It is important for educators to collect accurate information on the academic performance of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who may be assessed with an Alternate Assessment Aligned with Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) to inform decisions about resources, programs, instruction, and individualized…

Research supports the benefits of inclusive education for all students, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Additionally, educators are supportive of the idea of including students with IDD in general education classrooms. However, they report many barriers to doing so, including a lack of a systematic process…

This article, intended to inform educators on how to use iPad apps for literacy development for young children with developmental disabilities, briefly reviews the literature on iPad apps for literacy development, examines key apps for literacy development for children with developmental disabilities, and discusses how to incorporate iPad apps…

This article describes comprehensive, high-quality writing instruction for students with developmental disabilities. The Enriched Writers' Workshop combines differentiated writing process instruction with social communication instruction and cognitive strategy instruction for students with complex writing needs across a wide range of ages. It…

Self-advocacy and self-determination include the abilities to select personal goals, plan steps toward goals, assess one's progress, make choices, and self-monitor and self-evaluate one's behaviors. These are important skills in both current and future environments. Unfortunately, youth with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities…

This article features Melmark New England, a private, nonprofit, community based organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, acquired brain injury, neurological diseases and disorders, and severe challenging behaviors. The Melmark parent corporation, a Pennsylvania based provider of services for those…

Autism has recently become a more common topic in discussions about how schools can best serve special-education populations. Recent studies have reported the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be 1 in 152 children (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2002 Principal Investigators 2007). Since…

This paper focuses on "technologies for voice" that are related to the self-determination of youth with developmental disabilities. The authors describe a self-determination model that values family-focused, community-referenced pedagogies employing "new media" to give voice to youth and their families. In line with the adage that a picture is…

This article discusses an evolving understanding of the relationship of assistive technology (AT) to student achievement. Clarifying the compensatory nature of AT and its role in creating a "floor of opportunity" for students with disabilities, the authors then emphasize the importance of AT for access to and productivity within both the life…

This paper focuses on "technologies for voice" that are related to the self-determination of youth with developmental disabilities. The authors describe a self-determination model that values family-focused, community-referenced pedagogies employing "new media" to give voice to youth and their families. In line with the adage that a picture is…

The model for assessing young developmentally handicapped children provides for general assessment through interviews (with parents and teachers); a developmental checklist, observations (in natural and training settings and with structured materials); identification of instructional targets; individual instruction; and a four-component assessment…

The amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004 reiterate the significance of producing real postsecondary education, employment, and independent living outcomes. However, current employment data continue to show widespread unemployment and very limited access to inclusive community environments and…

This paper describes a prototype system developed for the Green Valley Area Educational Agency 14 in Iowa, which uses the Programming for Individualized Education (PIE) program and a Cluster/One Model A Nestar Micronetworking System to plan and store student records for developmentally disabled and other weighted special education students. The…

This paper describes the early childhood special educator's use of the Five P's (Parent/Professional Preschool Performance Profile), a new assessment tool by Judith Bloch, developed by the Variety Preschooler's Workshop (Syosset, New York) for use with children with emotional and developmental disorders functioning on a preschool level. The Five…

As a result of inherent cognitive and language difficulties, individuals with mental retardation/developmental disabilities often are considered difficult to assess appropriately. When cognitive and language difficulties occur in conjunction with behavioral issues, this difficulty is compounded. The IDEA requirement to include a form of…