Purpose: This study explored the acceptability and practicality of implementing a Direct Skills Teaching (DST) approach to increase job interview preparation for individuals who were receiving state vocational rehabilitation (VR) services in four states. Method: Counselors-in-training facilitated a four-session curriculum teaching "Presenting…

This report discusses current developments and status of art therapists in public schools, with recommendations for occupational titles, program effectiveness, and legislative change to identify art therapists as service providers for students with special needs. Interview results from a small sample of art therapists employed in New York State…

This article chronicles the development of a portfolio system used primarily to assess special education high school students on a variety of traditional and non-traditional standards and skills. Developing, capturing, sharing, and assessing student learning can be problematic when traditional testing or classroom assessment methods are not an…

The purpose of this article is to share the results of a qualitative research study designed to shed light on the perspectives of inclusive prekindergarten classroom teachers in the United States. This study used surveys, interviews, and classroom observations to explore understandings of recently adopted learning standards and accountability…

As public schools, charter schools are legally required to educate all students regardless of the difficulties they bring with them into the classroom. Nonetheless, many are concerned that the charter sector fails to educate all comers. Charter schools are often criticized for not enrolling similar proportions of students with disabilities as are…

Community engagement is a common course in college curricula of computer science and information systems. In this study, the authors analyze the benefits of digital storytelling, in a course engaging college students with high school students with disabilities. The authors discover that a project of storytelling progressively enables high…

Access to effective and comprehensive transition programming is pivotal to transition of youth with disabilities to work and independent living. Successful programs often blend key ingredients, including individualized educational planning, career development, work experiences in secondary school, and interagency partnerships/collaborations.…

In school districts across the nation, diverse student groups, including English Learners and students with disabilities, have been experiencing significant gains in reading performance after using READ 180. This compendium of READ 180 research contains results of 40 studies conducted in a variety of settings, in school districts across the…

In this paper, we describe a rural school-university 22 year partnership. The partnership serves students with disabilities and students at-risk for being classified with a disability. Despite personnel changes, the undergraduate teacher candidates have consistently provided intense instruction to their assigned students. Electronic surveys were…

The polio vaccine became available in 1955, due almost entirely to the efforts of the March of Dimes. In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt gave a public face to polio and mounted a campaign to prevent it, establishing the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. During the Depression, U.S. citizens were asked to contribute one dime. Entertainer…

Paralympic School Day (PSD) is a disability awareness program that provides a platform for attitude change by raising awareness about disability and disability sport. The purpose of this study was to determine if PSD would have a positive impact on the attitudes of students without disabilities toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in…

US school libraries are required to ensure that schoolchildren and school staff with disabilities have equal opportunity to use and benefit from library facilities and information services under federal law. However, evidence indicates teacher-librarians (TLs) often lack the training, knowledge and skills to provide programmes and services that…

This article explores the benefits and challenges of operating an inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation program within a disability studies framework. How does such a program balance issues of theory and practice? How does it provide students with a critical approach that essentially views disability as a social and…

Purpose: To examine the impact of an experimental consumer-choice voucher benefit on the selection of independent and agency personal assistance services (PAS) providers among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities. Methods: The Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration enrolled 1,605 Medicare beneficiaries in 19…

Summer camps provide opportunities for children to experience play, pleasurable activities, and social interaction with other children of similar ages and interests and are an integral part of the modern-day American cultural landscape. The authors discuss the emergence of summer camps for children with special needs, the types of play activities…