St. Martin Hall, a demonstration school affiliated with Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, collaborated with the Harry Jersig Center to test students for speech and language difficulties or hearing loss. A significant number of the children were from economically disadvantaged homes. Most of the children were Hispanic.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the systemic change process and strategies used by key stakeholders within a local education agency when they changed from the traditional discrepancy model for learning disabilities identification to the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. The results of this study suggest that the change to…

In Canada over the past two decades many legal disputes have arisen concerning education for children with learning disabilities. Most often these disputes are concerned with equal access for children with disabilities and centre on the notion of appropriate education. Issues concerning equal access to appropriate education have a long history and…

This policy brief describes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as involving three characteristics: inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The brief reviews the causes of ADHD, including the belief that it is primarily an inherited, neurobiological disorder. The effects of ADHD on children are discussed and may include: other…

This report reviews and compares the legal rights of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The first and second sections detail the statutory framework of the laws and legal requirements pertaining to eligibility, identification, and local and…

This book presents nine papers that focus on the identification, behavior, intervention, and inclusion of children with learning and behavior disabilities in general education classrooms. The papers include "Effectiveness of Social Skills Training for Students with Behavior Disorders: A Meta-Analysis" (Kenneth A. Kavale and others);…

This report is designed to facilitate efforts to develop and implement equitable educational policies and procedures, and remedy discriminatory practices that lead to disproportionate representation of students from racial and ethnic minority groups in special education. It aims to enable technical assistance providers to provide more effective…

With the enactment of the "Education for All Handicapped Children Act" of 1975, all children are entitled to appropriate free education and related services regardless of disabilities. As a result, major strides have been made toward providing services for developmentally delayed children. To gain access to these services, children who…

This study sought to determine whether state special education aid in New Jersey influences the number or types of pupils referred to special education services, the designation of their specific disability, and the setting in which special education services are provided. Analysis of data in state education agency reports and interviews with…

This paper represents the perspectives of 25 special education teacher scholarship students from 13 Caribbean and Central American countries (Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nevis, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Grenada, and Antigua) on the status of special education in their…

This paper reports on the design, purpose, implementation, and outcomes of a policy forum on disproportionate representation of students from minority ethnic/racial groups in special education. The purpose of this policy forum was to develop an action agenda for implementation of two recommendations assigned a high priority by a group of…

In response to increasing demands that Canadian school boards provide behavior adaptation programs to counter the effects of disruptive home environments, school violence, and victimization, this paper explores definitions and diagnostic criteria for the following behavior disorders: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant…

This report summarizes activities and findings of a federally funded center at the University of Miami (Florida) which reviewed and disseminated literature on the identification and assessment of children with attention deficit disorders (ADD). The review covers the literature published between 1980 and 1992 and is organized topically. In addition…

This report describes findings of a project to identify promising school-based practices in evaluation and intervention with children having attention deficit disorders (ADD). Introductory material explains the project's purposes and procedures. The next chapter provides an overview of the 26 promising practices identified through nominations by…

This report addresses states' definitions and assessment guidelines for the category of traumatic brain injury, newly identified as a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Information sources included state policy documents from 19 states and interviews with state education agency personnel. A background section…