This fact sheet presents the needs and characteristics of handicapped adults as an aid in developing and adapting educational programs. Following a discussion of the desire which adult educators feel to provide opportunities for all students, four general problem areas are described: attitudes of others, lack of mobility, diminished cognitive or intellectual capacity, and lack of communication skills. Three areas of concern for program development which have been identified by the Council on Exceptional Children (1980) are presented: accessibility, specially designed instruction, and cooperative planning. In addition, the following principles proposed by the Council are offered: (1) individuals with disabilities should be respected as adults; (2) they should have available the wide range of programmatic options available to nonhandicapped individuals; (3) they should be provided with educational programs on the same economic and administrative terms as nonhandicapped individuals; and (4) they should have the same benefits as the nonhandicapped when they participate in adult education. The final section describes the handicapping conditions and barriers facing the physically handicapped, the blind, the deaf, and the mentally retarded. A bibliography is included which cites two resources, both of which are available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system. (DC)