Many public schools are experiencing improved student, staff, and school outcomes with the adoption of a positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework, which organizes evidence-based practices into an integrated continuum of supports. Although alternative programs are often more restrictive and specialized because of the…

Based on the lessons learned from providing support to states developing guidance documents, the National Center on Response to Intervention has created "Developing an RTI Guidance Document." Included in this tool are frequently asked questions about guidance documents and a template to help states, districts, and schools develop their…

The levels of drug use amongst school-aged young people have risen over the past decade. Prevention initiatives have been developed using empirical evidence obtained from school-based surveys. The empirical evidence base of drug use amongst young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) attending special education…

A psycho-medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment…

This article is a socio-historical account of the development of the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and methylphenidate treatment in America, attending particularly to the political and institutional contexts that have supported this development. Historical developments in early-mid-twentieth-century America frame a…

Significant numbers of students are being pushed out of school as a result of "zero tolerance" school discipline policies. While nobody questions the need to keep schools safe, teachers, students, and parents are questioning the methods being used in pursuit of that goal. Initially enacted to counter violent behavior and drug use, zero tolerance…

Presents preliminary results of portfolio use as the focal point of strengths-based interventions designed to increase students' chances of re-entry into mainstream education. Describes use of the portfolio to support a multisystemic intervention program for chronically disruptive students, to foster recognition of student strengths, and to…

Describes the academic-occupational program where the emphasis on working with disabled students is not placed upon remedial techniques but upon the development of alternate coping strategies. Discusses the use of the homeroom concept in the implementation of this program. Describes four career orientation courses which make up the program. (RC)