The report details the results of a research and development program on communication aids for the education of the non-vocal severely handicapped. Much of the information in the report was prepared so that it could stand alone, and is in the form of individual papers, reports, and a sourcebook. The documents are divided into three sections: (1)…

Presented are instructional development procedures for teaching pre-academic skills to severely/profoundly handicapped children in public school settings. Curriculum development and research is briefly reviewed and development of instructional sequences is detailed with discussions of the following topics: non-instructional intervention,…

Presented are five papers on multidimensional teaching models presented at a workshop for professionals serving deaf-blind children. In "Interpretation of Visual Reports", M. Efron discusses procedures for improving visual diagnosis and provides a questionnaire format for an educationally oriented vision report. M. Marshall, in her paper entitled…

This volume is one of several which describe the characteristics, quality, and costs of services to severely handicapped children and youth in 100 providers across the nation. This volume includes the development of data collection instruments and a mail survey of potential providers of services to severely handicapped children and youth. The…

Findings are presented from a 1-year planning study of independent living for severely physically disabled persons. Funded by a federal grant through the city and county of Denver, the study focuses on the following 10 necessary services (with subtopics in parentheses): income assistance (subsidies and typical expenditures), attendant care…

Suggestions for narrowing the discrepancy between the knowledge base of early communication development and the implementation of effective communication interventions for severely handicapped infants and young children are offered including strategies for facilitating emerging language development, increasing positive interactions with infants,…

Two surveys were conducted to determine perceptions of administrators and teachers regarding the impact of Public Law 94-142 on programs for severely handicapped children in New Mexico's small, rural school districts. One year after the infusion of federal funding, 55 percent of the respondents perceived no improvement in the level of services.…

This paper proposes "severe developmental disabilities" (SDD) as a useful umbrella term for various severe handicapping conditions such as autism, severe mental retardation, and multiple handicaps. Diagnostic criteria for SDD include language deficiency, disturbed interpersonal relationships, inconsistent response to sensory stimulation,…

Sheltered workshops for severely disabled persons should be reformed to emphasize job placement, transition to more independent work environments, and retraining and replacement of workshop staff. A national policy on the employment of disabled persons focusing on supported employment, least restrictive work environments, and career development is…

This final report briefly describes activities of a project which developed and evaluated specific natural support intervention procedures to increase the social integration of employees with severe disabilities using single-subject, clique analysis, and social validation methodologies. The project resulted in the publication of 6 journal articles…

This report describes one approach toward setting standards to determine performance level cut scores for an alternative assessment for students with disabilities. First, it considers requirements for inclusion of students with disabilities in educational assessments under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The proposed methodology…

This manual describes a program for training direct service staff to teach adaptive skills to people who have severe disabilities. Research has demonstrated that the Teaching-Skills Training Program improves on-the-job work performance of staff while teaching clients, requires a small amount of trainer and trainee time (typically less than one…

This study assessed the effects of social interaction with nondisabled peers on the motor and social responses of two preschool children with severe disabilities in separate inclusive child care settings. A multiple baseline design across motor response was used to assess the effects of the peer training intervention. Peer training included…

This paper describes the outcomes of 11 California pilot projects designed to return students with disabilities to public education. A total of 220 students with severe disabilities who had been previously placed in private sites were selected to participate based on class communication between the public and private settings. Service delivery…

Educational programs for the parents of deaf children are described, including a correspondence course, an evening program in which psychologists provide information on child management problems and help in dealing with parents' attitudes, a communication curriculum, and a demonstration nursery school. (DLS)