This article draws on experience from Delaware FIRST, a model demonstration project utilizing family assessment for overall project evaluation and program planning for parents and professionals. Instrument selection processes, administration procedures, families's reactions to the process, and usefulness of family assessments in project evaluation…

Discusses the importance of academic advising to increase college student retention, graduation, and transfer in student-support-services programs designed for first-generation, low-income students and students with disabilities. An integrative, intrusive model of academic advising is defined, its benefits are outlined, and several successful…

This commentary reacts to an article that presented an agenda for educational change to encourage early childhood inclusion. It calls for a leadership agenda for the nation, agreement about inclusion as a feasible program model, development and dissemination of effective practices and evidence-based guidelines, family involvement, and increased…

Steps for effective coteaching by special education and regular education teachers are identified. Examples of coteaching in elementary and junior high schools are given. The need for communication between teachers is emphasized as the key ingredient to successful coteaching. (CR)

Despite many barriers, a group of Oregon educators began to discuss ideas about how they could provide information that would build skills to improve the entry and success rate for high school students with disabilities in postsecondary education. These educators included high school, community college, and university staff. The Postsecondary…

This paper offers a literature review of materials concerning inclusion of students with disabilities, and reports on the 3-year development of an inclusion program at one elementary school in Texas. The literature review is organized into sections which address legislative initiatives and law, special education programs with mainstreaming, the…

A project was undertaken at Jackson State Community College (JSCC), Tennessee, to determine an appropriate plan to develop a disabled student services (DSS) program which would coordinate existing fragmented services and add additional services. A literature review was first conducted to determine legal obligations of the Americans with…

This project worked to help community programs and interagency groups develop fluid organizational structures and better assist staff and parents in the provision of family-centered, community-based early intervention services for young children with disabilities and their families. Highlights of the service model include transdisciplinary…

This practicum aimed to facilitate development and implementation of recommended practices by an early childhood special education team working with a University Affiliated Program (UAP). A site development project was being developed in response to the recognition by UAP center staff that their activities were not sufficient in helping early…

As many as 15 million people living in rural areas report one or more long-term impairments that significantly affect their quality of life. In general, disabled people living in rural areas receive fewer services than do people in urban areas. For example, counties in Montana with the largest population centers received significantly more…

This feature issue on inclusion and school restructuring for students with and without disabilities contains the following articles: (1) "The 7 Habits for Educators" (Terri Vandercook); (2) "The Evolution of Inclusive Education" (Jennifer York-Barr and Terri Vandercook); (3) "Creating Inclusive Schools: What Does the…

Intended for use in Florida training programs for caregivers of infants and toddlers with disabilities, this guide presents an overview of the Model of Interdisciplinary Training for Children with Handicaps (MITCH); offers a user's guide to the series; and provides specific information for presenting Module 6, which focuses on planning an…

This project recruited and provided preservice training for individuals from underrepresented groups who were interested in working in urban areas with young children with special needs and their families. The project was implemented within the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Exceptional Education program in collaboration with the…

A 3-year project (July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1991) aimed to improve the quality of guidance and counseling services delivered to secondary students eligible to attend the Metropolitan Center, and area vocational center serving students in a four-county area around Little Rock, Arkansas. The focus of the program was to provide supplementary services…

For the 1992-93 school year, the Indiana Department of Education awarded planning grants to 10 school corporations and special education cooperatives which applied to be Inclusion School Pilot Sites. Funding was provided for activities related to planning and becoming more inclusive. Visits and interviews at the sites led to conclusions about…