Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate the initial feasibility of the Communication Matrix Professional Development Program (CMPDP), an online program created to help educational professionals teaching students with complex communication needs. Method: A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 102 educational professionals…

The report describes a site visit to the Seven Counties Services Region in Kentucky to identify and document promising practices for serving people with severe disabilities in integrated community-based services. The regional agency serves Jefferson, Oldham, Henry, Trimble, Spencer, Bullitt and Shelby Counties. Regional service priorities have…

Evaluated was the Summer Pre-Placement Program for Severely Multihandicapped Blind Children, designed to provide individualized programs for improving the performance of 16 children (4-11 years old) in the following areas--communication skills, vision training, psychomotor and perceptual training, social development, ambulation, self-dependence,…

Presented are the proceedings of the Third Annual Learning Resources Conference which deal with current directions in educational services for the severely handicapped. The papers are divided into three topical areas, the authors' names and addresses are supplied, and support material relating to some of the papers and a resource guide are…

The text of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Amendments (1986) is presented. Title I focuses on handicapped infants and toddlers with sections specifying: definitions, general authority, general eligibility, continuing eligibility, requirements for statewide system, the individualized family service plan, state applications and…

Individualized education programs (IEPs) written for 18 severely disabled students (ages 4-19) who attended integrated school sites scored higher on selected indicators of best practices when compared with IEPs written for students attending segregated sites. IEPs were examined for age-appropriateness, functionality, and potential for…

The single most important prerequisite for professionals working with severely and profoundly handicapped children in provincial school systems is the belief that all individuals can learn and that their rates of learning are not a justifiable basis for judging the "worthwhileness" of individuals nor the importance of teaching them. (BRR)

The report documents New York City's Office of Educational Assessment's evaluation of the Division of Special Education Public Law 89-313 program for the 1986-87 school year. The program is intended to provided supplemental services suited to the individual needs of participating handicapped students based upon their individual education plans…

The document contains the final report of a model project to provide a therapeutically based educational program for severely handicapped, orthopedically impaired children (6 to 21 years old) utilizing the skills of teachers, aides, therapists, and a nurse to provide individualized hands on services. Section I contains an overview of the…

This manual is intended for parents of high school students with severe disabilities and offers guidelines for evaluating a high school program and ways parents can improve existing programs. In the first section seven key characteristics of a good high school are identified: (1) integrated; (2) age appropriate; (3) community-based; (4)…

The four-volume study compared the costs and characteristics of public and nonpublic special education programs serving moderately and severely handicapped students in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). Data are discussed according to five research questions. First, demographic characteristics are presented, and it is recommended…

Discusses integration of students with severe disabilities, noting that programing is superior in integrated settings as illustrated by students' Individualized Education Programs. Various assessment tools help determine the extent to which best practices are being adhered to while attending to the individualized programing needs of students with…

The final report summarizes activities regarding development of the Early Childhood Education for the Severely/Multiply Handicapped Project, a model demonstration program providing comprehensive and direct educational services to 0 to 6 year old children and their parents. The program and curriculum design is based on two phases--the early…

The text provides information to secondary school principals to assist them in designing and maintaining effective educational programs for severely handicapped high school students, including those who are labeled moderately or severely retarded, multiply handicapped, or autistic. A model of effective program characteristics is followed by a…

A survey was sent to 1,153 Indiana special education teachers, special education directors, principals, and parents, and 447 usable responses were received. The purpose of the survey was to describe and assess current service delivery systems within Indiana for children with severe handicaps. Part One of the survey gathered data on: the types of…