An elementary principal discusses his own son's learning disabilities and explains how schools can engage parents in setting special needs students' individualized education programs. As a parent, he went through four stages: separation anxiety, role confusion, concern about the future, and partnerships with teachers. Educators must recognize each…

Illustrates with a hypothetical adolescent with a disability the use of the McGill Action Planning System for initial and follow-up transition planning. Shows how the system promotes self-advocacy for students and families and provides information useful in the Individualized Education Plan. (SK)

This study evaluated the type and frequency of social skills listed as objectives in 469 students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in a rural special education cooperative. Results indicated that academically related social skills were much more likely to be included in IEPs than interpersonal skills. (Author/DB)

Characteristics of individualized education programs (IEPs) of 46 mainstreamed students with multiple disabilities from 9 states were analyzed, revealing that IEPs are vague and inconsistent, list goals for staff rather than for students, and are discipline-referenced. The study recommends that IEPs include individualized learning outcomes,…

Explores the relative emphasis given to directive and nondirective approaches to language instruction in early intervention programs by examining language objectives on Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) in 20 programs. Analyzes the directive/nondirective nature of language items on eight developmental inventories used to assess children's…

Suggestions to make parents of children with disabilities more comfortable in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting include contacting parents personally before the meeting, having a school staff member greet the parents, appointing an "interpreter" to monitor educational jargon, and videotaping or audiotaping a few conferences to…

In a comparison of the provision of occupational therapy as direct service versus collaborative consultation, 14 preschoolers and kindergartners were randomly assigned to interventions. Although both groups achieved similar percentages of individualized education plan goals, teachers who collaborated with therapists reported much larger…

The 4th Circuit's decision in "Hartman v Loudoun County Board of Education," involving the placement of an 11-year-old autistic child, teaches important lessons about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: mainstreaming is a strong preference, not an unyielding requirement; and if educators make active and careful efforts to…

The program "Take Action" was used to teach six adolescents with mild to moderate mental retardation the skills they needed to attain their daily Individualized Education Program goals. Results indicate all students learned to attain their own daily goals and maintained these skills following withdrawal of teacher instruction. (Contains…

Two learning disabled students, Jonathan Mooney and David Cole, share their thoughts on how to get the most out of higher education. Discusses the importance of individualized education and project-based learning. (GCP)

This article suggests that the influence of school culture on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) has received insufficient attention and that school changes may be a demonstration of compliance to external pressures rather than the development of good practice. A secondary school is described that capitalized on existing strengths through…

The collection and use of data are generally accepted as important educational practices. Nevertheless, evidence exists that interventionists' data collection practices tend to be infrequent and nonsystematic. This study investigated the perspectives of early childhood interventionists about the use of data in their classrooms. Perspectives about…

This investigation analyzed goals from the Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) of 54 high school students with diagnosed reading disabilities in basic skills (decoding and/or word identification). Results showed that for 73% of the students, the IEPs written when they were in high school failed to specify any objectives regarding their acute…

Many educators recommend that students with disabilities learn how to become better advocates for themselves in all aspects of their lives. One area where students with disabilities can learn to become better self-advocates is in physical education. At present, most students with disabilities have accommodations made for them by their teachers,…

Schools across the nation have been charged with the task of conducting functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) to aid in the development of behavior intervention plans (BIPs) to address the challenging behavior of students with special education needs. In response, schools have initiated efforts to provide the various members of their student…