It's all about building bridges for student inclusion at Edgerton Elementary School, which is the school the author leads in Kalispell, Montana. When the author became principal of Edgerton five years ago, the school was planning to introduce a cohort of preschool students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into kindergarten. Everyone at the…

During the past 10 years in Australia teacher aides have been employed in mainstream schools as support personnel in special education intervention programmes, and their numbers are increasing. At the same time workplace reform in relation to inclusive education is impacting on their employment and deployment in schools to support students with…

Many parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported general discontent with the services offered by the education system and have advocated for increased ASD-specific services to better meet their children's educational needs. The elements of best practice offer an ideal model for educational support. There are, however,…

The teacher training program drew on the most effective techniques of special education, condensing them into a course on how to teach. The program, implemented with regular secondary teachers on a voluntary basis, provided on-site practical training with follow-up. Reflections are offered on reasons for the program's success and training models…

Many paraeducators work with individuals with disabilities and follow them throughout their day to their various classes. In such cases, the paraeducator may be asked to attend physical education with the child with a disability and do tasks he or she is not trained to do. Paraeducators can be extremely helpful in many ways, but there is a need to…

Many students "included" in general education today are accompanied by a paraprofessional, also known as a 1-to-1 aide, therapist, behavioral aide, or personal assistant. The use of a paraprofessional, particularly with children who have autism, mental retardation, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities has many merits, such as increased…

Advances in medicine have increased the survival rates of children with complex medical conditions, including those who are dependent on technology such as ventilators and tracheostomies. The process of integrating children dependent on medical technology into public schools requires the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team to ensure that…

To ensure compliance with IEP requirements, staff development activities should be directed toward the evaluation and documentation of individual programs. This process includes preparation of detailed summaries of students participating in IEPs, documentation of participation in the IEP, as well as in the regular classroom, goals and objectives,…

A staff development model on the topic of mainstreaming was designed around three components: workshops, technical assistance, and program visitations. Evaluation data collected from each component indicated that feedback from the staff concerning the work of consultants needs to be shared with the principal. (JN)

The New Jersey Mainstream Inservice Project is described as a response to the mandate of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) for a comprehensive system of personnel development. The model stresses collaboration between the state department of education, 50 local school districts, and five institutions of higher education…

The central purpose of mainstreaming is to integrate handicapped students with nonhandicapped peers. It is the teacher's responsibility to foster positive and constructive interactions between handicapped students and their peers. Three ways of organizing constructive peer interaction are: (1) cooperation; (2) competition; and (3) an…

The paper describes training of staff in a mainstream program for children 4 months through 5 years of age. Approximately 40% of the 105 children have one or more handicapping condition. The program provides training via a competency model. Preservice training is delivered to a new employee when entering the program by teams made up of the program…

A mutual support model was developed to prepare teachers to meet the needs of mainstreamed handicapped children at the University of Akron (OH). In 1975 the university was among the first to receive funding from the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. Among the first tasks that year was the challenge of changing the attitudes of faculty who…

The Special Needs Action Program (Coventry, England) endeavors to support special needs students in regular primary and secondary schools by providing resource information, a variety of inservice courses, dissemination of materials, and advice and help. Early identification, teacher involvement, practical content, and staff support are major…

The pros and cons of laboratory vs. field-based research are debated, and a university-based model program for research at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro into mainstreaming in physical education is described. (JN)