By law, students with disabilities must have individualized education plans. Physical educators should get involved in making these plans. The paper discusses how they can get involved, how to deal with time constraints which make it difficult to attend teamings, and how to stay involved through open lines of communication. (SM)

Five families participating in the Vermont Rural Autism Project (VT-RAP) assessment process were interviewed. An overall theme of shifting attitudes emerged as well as 3 sub-themes: getting enrolled, becoming friends, and empowerment and transformation. All parents reported having a unique and meaningful experience of involvement in their child's…

This article provides an overview of policymaking in relation to state and local district testing and accountability and concludes by identifying continuing policy issues and strategies for local implementation of standards-based secondary education that aligns with current testing and accountability policies. Governance models for curriculum…

This article uses the case study method to examine the lives of three youths with disabilities living in the southern part of the United States who have followed a pathway to death row. An empirically established developmental and theoretical framework is used to examine issues related to the influence of disabilities and race on children and…

Systems of care (SOCs) have been developed throughout the country to meet the needs of children with severe emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. In these SOCs, multiple agencies and disciplines are expected to work together with informal community supports to address families' needs (Stroul & Friedman, 1986a). A review of the…

Freddy, a student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder served for part of the school day in special education, was having difficulty staying on task. Teachers reported that Freddy was continuously getting up out of his seat, bothering classmates, and making verbal comments or requests without raising his hand. Observations were…

Mel Levine writes about learning disabilities in a way that sometimes invites satire. The premise of his 2003 book, "The Myth of Laziness," for example, is that a child who appears lazy probably does not lack motivation, but rather suffers from "output failure." Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North…

It has been slightly more than a decade since the U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA division published its first major report on home computer access, "Falling through the Net: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America." Published in July 1995, the report focused on serious gaps in the levels of technology available to different…

The aim of the present study was to address how to effectively predict mathematics learning disability (MLD). Specifically, we addressed whether cognitive data obtained during kindergarten can effectively predict which children will have MLD in third grade, whether an abbreviated test battery could be as effective as a standard psychoeducational…

This article discusses concerns with the No Child Left Behind definition of scientifically based research and its preference for random-assignment experiments from a single/within subject research perspective. A comprehensive program of research that can focus on the bridging the gap between research and practice is proposed. (CR)

Having a child with autism can severely disrupt family life. Parents may experience emotional stress, anxiety, fear, and guilt. Understanding parental efforts in learning about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their experiences with a variety of therapeutic interventions and educational strategies is an important component of building…

A major barrier in the provision of special education services to migrant students is the lack of trained personnel who understand the unique strengths and challenges of migrant students. Using the experiences of the Migrant Special Education Training Program, this article presents a teacher education curriculum and pedagogical model for preparing…

The difficulty of determining if a student's learning difficulties are the results of learning disabilities or issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity (CLD), often causes problems when individuals are referred for a learning disability assessment. This article discusses the many issues related to assessment of adults in community…

This study evaluated the cognitive and achievement profiles of college students experiencing difficulties in foreign language (FLD group). Because past research appears to have generated different results based on the type of comparison groups utilized, we attempted to obtain a better representation of students with foreign language difficulties.…

This study identified substantial training and resource needs for special education (SPED), transitional bilingual education/ English as a Second Language (TBE/ESL), and general education (GENED) HIV education teachers relative to providing appropriate, effective HIV education to students with disabilities (SWD) and language minority/Limited…