The President of the American Association on Mental Retardation offers a newly realistic approach to mental retardation, requiring honest assessment of the impact of mental retardation, full rights for people with mental retardation, public policies to enhance integration, and awareness of sources of peril to the lives and freedom of people with…

This critical analysis of least restrictive environment (LRE) for the developmentally disabled reviews the origins and operationalization of LRE in terms of a continuum of residential, educational, and vocational services. Pitfalls in LRE, especially for severely disabled persons, are enumerated and commitment to the contrasting principle of…

The central purpose of mainstreaming is to integrate handicapped students with nonhandicapped peers. It is the teacher's responsibility to foster positive and constructive interactions between handicapped students and their peers. Three ways of organizing constructive peer interaction are: (1) cooperation; (2) competition; and (3) an…

The article identifies two data collection procedures (participant observation and interviewing) employed in qualitative research and discusses how these procedures can be used to investigate emerging issues in supported education for students with severe disabilities. (DB)

Definitions of least restrictive environment (LRE), inclusive education, and mainstreaming are offered, supported by position statements and policies of the Michigan Board of Education, Michigan Department of Education, and the Council for Exceptional Children. Thirty-six terms related to inclusive education, such as integrated education and…

This article, in the form of a letter from the parent of a teenager to parents of younger children with disabilities, encourages parents to take advantage of integrated educational opportunities for their children. Negative aspects of segregated education are illustrated with examples from the teenager's life. (DB)

This resource guide was compiled to provide information about including learners with severe disabilities in general education classes and school community life. The guide includes resources about successful inclusive education models and strategies, as well as materials that provide a sound rationale and empirical support for inclusion. The…

The hearing impaired child has been the most neglected exceptional student in the public day school system. Mainstreaming efforts should consider the individual educational needs of both severely and less severely hearing impaired students. (JN)

The paper draws upon integration experiences and the literature from organizational theory to examine the process of change. Initiation, planning, implementation, administration, and advocacy are discussed as they pertain to efforts to include students with severe disabilities in regular schools and classes. (Author/DB)

This article discusses mainstreaming of a student (age five) with physical, intellectual, visual, and suspected auditory impairments in her neighborhood school in Auckland, New Zealand. Comments of the people involved in the program, including the principal, teachers, teacher's aide, family members, and fellow pupils are reported; and the success…

The booklet describes the goal of the Canadian Association for Community Living that all Canadian citizens with mental retardation will, by the year 2000, be part of families and communities with a voice in decisions affecting their lives. The history of the association since the 1950's is briefly reviewed and remaining obstacles to the longterm…

This article reports the experiences of one school district as it moved from serving students with severe disabilities in segregated programs to a full inclusion model. Year one focused on getting started, planning, and beginning integration efforts and year two on implementation of a structured peer integration program. Applicability of the full…

Because the physically disabled student must adjust to his/her inclusion into a nonhandicapped environment and to large group instruction simultaneously, the preparation of inservice teachers and nonhandicapped students should acquaint them with the physical, psychosocial, and academic factors associated with handicaps. (JN)

The paper reviews trends in the integration of young disabled children and proposes replacement of the traditional concept of least restrictive environment as a continuum of placement with a concept of integration opportunities determined by individual child needs, family needs, and community resources. The need for integrated service delivery…

Enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act stipulated that the mentally retarded, among other groups of handicapped children, be educated in the least restrictive environment. Specialized instruction and related service needs are crucial components to be considered in designing an adequate educational program for exceptional…