Describes Project Choices, a residential treatment program for drug-abusing adjudicated adolescents that employs the adventure-based counseling model to instill change. Describes Project Choices goals as being the reduction of conduct-disordered behavior associated with delinquency and drug use. Presents program evaluation results which suggest…

This response to previous symposium papers (EC 604 155-161) concerning regulations and quality assurance in Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR) sees regulations as the bureaucratization of values, identifies paradoxes implicit in regulatory controls, and urges reform of the current developmental disability service…

Elements of a model for delivering statewide behavioral programing services to individuals with mental retardation in residential, training, and educational settings are described. The model includes such components as identification of levels of behavioral competence among staff members, an intervention approval process, regional behavioral…

A residential weekend program was developed at Exeter University (England) as part of an inservice teacher education program. The program provides opportunities to develop dissertation topic choices, through discussions with teacher peers, local education authority officials, school governors, and academics. (MSE)

Two successful alumni continuing education programs at Columbia University (New York) are an annual seminar event offered in New Mexico and Italy and an on-campus evening colloquium series. The travel program sparks intellectual exchanges and allows cultivation of prospective donors. The colloquium series uses an interdisciplinary approach in…

The Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program for gifted rising high school seniors is a five-week intensive living-learning experience that promotes flexible daily class schedules, active learning, student confidence, creative expression, intellectual discovery, and social responsibility. The program attempts to break down barriers between students…

The study examined frequency of contact with family members of 474 mentally retarded persons in Norwegian residential placements. Age trends in family contact were noted with decreasing contacts as the individual aged. Results have implications for the increasing numbers of older adults in such placements. (DB)

Twelve students (ages 13-18) who attended a Purdue University (Indiana) summer residential program for gifted students for at least 3 years were interviewed, along with their parents, concerning their views on the programs. Students appreciated the challenging coursework, teacher quality, living on a university campus, making friends, and gaining…

Presents in-depth case study of preadolescent boy who showed most dramatic holistic changes in his construction of reality over 2.5 years spent in experimental Life-Impact Curriculum at residential center. Discusses need to empower children who have been victims of physical and sexual abuse. (NB)

A study used the Questions about Behavior Function Scale to examine the functions of five severe problem behaviors (self-injurious behavior, aggression, stereotypies, pica, and rumination) in 417 institutionalized persons with mental retardation. The most common function for all behaviors except aggression was nonsocial. Aggression was maintained…

Examines residential school placement patterns for students from deaf- and hearing-parented families, provides directory listings of U.S. and Canadian schools and programs for children with deafness or hearing impairments, and provides a list of postsecondary programs with supportive services specifically for individuals with deafness. (CR)

Draws together the results of seven studies that investigated factors influencing the effects of service quality in community-based residential services for people with severe mental retardation. Results found that quality of staff and resident activity is dependent on an interaction between the structure, orientation, and procedures followed…

Describes Project Adventure's Legacy program, a 12-bed, 10-month residential program for juvenile sex-offenders in Georgia. Most offenders started as victims, so the program must address their early sexual trauma. Adventure-based counseling, with its emphasis on the total mind-body experience, is especially suited for this. Sidebars present the…

Examines factors associated with abuse of children in residential child care institutions including: failings in staff recruitment, training, and supervision; ineffective management and accountability; development of inappropriate institutional cultures; public ambivalence toward children in care; slow response to threats posed to children in…

Severe mental and emotional conditions are much more prominent in juvenile resident treatment facilities than they are within the general adolescent population. These conditions are often painful to the juveniles and create management difficulties for the facility. Several mental illnesses are particularly severe and troublesome when not properly…