Rural middle school teachers were recruited and trained to implement Life Skills Training, an empirically-supported school-based prevention intervention to reduce student substance abuse and other problem behaviors. The teacher training model and classroom implementation focused on an interactive process designed to engage students in the…

This article discusses how children with oral and written language disorders can benefit from the Montessori method, especially if the Montessorian is trained to use a Multisensory Structured Language approach. Questions are answered regarding the number of children with learning disabilities, considerations in training the classroom assistant,…

This article examines the changing demands and qualities for school leadership and outlines a new leadership program, Collaborative Educational Programs for the Americas. Through CEPA, graduate students design their own individualized programs for professional development. (Contains 22 references.) (WFA)

Forty-nine adults with severe intellectual disabilities in 13 small staffed homes in England were evaluated for their participation in meaningful activities and adaptive behavior. Residents of homes which implemented the "active support" model of care showed significantly increased engagement in meaningful activities and adaptive…

Compensatory strategies were designed to enable a client with traumatic brain injury to obtain professional employment. In a series of speech-language therapy sessions, compensatory strategies targeting impairments in executive function were developed, refined, and trained in mock-interview situations. Significant improvements were noted in…

This article describes the Beijing Xingxing Yu Education Institute for Children with Autism. Growing and changing throughout the seven years since it opened, it is now an educational center that has served almost 1000 children with autism and their parents from all over China. The center focuses on training parents. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article discusses designing leadership lessons for students with mild disabilities and results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of leadership training of 12 adolescents with mild disabilities. After attending bimonthly leadership workshops, students developed their ability to manage interpersonal relationships and work cooperatively,…

This study evaluated whether variations in the structure of minimal versus maximal opposition treatments would result in empirical differences in phonological learning with three four-year-old boys who excluded at least six sounds from their phonetic and phonemic inventories. Results indicated that treatment of maximal oppositions led to greater…

Program Evaluation in 6 elementary school resource rooms (30 mildly handicapped students) found that students receiving the experimental program scored significantly higher on posttraining measures of peer acceptance and social skills. Experimental students also made a slightly greater improvement than controls in social behavior in natural school…

Describes changes in the training system at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma (CA) that improved the effectiveness and the efficiency of training. Topics discussed include the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) methodology; the process of change; curriculum development; criterion-referenced instruction and testing; cost…

Two mentally retarded boys with autism and one girl with Down syndrome were successfully taught to initiate and play a ball game with an adult. The program targeted both nonverbal responses (such as ball contact and cooperative play) and verbal responses for play initiation and compliment delivery. (Author/JDD)

The pyramid training model was evaluated as a means to teach six supervisors and aides working with profoundly retarded adults the training skills of increasing assistance prompt hierarchy and specific praise in developing clients' daily living skills. Providing training to supervisors resulted in improved training skills for them and subsequently…

An adult worker with moderate mental retardation demonstrated substandard productivity in cleaning bathroom, hall, and office sites in a community-based competitive work setting. Productivity increased at each site following (1) videotape-based self-monitoring, and (2) distributed verbal feedback and breaks which were systematically reduced over…

The investigation assessed effects of a self-management training program on the production rates of four severely mentally retarded workers. The program comprised self-instructions, goal setting, and self-reinforcement. Results indicated that the program substantially improved the production rates for all workers for up to three months. (Author/DB)

A brief training manual was developed to teach child-care workers to contingency contract with delinquent youths living in residential care facilities. Results from analogue training simulations and generalization tests indicated that workers became more proficient in contract negotiation and writing behaviors and were able to apply the skills.…