This text, designed to be a comprehensive introduction to special education, emphasizes linking research and practice and implementing best practices in the education of students with learning disabilities, mental retardation, behavioral/emotional problems, giftedness, speech and/or language impairments, visual impairments, hearing impairments,…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Illinois state project on services for children with deaf-blindness, a 3-year federally supported project to address the needs of children (ages birth to 21) who are deaf-blind. Project activities included inservice training and technical assistance, development of a comprehensive…

This collection of 18 papers on assessing infants and toddlers includes the views of parents, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. The following papers are included: (1) "Toward a New Vision for the Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children" (Stanley I. Greenspan and Samuel J. Meisels); (2) "Charting the Continuum…

This study reviewed 1137 students' records from 25 school districts to determine if there is a possible conflict between Wisconsin's learning disabilities (LD) eligibility criteria and the federal definition under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also surveyed student evaluation and placement teams concerning their application…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a federally supported 3-year project in South Carolina which provided: (1) special education and related services to children with deaf-blindness for whom the State Education Agency was not obligated to make available a free appropriate public education, and (2) technical assistance to…

This study evaluated the cost effectiveness of Instructional Support Teams (IST) in Pennsylvania, by comparing IST costs to those of traditional special education programs. An introduction notes pressures for change and the objectives of the prereferral intervention utilized in the IST approach. The study compared costs and program effectiveness…

This study examined the recording of special educational needs as required by the 1980 and 1981 Education Acts of Scotland, focusing on differing criteria for opening Records of Needs. The study conducted a national survey over 4 sample months of recording activity, interviewed key informants (usually a school's principal psychologist or education…

This paper describes the Early Screening Project (ESP), a system to identify behavior problems among preschool children ages 3 to 5. The ESP is a three-stage, multiple-gating set of procedures which assesses both the frequency and intensity of adjustment problems. In Stage 1, teachers rank students on externalizing and internalizing behavior…

This document compiles abstracts of papers that were presented at a 3-day conference of experts which developed a consensus statement on early identification of hearing impairment in infants and young children. Papers addressed taxonomy; epidemiology; developmental consequences of early hearing impairment; methodology, instrumentation, and…

This handbook for parents explains how Wisconsin schools must go about finding, evaluating, developing programs for, and placing children with exceptional educational needs (EEN). The first section covers identification of EEN children, including Child Find, screening, and referral. The next sections look at evaluation of children by a…

This guide provides background information to help interpret Iowa state and federal rules as they apply to physical therapy (PT) for students with disabilities (birth to age 21) in educational settings. The first section defines professional personnel requirements and statements of licensure for the positions of physical therapist and physical…

This manual documents key program development strategies and inservice training topics provided by the Model Demonstration Early Intervention Network Project. This project focused on building the capacity of early intervention programs to serve infants who are deaf-blind and their families. The first section covers program development and includes…

This study attempted to determine the number of programs for Canadian students with behavioral disorders, identify practices currently used in these programs, and examine the availability of written program descriptions. A literature review provides information on: definition and prevalence (both in general and in Canada specifically); historical…

This special report summarizes a larger report titled "Linkages in the Delivery and Financing of Special Education Services in New Jersey" by Henry A. Coleman et al. It describes a project which analyzed the linkage between the structure of state aid for special education and the identification, classification, and placement of students…

This newsletter issue focuses on the assessment of school-aged children to: (1) determine if a child has a disability and is eligible for special services, and (2) provide information that can drive educational programming. Section 1 is an introduction which addresses a definition of assessment, how students are identified for assessment, federal…