Fourteen papers examine current issues and practices in the education of students with severe mental retardation (SMR). Papers touch upon the broad context of education for SMR students, programs for the SMR population, and critical issues. The following papers are presented: "The Severely Mentally Retarded Individual: Philosophical and…

The guide is intended as an information resource for school counselors in their interactions with emotionally handicapped (EH) students and their teachers. Following a definition of EH students, the first of seven brief chapters uses a question-and-answer format to discuss the counselor's role in student assessment and the individualized education…

A review and analysis of relevant literature discusses the heterogeneity of social competence observed in learning disabled children. Sociometric group classification is judged to be a viable behavioral classification framework. Inconsistencies are noted in the way peer popularity, peer acceptance, and sociometric status are defined in the…

Typical characteristics of impulsive children and adolescents are reviewed and strategies for changing this behavior are considered. Self-instruction training requires the child to verbalize a given problem, alternative approaches to resolution, and attentional strategies. Language becomes a mediator for self-monitoring and regulation. Cognitive…

Many studies have cited the debilitating effect of math-related anxiety on achievement and vocational choice. To investigate the efficacy of cognitive behavior modification in the treatment of mathematics anxiety, 44 subjects were recruited from a high school and 2 colleges. The students were divided into two groups, a cognitive behavior…

This study tests the effectiveness of 2 approaches to parenting instruction for parents of preschool developmentally delayed children aged 3 through 5. Sixty parent/child pairs were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) individual parenting instruction only, (2) individual plus group instruction, and (3) comparison group with no instruction.…

To assist work adjustors, evaluators, and counselors in learning how to write individualized work adjustment plans, this publication describes one method of developing individual client plans--the Materials Development Center Individualized Work Adjustment Plan. The detailed description of this plan explains the two basic parts of its format: (1)…

The trend toward normalization of the mentally retarded has brought a new dimension to the problem of their adjustment. Within the past several years, large numbers of the mentally retarded have been discharged into the community from residential facilities; the stress and anxiety they experience at being thrust into a strange and alien world…

While numerous parent-training programs have been developed over the years, few systematically address the unique difficulties of single-parent families. A 10-week training program. "Parenting Alone Successfully (PALS)," was designed to assist single parents encountering difficulties in the management of their children's behavior. This…

An ecological model derived from family systems theory and strategies borrowed from family therapy are effective substitutes for the medical model and clinical methods traditionally used by school pyschologists to help children with academic or behavior problems. Behavior is an outgrowth of interpersonal processes in a particular system rather…

Only within the past decade have the special problems of socially, economically, and culturally different urban youth received some of the special attention that is needed. The wide range of guidance and counseling efforts directed toward problems of urban youth are covered in this volume of reprints from American Personnel and Guidance…

Four junior high aged students (three behaviorally disordered and one learning disabled) received self-management training, without the external control of a token program. The self-evaluation procedures reduced students' off-task and disruptive behaviors in the resource room, but there was little or no spontaneous generalization to the students'…

Three case studies illustrate how a program called Project Learning Strategies at DePaul University (Illinois) assists learning-disabled college students with organizational problems. Clinic sessions help the students improve thinking and study skills, take class notes, improve ability to organize class materials, manage time, and develop…

Behavioral strategies were used to teach exercise and weight control habits, and were combined with diet planning, nutrition education, and a strenuous physical education program in a residential summer camp, to successfully bring about a significant reduction in body fat and heart disease risk of obese boys, 8-18 years old. (Author/JDD)

In poll after poll, parents, teachers and school staff say that school safety and order are their highest school priorities. Educators know that other efforts to improve schools will not be effective without an orderly and safe learning environment. Disorderly schools severely compromise opportunities to learn. Teachers cannot teach, children…