appropriate computer peripherals and software, grouping, and instructional strategies. A continuum of computer peripheral adaptation is provided, along with a list of…

Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the perceptions of three teams of general and special education teachers concerning their educational roles and collaborative efforts in the inclusion of children with severe disabilities in general education classrooms. Findings indicated that initially discrete role boundaries were observed,…

This paper discusses assessment of autistic and deaf-blind children with such severe difficulties in communication that they are often labeled as untestable and subsequently misdiagnosed as severely to profoundly mentally retarded. It urges nonintrusive assessment and appropriate intervention as the most relevant procedures for helping this…

This article highlights the necessary components of a functional behavioral assessment, a decision making framework concerning the selection of assessment and intervention procedures to be used at school, and a description of one practical functional behavioral assessment tool, the Initial Line of Inquiry, that has been employed by school-based…

This study evaluated the use of facilitated communication (FC) paired with a direct instructional strategy to improve the basic academic skills of 12 youths and young adults with autism. Results did not support use of FC as an educational tool, with subjects averaging below-chance performance in FC and both control conditions. (DB)

This article describes positive effects of modifying curricular activities in accordance with the individual interests of three elementary students with disabilities (including autism, mental retardation, and emotional/behavioral disorder). Students exhibited less problem behavior and more on-task responding in the modified activity condition. (DB)

Drawing on the stress paradigm and using data from the Duke Mental Health Study, this paper investigates the links between violence by and against persons with severe mental illness and their caregivers' financial burden (e.g., number of financial contributions and perceived financial strain). In addition to violence, substance use and medication…

The authors studied how care provision and educational and therapeutic support for children with profound multiple disabilities are organized and coordinated in the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland. Study questions were: (a) how do the care and educational elements of support coexist in the everyday life of these…

This paper outlines the increasing need for low-skilled entry level workers, documents business and industry's response to the resulting labor shortage by tapping the resources of individuals with physical and mental disabilities, and reviews problems in job placement of workers with severe disabilities. The Work Inventory for Severely disAbled…

The Collaborative Education Project's goal was to assess the effectiveness of collaborative problem solving (CPS) by peer advocates for enhancing the integration of students with severe disabilities into regular early education contexts. The CPS strategy gives some responsibility to nondisabled students for the planning and design of activities…

This guide for teachers whose classes include a medically fragile child considers roles and responsibilities of teachers with these students, teachers' rights as school employees, and possible solutions and protections for local unions to pursue. Chapter 1 provides an overview. It defines "medically fragile," summarizes legal…

This bibliography lists and abstracts approximately 550 selected resources (books, monographs, and unpublished but publicly available documents) on community integration for people with developmental and other disabilities. Emphasis is on inclusion for people with severe disabilities and selection was based on the degree to which a resource…

An approach is presented for estimating the need for specific types of services within a system of care for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and for estimating the staff, dollars, and other resources required. Many of the issues that need to be resolved before one can "size" and cost out a system of care are…

The education of students with severe to profound mental handicaps (SPH) or multiple disabilities may be greatly limited in rural settings. A survey investigating this issue in a southwestern state was completed by 136 of 346 directors of special education, 67 of whom worked in rural special education cooperatives. These cooperatives served 393…

This paper examines issues in establishing an initial social/communicative repertoire with individuals who have severe to profound disabilities, with emphasis on intervention involving the most severely affected. The paper stresses the importance of beginning intervention efforts even before learners show intentional behavior and discrimination of…