The panel presentation traces the development of and describes the operation of a Brentwood (California) project to prepare approximately 75 severely disabled individuals, ages 12-22, to function in the least restrictive recreation/leisure, vocational, and general community environments. Transition Steering Committee developed such project…

A project was designed to involve vocational teachers in intensive "hands-on" workshop activities to develop information, materials, and strategies for vocational instruction and support for students with special needs. Thirty vocational teachers from business, homemaking, and industrial education were involved in a two-day workshop and…

The baccalaureate degree program at INTER/MET and cooperative arrangements are considered in three articles. In "The Baccalaureate Degree Program at INTER/MET: An Evaluation," the process by which nondegree candidates at INTER/MET achieve the bachelor's degree through utilization of the services of the University Without Walls Program at…

A Career Orientation Program (COP) which provides exploratory work experience as well as classroom career instruction is described. The program is part of the High School in the Community (HSC), New Haven, Connecticut, an alternative school designed to provide a choice of learning environments within the public school system. Four components…

Within broad guidelines provided by the Community College of Vermont (CCV), associate degree students write their own individualized, competence-based contracts. Development of the contract includes both assessment of prior learning, and planning for sponsored learning: These are integrated through a "degree development sequence" which includes a…

Mentally retarded individuals are often stigmatized and segregated, though constitutional guarantees in many countries promise them equality. Use of the U.S. court system to secure these guarantees, resulting in deinstitutionalization, individualization of services, and increased employment opportunities, is analyzed and contrasted with the…

Trends in Mexico concerning integrating children with special needs into general classrooms and a new model of service delivery providing greater site-based approaches to educating students with learning disabilities are discussed. Assignments and materials may be modified, and both resource rooms and specialists are available to the general…

Despite federal regulations requiring measurable individualized education programs (IEPs), IEPs are often vague and unfocused, making them difficult to use in guiding instructional planning. Although a well-written IEP can be time consuming and labor intensive, a clearly written IEP, based on documented student needs, can and should be a guidepost…

New Jersey lawmakers recently changed state law to require schools to bear the burden of proving, if there is a dispute with parents, that the educational plans they create for students with disabilities are appropriate. The state's action, which follows a similar move by New York state in August, is considered a success by parents and advocacy…

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 will first provide an overview of the transition assessment process in terms of the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and the basic tenets of the process. The second section will provide an overview of the methods of gathering assessment information on the student and on the living,…

Teachers at all levels of education today struggle in their efforts to assign fair, accurate, and meaningful grades to students with disabilities, especially those placed in general education classrooms. Lacking specific policies or recommendations, most teachers apply informal, individual grading adaptations for such students. Although these…

Children with autism present unique challenges related to communication, behavior, and social skills. Each child with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibits individual characteristics of the disorder. Early identification of autistic spectrum disorder has been shown to improve the child's benefit from educational interventions. There may be…

The document describes the basic skills programs in reading and mathematics of the High School in the Community (HSC) in New Haven, Connecticut. HSC, designed to provide a choice of learning environments within the public school system, serves students dissatisfied with their previous school experience. Each student, on entering HSC, is screened…

Life Lab, an alternative educational program stressing self-directed learning at Miami-Dade Community College, is discussed in terms of its development, impact, and student attributes. More than half of the document presents personal histories and opinions of students and staff, alternating with the views of Dr. MacGregor Smith, program founder.…