The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper reviews the literature defining "mainstreaming," notes that mainstreaming is not the wholesale return of exceptional students from…

The Training Opportunities Program (TOP), a work experience and training program for New York City high school students, is designed to place students, as trainees, in agencies and businesses with equipment, facilities, and human resources not available in the public schools. In 1983-84, the third year of the program's operation, TOP was funded to…

The study investigated the effect of instruction on basic number fact mastery of 123 learning disabled (LD) students, 8 to 13 years old. Mastery of basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts was seen as an important component of overall arithmetic competence and represents a particular area of performance deficit among LD students. The…

The paper presents information in a question and answer format about the evaluation of special education program effectiveness. A seven-step process used in Nebraska is presented: (1) evaluation preview, (2) outline of evaluation questions, (3) information collection plan, (4) analysis and interpretation plan, (5) report plan, (6) management plan,…

A preschool program for 14 handicapped children in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, is described and evaluation findings reported. Program objectives are listed for instructional, parent-family, staff development, and demonstration and dissemination components. Among findings were that mentally retarded children showed greater than anticipated…

The book lists 47 exemplary programs for special education. Programs have been approved by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel of the Department of Education. The book begins with a directory of National Diffusion Network facilitators in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. Program entries include descriptors, a brief…

Research from 1970 to 1976 is reviewed to determine the present status of diagnostic prescriptive instruction for learning disabled children. It is noted that findings of previous research have failed to conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of specific ability training; that the legitimacy of the nonsupportive conclusions have been…

The author considers the theories and principles underlying central processing training for children with specific learning disabilities and minimal brain dysfunction. (CL)

More than five years of research offers little evidence that students who attend federally funded remedial and learning disabled reading programs improve their reading skills. The three assumptions underlying these programs are discussed. Ways teachers and schools can evaluate their programs are listed. (MT)

In a study involving 20 Down's Syndrome children and 4 normal but language delayed preschoolers, standardized change score analyses revealed that the total communication group scored significantly higher on the Expressive scale and in the number of acquired signs. (Author/CL)

The effects of general case instruction for teaching street crossing to two individuals with moderate and severe mental retardation were examined. Results support the effectiveness and efficiency of general case instruction for teaching Ss to cross streets other than those on which they were trained. Implications for research on generalization and…

The research examined effects of a longitudinal intervention program on developmental status of normal, at-risk, and handicapped children under three years. The program featured a developmentally appropriate, contingently responsive setting. Data indicated significant improvements in child performance as a function of intervention. Degree of…

The author analyzes evidence from 10 studies on early intervention (EC 181 136--181 145) in terms of the nature and quality of documentation. Qualified support for casual inference in most of the studies is cited along with problems in determining generalizability of findings. (CL)

The review examines evidence on relationships between computer use and achievement in elementary aged mildly handicapped students. Evidence indicates that the computer effectively augments teacher instruction, but that its effectiveness as a teacher substitute is less evident. A new research paradigm is needed that focuses on interaction between…

Special Olympics programs have done much to help in the normalization of retarded and disabled individuals. This article suggests problems in the program that tend to label all retarded people as "kids." Ideas for placing a greater emphasis on normalization are discussed. (DF)