This booklet on the rights of New Jersey's special needs students and their parents begins with general suggestions on learning about the child's condition and working with school personnel. The booklet outlines conditions that are defined as handicapping and then discusses such rights as the right to a free and appropriate public education,…

This paper presents a functional approach to assessment and associated program development for individuals with severe disabilities, with emphasis on informal strategies that target beginning communicative levels. In the first section, form, function, and context (three components of any communicative act) are defined and described. Three…

The Carolina Policy Studies Program (CPSP) was established in October 1987 to track the implementation of Public Law 99-457, Part H (the law is now known as IDEA--Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), which aids states in providing comprehensive services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Since its establishment,…

This final report describes objectives, activities, and outcomes of a project to provide training to infant specialists employed within a total of 16 infant intervention programs in New York State. The project focused on the acquisition of skills necessary to provide services under Public Law 99-457. Training content and procedures were derived…

This practicum reports on the development of a support network for parents (n=34) of students with learning disabilities at a private rural elementary school. The program focuses on providing essential information to parents and increasing their involvement within the school setting. The program involved: (1) monthly meetings of parents; (2)…

The use of assistive technology with students having disabilities in the 134 school systems of Virginia was researched. Questionnaires were sent to all Directors of Special Education, with a 70 percent response rate. The survey focused on responsibilities and issues pertaining to the use of assistive technology and demographic information relating…

The issue of inclusion has been at the forefront of attention in education, and has been widely discussed and debated. Since teachers will be the primary service deliverers of whatever inclusion practices are adopted, this study was conducted in an attempt better to understand teachers' understanding and perceptions of inclusion. Focus group…

This guide is aimed at improving health services for people with developmental disabilities by educating people presently training as health practitioners and persons working in community service programs. It contains information on health care needs of people with developmental disabilities and recommendations for health care practices adapted…

This paper presents the results of a study on communicative interaction patterns of three nonspeaking children (ages 8-12) with physical disabilities and their adult speaking conversation partners in three different interaction situations (with a speech therapist in a rehabilitation center, during conversation with their mothers at home, and…

This curriculum module, one of seven developed by the "Infusion Project," offers information and lessons on drug use prevention for integration into an existing seventh-grade exceptional education middle school curriculum for social skills, mathematics, science and language arts. The module, based on a type of interactive learning called…

This document summarizes the ninth annual report of civil rights compliance activities in Michigan carried out by the Vocational-Technical Education Service (VTES), under the Michigan State Board of Education, during fiscal year 1988-89. These activities were conducted to comply with the mandates of the Vocational Education Programs Guidelines for…

This paper focuses on the issues of restructuring teacher education for general educators, special educators, and leadership personnel. The paper calls for preparing teachers in liberal arts, professional areas, and clinical experience. The pre-professional component should provide sound subject matter background. Professional education should…

Group discussion on emerging trends in special education and implications for training personnel resulted in policy recommendations on leadership training for teacher educators. The group felt that the education of special educators and general educators, from undergraduate to doctoral levels, has evolved from different origins and proceeded in…

This directory lists approximately 860 postsecondary programs that prepare special educators, paraprofessionals for special education, adapted physical educators, or vocational special needs personnel. The directory is organized alphabetically by state and by postsecondary institution within each state. A set of codes is used to identify common…

This paper identifies those factors and processes critical to promoting interagency collaboration between school and community agencies represented on the Individual Transition Teams (ITT) of students with severe disabilities. The ITT's goal is to assist the student in obtaining the most satisfactory transition possible into meaningful work and…