The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that schools assist students with disabilities to develop independent living skills and abilities essential to succeed in most of their life's endeavors. According to the law, each student with a disability must have an individualized education program (IEP), and the IEP must address…

In this article, the author, a parent of Malik, a special needs child with CHARGE Syndrome, describes the difficulties she encountered with her local educational agency (LEA) in transitioning her son from the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts to the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf (ENCSD). At ENCSD, Malik now…

A majority of parents who have a child who is deaf are hearing and usually have had no experience with deafness. The impact on the parents can unequivocally alter their lives. The professional advice given to the parent regarding their child is often accepted as irrefutable fact, and can lead to the emotional, social, linguistic, and educational…

At the California School for the Deaf students have opportunities to succeed in a total communication environment. Program philosophy ensures that students who can benefit will have a mainstreaming experience; however, if a student cannot cope, adjustments are made. (Author/CL)

The article describes various models of educating blind and visually impaired students in Israel, including residential schools, resource rooms, itinerant teachers, and joint and individual initiatives. Noted are the policy of encouraging mainstreaming and the autonomy of special educators in program planning. (Author/DB)

Ten years of data reflect little change in use of separate facilities for handicapped students, and high state-to-state variation. A subsequent paper argues that least restrictive environment as a concept has focused on "location" rather than "service." A final paper addresses the need to eliminate geographic and funding restrictions to…

This paper reviews a Florida program that offers fiscal incentives for collaboration among school districts within a region in providing services to students with serious emotional disturbances (SED). A statewide framework requires locally determined, needs-based priorities consistent with principles of multiagency planning, continuous improvement…

This paper examines the issues of deinstitutionalization and mainstreaming from a historical perspective, focusing on the changes over time in views and practices toward retarded individuals and the role of science in the mental retardation field. The parallel development of residential programs and special education programs for individuals with…

This publication describes 12 outdoor education programs/centers serving persons with disabilities in their program curriculum. Each program is described in detail and each description includes an overview of purposes and goals, facility/site description, administration structure, program emphasis for disabled populations, and source of funding…

This paper presents an educational program for seriously emotionally disturbed students at the Yellowstone Ranch, a residential treatment facility and school focusing on the enhancement of each student's self esteem. Located in Montana, which in 1965 created a special school district to serve the needs of special needs children, the school has as…