This article reviews present services in gifted education in western Europe (e.g., Britain, Germany, the Netherlands) and eastern Europe. Noted are individual accommodations such as individual acceleration and privately funded national competitions. Stressed is the importance of international communication in gifted education and specific…

The keynote speech notes: changes effected by Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act; needs for the next decade; and implications for the field of learning disabilities. A framework for change is proposed with four parameters: outcome effectiveness, services in the schools, individual decisions, and balanced progress.…

Addresses five questions concerning special education for students with disabilities: Why are so many students considered disabled? What are their educational needs? How should appropriate, individualized services be funded? Are Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's procedural protections necessary? and Can regular education meet needs of…

Calls for a team approach to meeting the vocational needs of handicapped learners. Emphasizes the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to vocational programing. Specifies the competencies necessary to facilitate a team effort and provides an example of a cooperative approach to the individualized education programs. (Editor/CT)

This article addresses integrated education for disabled students from both legal and educational perspectives. Variables critical to integration, including the influence of the media, the need for increased dissemination of legal and educational findings, the need for well-developed individualized education programs, and a critical examination of…

Reviews the history of career education for individuals with handicaps, evaluates the current status of career education, and projects desired components of future programs. (Author/BL)

In response to Brown (EC 220 139), the paper supports the integration of severely intellectually disabled students into regular classes and stresses the importance of individualized planning, "shared ownership" by the school community, peer and adult support, and merging of traditional general and special education curriculum. (DB)

Special educators are urged to prepare for the increasing numbers of children disabled due to maternal drug use. Encouraged are interagency coordination, increased data collection, personnel preparation, renewed emphasis on "child find" and individualized education programs, and overcoming political resistance to service expansions. (DB)

Although the number of students with behavior difficulties has increased, it has not been matched by a comparable increase in developing educator competencies to meet their needs. Educators must be given the necessary training, supported by solid research in best practices and quality schools. Individualized student plans involving family members…

Visually-impaired gifted students are at risk for not being identified as gifted. Relevant identification, placement, and curriculum problems are reviewed and excerpts from interviews with two visually-impaired gifted students illustrate their unique needs (e.g., the effects of multiple labels, counseling needs, and the need to feel equal to…

This speech by an educator and parent of gifted children addresses the problem of appropriate educational services for gifted children, concluding that advocacy for these children entails pushing for acceleration, an often neglected but effective option. The paper begins with anecdotes which illustrate the unmet needs of gifted children and which…

The effects and implications of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Public Law (PL) 94-142, are discussed in this collection of conference presentations. A panel gave an overview of legislative and legal aspects of the law and its implications for personnel development and funding. Small group sessions were held on: individualized…

This paper deals with the way the vision of including children with special educational needs into their home school, constituted for instance in UNESCO's "The Salamanca Statement and Framework on Special Needs Education", has merged with other contemporary discourses (ideas and practices) in Icelandic education. In particular, the paper…

Three schools in Minnesota have designed a shared-resource project to address the areas of career, gifted and talented, and chemical and drug education, to provide guidance and counseling services, to add and enhance course offerings, and to develop an individualized instruction program (IEP) for every tenth- and eleventh-grade student. (MM)

This study investigated the quality of programming for students (aged 3-20) with severe multiple disabilities. The study sought to determine whether physical disabilities that prevent voluntary movement are a discriminating factor affecting whether active or passive programming is provided. The Individualized Education Programs of 35 students with…