The research synthesis presented here reviewed the currently available evidence on the effectiveness of parent-implemented interventions and family-centered service delivery approaches in early intervention, early childhood special education, and kindergarten through grade three (EI/ECSE [early childhood special education]/K-3). The search for…

Inclusive education is a learning system where learners with various disabilities learn in an environment with equitable educational opportunities alongside non-disabled peers. The theoretical framework forming the foundation of this paper is disability studies which include the social model of disability, which pushes back against the medical…

The number of youth with serious emotional disorders has increased tremendously; unfortunately, meeting the needs of such children has been a challenge. In an effort to deal with the challenging behaviour exhibited by children and youths, expensive out-of-home placements such as juvenile justice centres and clinical and psychiatric…

Over the past three decades, transition practices research has demonstrated that post-school outcomes of students with disabilities improve when educators, families, students, and community members and organizations work together to implement a broad perspective of transition planning, more appropriately referred to as transition-focused…

Since 1995, all Swedish compulsory schools have had a legal obligation to establish individual educational plans (IEPs) for pupils with special educational needs. However, previous research shows that there are a number of issues associated with how these plans are used in schools' overall work and identifies a discrepancy between educational…

This article reviews the historical context in which Canadian legislation and policy for children with special needs has evolved. The potential for the rights of students with special needs in light of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is outlined. The role of the Federal and Provincial governments in legislation and policy vis-à-vis…

Background: Active Support (AS) is an approach for promoting increased engagement in activities by people with intellectual disability (ID). Method: We critically reviewed the available research on AS, and added a commentary to help guide future research and practice. Results: Despite weaknesses in the research design of some studies, there is…

Over 6.5 million youth and their families are eligible for early intervention or special education services (Data Accountability Center, 2011) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). The principal mechanism by which goals, objectives, services, and placements are determined for Part B of the IDEA are Individualized…

This report presents selected findings from the Public School and Private School Data Files of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools…

The special safeguards and standards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for disciplinary "removals," or suspensions and expulsions, are complicated and controversial. The manifestation-determination (M-D) requirement plays a central role in this special framework (Zirkel, 2003). The 2004 Amendments of the IDEA…

Traditionally, the use of control groups, regression discontinuity/projection, or norm referenced models has been advocated for educational program evaluation. The small numbers of and the heterogeneous characteristics of severely and profoundly handicapped make these evaluation methods inappropriate for this population subgroup. Furthermore, no…

The purpose of this article is to analyze parental use of an online support group about their children with disabilities. A content analysis was conducted of 1718 emails from a listserv support group for parents of children who have been diagnosed as eligible for special education services. Key topics included the following: How to deal with…

A review of British Columbia (Canada) Education Ministry documents and published research literature examined theory and practice regarding grading of special needs students undertaking modified programs. A lack of equity in reporting progress for these students was found despite professional consensus that students with special needs should be…

During the past decade there has been an increasing interest in positive psychology, which promotes a shift away from the traditional deficit-based model of mental health to a framework that emphasizes social-emotional strengths. The building of strengths and an emphasis on the prevention of problems are at the forefront of positive psychology and…

The importance of using data collection and analysis procedures to monitor academic and social behavior progress of students with emotional and behavioral disorders is the focus of this article. After reviewing literature supporting the efficacy of data collection procedures used in classrooms for students with disabilities, issues regarding the…