Two adults and two children with severe disabilities and challenging behaviors participated in the Lifestyle Development Process, in which a planning process was implemented to develop a vision of a quality life, remediate barriers to participation, and develop intervention strategies. All participants increased their number of preferred,…

The parents of a young man with severe mental retardation and challenging behaviors comment on the use of punishment, arguing that the effectiveness of punishment cannot be consistently evaluated without placing their son in a restrictive setting and incurring subsequent uncertainty about generalizing the procedures back into the community…

Two boys (ages 6 and 15) with severe, multiple handicaps participated in social play activities with 10 nonhandicapped fifth graders, who had been trained on interaction with socially withdrawn children. Increases in all participants' socially directed behavior were observed. Both boys with handicaps increased targeted motor responses when…

The article describes the Finnish special education system which provides instructional modifications ranging from remedial education to individual instruction at home, with most students receiving part-time special education by resource room teachers. The last decade has seen emphasis on individual and group integration and individual special…

Queen Alexandra College of Further Education for Blind and Partially Sighted in Birmingham, England, is one of six rehabilitation centers to be involved in an initiative aimed at improving the training of disabled people as part of the HELIOS (Handicapped People in the European Community Living Independently in an Open Society) program.…

A survey of 418 (61%) General College students (academically underprepared) demonstrated how differences on career decision-making self-efficacy, social and academic integration, and academic persistence differ according to individual and family characteristics. (SK)

Two interventions (environmental modification and adult prompting) were evaluated for promoting conversations between three preschoolers with and six without disabilities. Three conditions were used: classroom baseline, theme boxes, and system of least prompts. Use of the system of least prompts produced increases in rates of conversation, turns…

Examines fundamental conceptual, methodological, and outcome issues with respect to the social integration of preschool-age children with mild developmental delays in inclusive early-childhood settings. A model of factors that influence social integration and their interrelationships is presented as a means of organizing future integration…

This article first describes various augmentative communication systems including sign language, picture symbols, and voice output communication devices. It then explains ways to embed augmentative communication within four types of early childhood classroom activities: (1) special or planned activities, (2) meal time, (3) circle time, and (4)…

Relates current attempts in the province of Quebec (Canada) to eliminate religious school boards in favor of linguistically-based boards. Claims that the processes employed by the Quebec government to do so subvert the Canadian constitution. Argues for retaining the old religious boards and rejecting linguistic- or ethnic-based educational…

Analysis of 202 questionnaires completed by childcare center personnel found 90 percent of respondents agreed with the concept of integration of young children with special needs and 76 percent thought integration was beneficial for typically developing children. Curriculum adaptations, classroom integration, and identification of developmental…

Forty-eight children (ages 5 to 13) with autism or related pervasive developmental disability were paired with normally developing peers for informal play periods. Compared to a control group, the experimental children demonstrated improved social behavior which sometimes generalized to interactions with other children and the larger school…

A reversal design was used in two elementary classrooms to examine effects of cooperative learning groups (CLG) in reading instruction for three students with autism and their general education peers. Results demonstrated increased reading gains, academic engagement, and peer interaction during CLG conditions. Results also documented the…

Comparison of the social interactions of nine children with visual impairments and a comparison group of nine children with full sight found that children with visual impairments were capable of interacting with others, but there were differences in the frequency of social initiations and the targets of these initiations. Results support…

This study compared peer interactions in 12 play groups of 6 preschool children each, containing either typically developing children, children with developmental delays, or both typical and delayed children. Results indicated higher levels of peer interactions in mainstreamed settings but a lack of full acceptance of children with delays by…