Test accommodations are often given to students with disabilities as one means of removing construct-irrelevant barriers to proper measurement of their knowledge, skills, and abilities. However, the practice is controversial. This article reviews numerous studies that focused on the effects of accommodations on test performance. Consistent…

Prenatal cocaine exposure is an indicator for adverse developmental outcomes. To prevent developmental disabilities, an early intervention program for children birth to 3 years was developed that included three groups: center-based, home-based, and primary care comparison. The intervention was implemented across 10 years and data were collected on…

The study investigated the compensatory effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II (the Reading Pen), a portable device with miniaturized optical character recognition and speech synthesis capabilities. Thirty participants with reading disabilities aged 10-18 were trained on the operation of the technology and given two weeks to practice…

This article describes an innovative school-to-work transition program incorporating identified best practices. Iowa's Super Senior program serves students in the "middle range" of the disability severity spectrum during the student's senior and 5th, or "Super Senior" year. The article describes the program elements, presents…

This paper explores issues about equity in the early childhood practicum assessment process. In presenting these issues I draw on data from a study which examined how tertiary supervisors understand and practise this assessment process. While the study did not ask any questions specifically about equity, a number of the tertiary supervisors…

This paper examined the effectiveness of in-school suspension (ISS) with high-school students who are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The accepted purpose of ISS is to remove disruptive students from the classroom, thus giving these students the benefit of remaining in school where they can continue to work…

Educators and specialists are required to teach children using "scientifically based research" ([section] 1208(6)(37), No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) or "to the extent practicable, special education and related services will be based on peer-reviewed research" ([section] 614 (d)(10)(A)(i)9IV) of the Individuals with…

The authors report on a national survey of administrators and program specialists at 43 state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies concerning the impact of federal employment legislation and rehabilitation policies on the provision of services to consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The article focuses on 5 initiatives enacted to enhance…

We evaluated a staff training and management package for increasing accuracy of recording frequency of problem behavior in a residential care facility. A multiple baseline design across the first and second work shifts showed that 2 of 8 participants increased their accuracy following in-service training, and all 8 improved during a condition with…

The purpose of this year-long, collective case study was to investigate what influences contributed to alternate assessment outcomes for students with significant disabilities. This study of seven students and teachers in two school districts revealed seven main factors that contributed to students' scores on the state's alternate assessment,…

The second edition of "Professional Issues in Therapeutic Recreation: On Competence and Outcomes" is greatly expanded to include a wider variety of introductory materials and updates on current professional issues. The second edition represents a timely review of the state of affairs in the profession of therapeutic recreation. This book contains…

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, states have been required to set minimum proficiency standards that virtually all students must meet by 2014. Sanctions of increasing severity are to be applied to schools that fail to meet interim targets, known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The authors examine the effect of this legislation using…

The National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects (NARAP) is a collaborative effort that is conducting research to make large-scale assessments of reading proficiency more accessible for students who have disabilities that affect reading. There are two projects that comprise the NARAP partnership, Designing Accessible Reading Assessments (DARA)…

A longitudinal study was conducted on 34 children with autism to evaluate the usefulness of the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) program for Chinese pre-school children in Hong Kong. Eighteen children received full-time center-based TEACCH program training. The control group included 16…

A collaboration of postsecondary institutions nationwide undertook a project to apply research in developing methods and materials to help instructors more fully include students with disabilities in their courses. These institutions conducted a needs assessment; developed content and delivery modes; undertook a rigorous formative evaluation;…