"On Campus" is an inclusive education initiative for persons with developmental disabilities at the University of Alberta. Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, we pause to reflect on the implementation, structure, function and evolution of the program, the first of its kind globally. Increasing social change has led to more and more…

Verbal skills were assessed at approximately ages 2, 3, 5, and 9 years for 206 children with a clinical diagnosis of autism (n = 98), pervasive developmental disorders-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; n = 58), or nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 50). Growth curve analyses were used to analyze verbal skills trajectories over time.…

Neither school reform nor the focus on developing accountability systems that measure and evaluate the success of schooling are new or innovative educational practices. Even before the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, many states had changed or were changing their accountability and assessment systems. Similarly, individual school…

This study investigated the degree to which students with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to the general education curriculum and the degree to which such access is related to and predicted by classroom setting and ecological variables. We observed 19 students during science or social studies instruction and collected data…

This study investigated the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) reading comprehension program implemented with students who had developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and reading delays. There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of…

The conceptual basis for many effective language-training programs are based on Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. Skinner described several elementary verbal operants including mands, tacts, intraverbals, and echoics. According to Skinner, responses that are the same topography may actually be functionally independent. Previous…

Pragmatic language skills are important for developing relationships with others, and for communicating with a range of interlocutors in a variety of contexts, including preschool and elementary school classrooms. Pragmatic language difficulties frequently are a primary area of disability for children diagnosed with autism, Asperger's syndrome,…

Many children with mental retardation and developmental disabilities suffer from the consequences of chronic drooling. Behavioral treatment for drooling should be considered before other, more intrusive treatments such as medication and surgery are implemented. However, empirical studies on behavioral procedures are scarce. This article reviews 19…

This monograph reviews and analyzes a set of treatment procedures exemplifying a positive or nonaversive approach to the amelioration of severe behavior problems in persons with developmental disabilities. Target behaviors include self-injury, aggression, and tantrums. Approximately 100 research articles drawn from 21 journals and a number of…

This document describes the Non-Technical Medical Care (NTMC) program, a personal care service offered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to eligible persons in their own homes. These NTMC program goals are listed: to provide personal care services to frail elderly and disabled persons, allowing them to remain in their homes; and to…

One hundred and one children (ages from 3 to 6 years) in a Head Start program were subjects in a procedure using the average deviation from the child's mean scaled score on the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities to determine significant developmental discrepancies. (DB)

I have long believed that many of the students in my developmental/remedial/pre-college courses who have been labeled as " developmental," actually are students who, unknowingly, have learning disabilities. These students have failed to learn simply because they have different learning styles than "the norm." It is extremely…

This practicum attempted to create a comprehensive developmental curriculum to be used in a non-categorical program serving developmentally delayed preschool-aged children. A second goal was to develop a parent education component that would provide parents with information and tools necessary to be active and competent partners in their child's…

This study was conducted to investigate the effect that a parent support group and a counseling group had on the stress levels, self-esteem, and degree of coping of parents (N=48) of developmentally delayed or handicapped infants enrolled in an infant intervention program. It was hypothesized that, compared to parents in the control group, parents…

The paper examines the role of parents in the transition of developmentally disabled or otherwise handicapped persons into adult services. Because parents play an important role on the interdisciplinary team, parent training is important. This training can come in the form of university credit courses, workshops and mini-courses, self-help groups,…