A recently established rural service delivery model in Alberta designed to overcome some difficulties in serving low incidence handicapped students in rural areas is described. The model includes the establishment of regional centers and the provision of outreach services including assessment, inservice, and consultation by specialists otherwise…

The article describes a program model that provides ongoing supported employment within a normal industrial setting to six persons previously judged to have severe disabilities. After one year, employees have dramatically increased earnings and productivity over previous earnings and national averages, and public costs have declined to one-third…

The article describes a structured approach to teaching sign language to severely disabled students through task analysis. The approach emphasizes four basic principles from developmental and behavioral theories: (1) environmental influence, (2) imitation, (3) reinforcement, (4) practice. A functional sign vocabulary of 250 words grouped according…

Reports the findings from a survey of consumer advocates on the scope of need for mental health services and barriers to service provision. Results suggest that individuals with severe physical disabilities are an underserved group, vis-a-vis both public and private mental health service providers, and that there are several barriers to mental…

In order to experience positive growth and fulfillment, parents of severely handicapped children need to move toward self-growth and acceptance of the child, facilitate productive consultation with professionals, and coordinate communication between agencies and services. (CL)

A search of the literature of the past 10 years identified 59 competency statements for teachers of severely and profoundly handicapped students. Competencies fell into nine categories: general knowledge, planning, assessment, curriculum, behavior management, instruction, physical/medical, other personnel, and parents. Overwhelmingly, the…

Nutritional needs of severely handicapped children are examined as they are affected by specific handicapping conditions, medications commonly used with severely handicapped children, special diets, and behavior influences. The potential for interaction among these factors is discussed, and six guidelines are provided to help ensure improved…

The authors detail sequence for teaching independent living skills to optimize generalization for severely handicapped persons. Six steps are addressed and examples offered: (1) define the activity's parameters; (2) analyze activity's variations; (3) select representative teaching examples; (4) sequence representative teaching examples; (5) teach…

Changes were noted in behaviors of attending and manipulation during each of three conditions and were replicated across four students (8-12 years old) to support the conclusion of a difference between students' behaviors during participation in a chosen leisure activity and behaviors during participation in the same activity without choice.…

A simple and effective program for the reduction or elimination of ruminative behavior in four school-aged students with multiple handicaps used a combination of peanut butter, reduced fluid consumption at meals, and fading. In each of the cases, the ruminative behavior was significantly reduced or eliminated. (Author/CL)

The author reviews quality of life arguments proposed in Baby Doe cases involving severely handicapped infants and views quality of life in terms of six dimensions: educability, relationships, residence, access, technology, and medical considerations. (CL)

The Arc Ed Curriculum uses video game formats to teach math and language arts content. Four motivational features (feedback, improvement, high response rates, and unlimited ceiling on performance along with adapted content could make the system applicable for use with severely handicapped learners. (CL)

The techniques of fading response prompts with severely handicapped students are described, comparative studies related to the methods are reviewed, and a framework for future research is proposed. Among methods considered are decreasing assistance, time delay, and graduated guidance. (CL)

The purpose and theoretical design basis of PUSH (Play Units for the Severely Handicapped) are described. The typical unit with accompanying peripheral equipment and its uses is explained. The PUSH concept has evolved into an architectural design process to fit the needs of institutionalized individuals. (Author/CL)

There were very few differences in student products submitted under two grading contingencies for four student trainees. In Strategy A the students received their final grade for the first product they submitted. In Strategy B the students were allowed to resubmit their work until "A"-level grading criterion was reached. (Author/CL)