The mother of a child with cerebral palsy describes her reactions to others' well meaning but, to her, offensive comments. (CL)

Rhythmic movement in practice (RMP) is an alternative approach for teaching communication skills to severely-profoundly multiply handicapped children. It integrates a motoric program (rhythmic motions) and experience with objects (cues for signals, materials, and equipment used) and utilizes the principles of coactive movement (teacher-child…

A teacher of deaf and multihandicapped students (ages 14-16) describes how she used a teacher-designed activity to develop their game playing skills. (CL)

A multielement design was used to compare the effects of three treatments on the happiness of 3 individuals with profound multiple disabilities. The conditions were typical programming using materials selected by staff, presentation of preferred materials plus social interaction, and social interaction alone with no materials present. Both the…

Online education has skyrocketed in popularity. Every year, more universities are starting online programs. This increase is mostly due to institutional economics, and the demands of students who face a number of obstacles that make the on-campus format inconvenient. The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is no different.…

An orientation to autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as autism, is provided, and the specific syndrome of autism and deafness is addressed. The two conditions have in common a major problem: communication. Case histories are provided, the development of treatment for autism is discussed, and the separate disorders that make up ASD are…

Although some progress has been made, the belief that students with severe cognitive and multiple disabilities will not or cannot become self-determined remains a barrier for many such students. This article revisits topics that were identified in Wehmeyer (1998) as contributing to this problem, with a particular focus on definitional issues…

Students with a hearing loss often have an additional disability. Although the number of deaf students with multiple disabilities is growing, research on this population has significantly decreased over the past quarter-century. The article reviews the literature on identification and placement of deaf students with multiple disabilities,…

The Indian Institute for Cerebral Palsy (IICP) has been providing education and other services in Kolkata, Eastern India, for children and young adults with cerebral palsy and related disabilities for over 30 years. IICP started by providing education for just two children, and was highly dependent on western expertise. Described is the history of…

Although the term deaf-blind implies a complete absence of hearing and sight, in reality, it refers to children with varying degrees of vision and hearing losses. The type and severity differ from child to child. The key feature of deaf-blindness is that the combination of losses limits access to auditory and visual information. Children with…

Research and practice suggest that the application of orientation and mobility (OM) services to severely multiply handicapped learners is a useful approach. Future assessment, instruction, and personnel preparation activities are presented as they relate to the development of services for a range of people who have mobility limitations. (Author/CL)

A vision evaluation and enhancement program was used with 59 elementary multihandicapped students to prevent future problems in educational and social development. Ss with eye-movement difficulties, eye-hand coordination problems and/or difficulty in visual perception skills improved after program participation. (CL)

The article describes a group motor-route activity to help mulitply handicapped blind students develop a complete understanding of spatial-movement concepts and to increase their cognitive motor skills. (Author/CL)

A teacher of multiply handicapped students describes his approach to training students for actual jobs in the community as well as for use of recreational sites. The approach involves an inventory of skills required by the settings, specific training, and on-site supervision. (CL)

The Paget-Gorman Sign System, a signed English approach shown to be effective with deaf or hard of hearing children, has been helpful in developing phrase structure in hearing impaired mentally retarded students. (CL)