Despite efforts over the past several decades to improve the delivery of transition services for youth with disabilities, outcomes continue to be unacceptably dismal for most youth, including high rates of unemployment, residential independence, and financial dependence, concurrent with low rates of enrollment in college or other postsecondary…

Eighteen years ago, the author's son Teddy was born with an unbalanced chromosome translocation of 10/12, leaving him with severe disabilities, medically fragile, and chronically ill. The author describes how her entire world was changed that day. Through it all, her journey through life has been an extraordinary educational experience, despite…

Alberta Education provides funding to school authorities to support the development and implementation of programming for students with severe disabilities. The "Handbook for the Identification and Review of Students with Severe Disabilities" presents case studies designed to assist school authority personnel with the identification and…

It has been about 9 years since the last special issue on diversity in "Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities" ("RPSD"). The obvious question people ask: What progress has been made to awareness, respect, and inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds in their society? Specifically, has any progress been made for individuals…

This descriptive study gathered quantitative and qualitative data about 368 families in the People's Republic of China who had children with severe disabilities to better understand (a) the perceived needs that families have, (b) the supports available to them, (c) any differences in perceived needs and support between mothers and fathers, and (d)…

This article features Melmark New England, a private, nonprofit, community based organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, acquired brain injury, neurological diseases and disorders, and severe challenging behaviors. The Melmark parent corporation, a Pennsylvania based provider of services for those…

This essay uses the controversial "Ashley Treatment" to argue that normative body rhetorics have become untethered from and more influential than traditional medical perspectives in determinations about surgical intervention. While disagreeing greatly over the ethics of the "Treatment," both its supporters and critics construct rhetorics of a…

Background: Individuals with severe disability exiting school are likely to be enrolled in day activity and sheltered workshops at least as often as in supported employment. Such facilities are often staffed by paraprofessionals who may not have the skills to engage clients in meaningful activities. This article describes a 3-phase staff training…

Background: Often communication training has been directed at the communication practices of staff members working with people with multiple learning disabilities. To date, the thinking habits of staff members, which also influence interactions, have not been addressed. We identified the issues staff members perceived as important for their…

Case methodology is receiving more recognition in the field of education as a viable pedagogy for use in the preparation of future educators. In this article, the coauthors explore two examples of case method instruction that extend beyond university classrooms to field sites: case report and case study. Both examples were used in special…

Individuals with autism often lack motivation to engage in sustained physical activity. Three adolescents with severe autism participated in a 16-week program and each regularly completed 30 min of cycling at the end of program. This study investigated the effect of a self-regulation instructional strategy on sustained cycling, which included…

Communication skills are of great importance for children with developmental disabilities to be functional and independent in their own lives. This paper provides results of a comprehensive literature review on current researched-based intervention strategies that appear effective to increase communication skills for students who have severe…

The intervention of Intensive Interaction is gaining attention for its demonstrated effectiveness in promoting social engagement in individuals with severe communicative impairments. The present study sought to extend the evidence base for this intervention by investigating the rapidity with which an increase in engagement becomes apparent.…

This position statement was developed collaboratively by members of the Annual Roundtable on Intellectual Disability Policy in Victoria. It attempts to set out what people with severe or profound intellectual disability might expect in terms of housing and support if the principles embedded in contemporary disability policy, such as the 2006…

Background: People with profound and multiple disabilities often display aberrant behaviours (such as stereotypical movements) which can inhibit learning and lead to social stigmatisation. This study was designed to help a man with multiple disabilities increase his object-contact responses and reduce hand stereotypy (in this case, hand/wrist…