We have moved from a period of institutional and facility-based thinking in which people were seen as patients, through an intermediary phase in which these individuals were seen as citizen with disabilities, but who share with all other citizens the potential for, and the right to, full community participation and integration. The movement of…

In this article, the authors discuss a unique program of The Ohio State University's Nisonger Center--the Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC). The NCBC promotes literacy learning, community inclusion, and social connectedness for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities. Developed in 2002, the program has expanded from two clubs in…

This final report describes the Systematic Integrated Preschool Education Model (SIPE) project, which established classrooms to demonstrate an inclusion model for serving preschool children with severe disabilities. A total of 33 preschool children with identified developmental disabilities and their families in three Virginia school districts…

This paper presents five systematic phases for bringing about successful regular education inclusion of students with severe disabilities. Phases include develop networks within the community, assess school and community resources, review strategies for integration, install strategies that lead to integration, and develop a system of feedback and…

A program was developed to offer meal-related choices to adults with severe/profound mental retardation. Results indicated that the program, which included a choice-making skill assessment and teaching component along with a staff training and management component, effectively increased choice opportunities offered as well as actual choices made…

This paper presents a critical analysis of Wolfensberger's formulation of normalization as both a valid human service ideology and also a "research-anchored" scientific theory. It finds that the core statement of the model is tautologous, and thus cannot be considered a scientific statement. The empirical status of two major auxiliary…

This study evaluated attitudinal discrepancies among non-disabled community members regarding the acceptability of socio-sexual expression for persons with and without mental retardation. Overall, discrepancies between adults with and without mental retardation primarily concern attitudes toward marriage and parenthood. Older adults, both…

This article explores implications of people's interpretations of communicative efforts by people with severe disabilities. Recent initiatives to support and promote self-determination are critically assessed as possibly functioning to limit self-determination. Use of preference assessments and behavior supports is discussed as a key to…

This report describes several barriers to self-determination for adults with severe disabilities, translates key components of self-determination into guidelines for support providers' practice, provides an example of how support for self-determination was implemented for one woman, and examines unresolved challenges in making self-determination a…

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. The difficulties of defining self-determination are addressed through pragmatism, and the challenges of interpreting self-determination are illustrated through the author's experiences building…

Reviews of research on deinstitutionalization show that investigators have focused primarily on adaptive behavior changes of "movers," while paying minimal attention to "stayers." Analysis of their research also revealed some methodological problems. We assessed 150 movers and 150 stayers in 1994, before deinstitutionalization began in 1997. We…

In this article, the author offers his critique on Holburn and Cea's notion on "excessive positivism" that person-centered planners are overconcerned with scientific verification and logical proof. The author believes that Holburn and Cea's notion blurs the important messages they have for person-centered planners by leading toward a debate about…

Over a 3-year period, the National Inclusive Camp Practices (NICP) project examined camp practices and youth outcomes at 14 resident camps and outdoor schools that fully integrate youth with disabilities into their programs. These outdoor programs were predominantly 1 week long. Data on camp practices and on 742 participating youth with and…

Meeting the challenge of providing supported living for people with developmental disabilities calls for new relationships among people receiving support, those providing support, and families. The focus should be on assisting people with developmental disabilities to establish a sense of place, security of place, and effective personalized…

This commentary refutes use of segregation and institutionalization as a legitimate lifestyle strategy for individuals with mental retardation. It contends that advocates of this strategy have never justified its use with valid research and calls for integration that is carefully parsed into its various expressions, the highest form being valued…