Due to the diverse needs of young children at risk for or with developmental delays/ disabilities and their families, an interdisciplinary and collaborative team is required in schools to deliver family-centered, individualized early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) services (Division for Early Childhood of the Council for…

As a result of the demanding 21st-century workforce, local education agencies are beginning to refocus and retool to ensure students with disabilities have the knowledge and skills to be productive adults and attain positive postschool outcomes. The skills 21st-century transition assessments address are relevant to teachers and students given the…

This article provides a description of the birth of The Odyssey Initiative. As teachers, this group of three, all educators, knew that there was outrage about the state of education in America. Griping about our nation's schools has almost become a pastime, and with very good reason. However, they found the solutions being offered to save our…

Successful transition planning for students with disabilities from school into adulthood seems to be a complex and difficult process. The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) promote the development of successful transition planning; however, research has shown that special educators are not likely to engage in…

Five studies on child study teams are reviewed and their implications for training included in a modular approach, the Child Student Team Training Program. The CSTTP features six modules: (1) rationale for teams, (2) referral preparation and review, (3) IEP planning, (4) procedural considerations, (5) parent involvement, and (6) administrative…

The training manual is intended to meet the training needs of Head Start personnel and others working with preschool handicapped children who have not had formal training in special education. The book attempts to provide the basic concepts and practices of providing individualized instruction to preschool handicapped children as mandated by P.L.…

The presentation reviews the evolution of a summer special education assessment team. The interdisciplinary team grew from a due process specialist and occupational therapist to include a speech clinician. Their roles changed from processing students for special education to facilitating the transition of students and their families from private…

Service delivery issues leading to the development of Curriculum Based Vocational Assessment (CBVA) are reviewed; eight key steps (in the form of 38 questions) to CBVA implementation are identified. Intrinsic benefits such as maximizing the impact of assessment data on curriculum are noted. (DB)

Intended for college students, the document is a worktext on planning educational services for handicapped students. Each of three units includes narrative and learning experiences with information specified on required learning experiences as well as optional activities. Unit I focuses on historical and legal perspectives on services for the…

This handbook for parents explains how Wisconsin schools must go about finding, evaluating, developing programs for, and placing children with exceptional educational needs (EEN). Various state and federal laws and regulations (e.g., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) are cited. The first section covers identification of EEN children,…

This guide presents principles for the effective integration of young children with disabilities into regular classrooms in Massachusetts. Planning for integration is discussed in terms of the responsibilities of the integration team (using either a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary model), the role of the family, assessment of children's…

This bulletin presents basic information for parents about identification and services for gifted students in Pennsylvania. Written in a question and answer format, the bulletin addresses the following concerns: the Individualized Education Program (IEP) required for all exceptional students in the state; the multi-disciplinary evaluation process;…

The document consists of a program manager's manual for the Parent Infant Program (PIP), an early intervention program designed to foster effective parenting of infants with developmental disabilities and delays. Section 1 provides a program overview. Three program goals are: to build parental confidence as primary teachers/facilitators of their…

A cooperative program between the Department of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a special education program for developmentally disabled infants and children (birth through age 3) has provided 12 pediatric residents with a four-session training program. The residents were members of an interdisciplinary team…

This manual provides a structure for professionals to work collaboratively with families in selecting outcomes for their special needs children. It does so through presenting a family-centered intervention approach to conducting the Individualized Family Service Plan or Individualized Educational Program meeting. Part I provides an introduction…