Various interventions have been developed to promote student individualized education program (IEP) participation. Although they are generally endorsed by educators and researchers, critics argue that interventions to promote self-determination and IEP participation may be counter to the values of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD)…

Special educators struggle to develop legitimate Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) that describe student needs and lead to academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine if using a rubric to create an IEP resulted in an increase in academic achievement. The conceptual framework is drawn from a synthesis of the literature on…

Meeting the needs of children with disabilities requires strategies for engaging each and every child as an individual and facilitating their participation as a member of a group. The use of the project approach meets the needs of individual children by building on an awareness of children's interests and high expectations. All early childhood…

Drawing on interviews with parents of children with significant disabilities, as well as administrators and special education consultants, between the early 1990s and 2008 in a mid-Atlantic US state, this paper examines the work of parental advocates as they translate special education policies to negotiate concessions for parents, bring issues…

Bearing in mind the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Louisiana's Steering Committee projected performance targets through the year 2014 for the important areas of: (1) Graduation with a Diploma; (2) Dropout Rate; (3) Placement, ages 6-21 and ages 3-5; (4) Achievement Performance Levels, and (5) Discipline. Annual gains were…

This volume is the third in a series (developed in response to a needs assessment survey of special educators in Alberta, Canada) providing practical suggestions about instructional strategies, classroom management, preparing individual program plans, and understanding special needs. This volume presents a process for development of Individualized…

Since the fall of 1999, the Research Institute on Secondary Education Reform for Youth with Disabilities (RISER) has studied inclusion and instructional reform in four U.S. secondary schools. This article analyzes general education teachers' views on (a) inclusion and its impact on their teaching and their students and (b) the extent to which…

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on transition planning for students with exceptional needs. This is in part the result of the mandates contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This increased emphasis has revealed a number of shortcomings with how transition planning is done…

The purpose of this document is to provide a historical perspective of the evolution of special education in Iowa through the voices of the people who created the system of support for individuals with disabilities. In addition to the interviews, extensive historical literature reviews were conducted. One hundred and thirty individuals were…

The authors describe how the participation of Family as Faculty parents in case-based instruction influenced 16 beliefs of 89 special education teacher candidates about the value of partnering with parents. The parents, who all had children with disabilities, participated in a simulated individualized education program meeting that was embedded in…

This training manual provides vocational rehabilitation and school counselors with background information and practical tools related to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), with particular reference to the needs of Native Americans. The most recent reliable data (1990) for American Indians and Alaska Natives show a rate of FAS over 10 times the national…

Discusses the changing role and responsibilities of reading teachers and reading specialists in helping to plan and implement the Individualized Education Program (IEP) requirement of Public Law 94-142. (MKM)

This guide describes how to set up, implement, and evaluate an individualized leisure education program for secondary school students with disabilities. Field testing of the program found that students who participated in the program were more independent in their leisure and had a smoother post-school adjustment. After an introduction, an…

This publication is a compilation of monographs offering practical suggestions for teachers of adapted physical education. It contains numerous suggestions on teaching techniques, activity adaptations, equipment modifications, programming information, coaching hints, skill development strategies, and curriculum data. The five sections offer…

This study evaluated the extent to which individualized service plans (ISPs) for individuals with disabilities are consistent with established policies. Evaluation of 50 ISPs from Australian community residences for people with moderate to severe disabilities found major deficiencies in the plans, such as a lack of measurable objectives. (DB)