The Foster Grandparent Program benefits the elderly, the handicapped individuals, and the service agencies involved. Grandparents participate in a variety of supervised activities (such as helping with field trips). The program's success may be attributed to a number of factors, including its cost effectiveness and the availability of retired…

The Proportional Change Index (PCI), a numerical statement of the relationship between children's rate of development during intervention with the rate of development at the time intervention began, is proposed as a way of expressing child progress from developmental data. (Author/CL)

In an in-service training model that utilized demonstration center training and follow-up to trainee's work site to train special education teachers in a data-based educational approach, 99 teachers acquired targeted information and skills during training and maintained the behaviors up to 28 weeks past training. (Author/CL)

An examination of methodologies of 24 follow-up studies of learning disabled persons, charts sample, IQ, treatment type, follow-up length, age at follow-up, dependent measures, and results. The importance of choice of outcome variables on conclusions is emphasized, and the inability to make inferences on treatment efficacy is ascribed to…

Ten areas of self-sufficiency were measured at four intervals for 26 students determined to be eligible for extended school year ESY programs. Regression increased and improvement decreased when educational programing was interrupted, and the opposite occurred when a ESY program was provided. (CL)

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of interventions with organically impaired infants in terms of how well the experimental designs used controlled for threats to interval validity were analyzed. The use of methodologically more rigorous designs in evaluation studies is recommended to prevent or ameliorate the adverse effects of…

Describes the variety of attitudes toward mainstreaming characterized by the 25 mainstreaming programs currently being studied in an ongoing research project. Suggests that the failure of mainstreaming efforts is traceable to organizational problems, internecine politics, and lack of skill and/or willingness on the part of school personnel. (PGD)

The literature on involvement programs for parents of learning disabled children was reviewed to discover the types of programs attempted, their results, and their implications. The most common program types were tutoring and counseling. Results for both types were generally positive. (Author)

In Study 1, we examined the independent effects of reinforcer consumption during sessions and meal consumption prior to sessions on performance maintained by food reinforcement. Nine individuals with developmental disabilities participated. On alternate days, a preferred edible item was delivered during (a) seven sessions conducted before lunch…

This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of functional mathematics instruction, specifically purchasing skill instruction, for individuals with disabilities. Twenty-eight intervention studies were identified and reviewed. Because all studies employed single-subject research designs, a nonparametric procedure, the percentage of nonoverlapping…

In this article, the author describes the positive outcomes experienced by a father and his son with cerebral palsy after participating in Unified Sports, a program that places approximately equal numbers of Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities ("partners") on sports teams for training and competition. The goal…

Carmen Scialabba was on his way to making a name for himself in professional boxing, winning the 1959 All Marine Corps Lightweight Boxing Championship and realizing his dream of boxing at Madison Square Garden when his dreams were shattered after contracting polio at the age 25. But his disability did not stop him from earning a degree and…

Research has shown inclusive education to be extremely beneficial for students with developmental disabilities. One reported benefit is the increased accessibility to typical peers with the implication of increased opportunities to develop meaningful friendships. Many researchers and educators have developed strategies to help facilitate the…

The transition to adulthood can be difficult for youth, particularly those who have disabilities severe enough that they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (DI), or other disability program benefits. Besides the issues facing all transition-age youth, young people with disabilities face a host of…