A needs assessment was conducted at a learning center at one completely online institution to understand administrator, faculty, and student perceptions of the center's services and resources to uncover gaps between the current state and intended outcomes (personalized support, clarity of services, and shared accountability for student success).…

Education and human service organizations providing services to people with intellectual and closely related developmental disabilities are increasingly being impacted by the supports paradigm, the quality of life concept, and the evaluation of personal outcomes. In this article the authors discuss the relationship among these three areas,…

Background: A demand-oriented approach is becoming increasingly important in care provision. The purpose of this study was to identify the primary needs of clients with Severe Behavioural Disorders and Severe Intellectual Disabilities. Materials and Methods: We used the theory of Social Production Function and Maslow's hierarchy of needs to…

Discusses the design, procedures, benefits, limitations, and results of an innovative individual development approach to career planning. (Author/MLF)

The report describes the intent and accomplishments of a project designed to develop a system for increasing the level of parents' involvement in their handicapped child's education program. To identify factors related to parents' involvement in specific types of parent programs and activities, the Parent Needs Assessment Inventory (PNAI) was…

The handbook is intended to help professionals plan effective parent participation programs to increase involvement in their handicapped children's education. The manual asserts that parent involvement programs must be individualized to match the needs and characteristics of families involved. The manual consist of four major sections. The first…

This study found that, when assessment of activity preferences of 15 adults with intellectual disabilities was included as part of the Individualized Habilitation Plan (IHP) development process, 78 percent of participants' IHP objectives were preferred activities. Preferred activities requiring a greater degree of staff support were included on…

Because of recent educational innovations with regard to learning disabilities, more effective methods are being sought for informing the school staff about new developments. A model is presented for establishing and implementing a staff development program in reading. (JN)

Parents (N=229) of young children with handicaps in 10 states evaluated the Family Needs Survey, one instrument sometimes used to develop Individualized Family Service Plans. Overall, parents felt the survey to be useful in communicating useful information to professionals. The survey was equally acceptable to minority and low income parents.…

Instructions are given for creating a staff development content profile out of the expressed in-service needs of individual staff members. Articles in this journal issue report on presentations made at the First Curriculum Conference of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) in 1978. (SJL)

This document presents an instrument to help families of special needs children to identify their resources and their concerns, for use in development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The first part of the instrument includes a series of open-ended questions that provide families an opportunity to identify their concerns, in…

Two papers are presented, related to Australian activity therapy centers (places which teach the mentally handicapped personal, social, and prevocational skills complementary to their vocational needs). The first paper discusses the assessment of needs and implementation of client-based programs. Assessment and programing are said to be…

Program evaluation is a tri-level process: evaluation of the learners, of the program against its own objectives, and as compared against a criterion program. Evaluation of innovative programs is primarily an issue of definition, and they should be judged in terms of the needs they were designed to satisfy. (Author/CTM)

Discusses the bio-psycho-social disease consequence model in rehabilitation and the model's development in the Finnish "Work Hardening Program for Chronic Pain." The theoretical background of the model is explained and the possibility of applying the model to other fields of rehabilitation is explored. (Author/CR)

This instructor's manual is designed to help in implementing a course for caregivers on individual planning for individuals with disabilities. Content notes and implementation notes for each section are provided, as are sheets for overhead projection, worksheets, and handouts. The course is organized into 19 sections to be administered in 8 hours…