Current research has shown that children with disabilities often felt that their physical education teacher was not prepared to provide them with quality physical education experiences. Over 50% of physical education teachers did not feel prepared to teach children with disabilities. The purpose of this article is to share a "Needs Assessment…

Self-advocacy occurs when deaf or hard of hearing individuals explain to hearing teachers, classmates, bosses, and officemates the nature of their hearing loss, their language skills, and the accommodations they require in order to effectively do their work, participate in conversations, and get involved in other activities. Self-advocacy may be…

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) mandates that each student with a disability has an individualized education program (IEP). The IEP serves as the curriculum roadmap for special education services. In order to generate a clear roadmap, full team communication is necessary. The purpose of this paper is to…

Parents of young children who are in early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) programs want to be sure these services are helping their children develop and learn. These services are designed to make the most of each child's potential as well as to strengthen the family's ability to help their child. This report asks how…

When students become involved in the process of developing their own Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), they have the opportunity to practice many of the essential self-determination skills they need in school and in life. Unfortunately, students are often excluded from this process, and their presence at an IEP meeting does not necessarily…

Comparison of the family characteristics and maternal knowledge of parents who never attended or had attended all their children's individualized education program planning meetings indicated that nonattending families tended to have lower incomes, less parental education, more single parent representation, and more nonwhite representation.…

The practicum addressed the problem of lack of parent involvement in the development of IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) for their handicapped children, through development of a slide program and associated materials. The program attempted to educate parents regarding the IEP process, their role in it according to Public Law 94-142 (The…