This feature issue presents articles on the social inclusion of people with developmental disabilities into the community and also some related news items. This issue provides profiles of organizations, workplaces, and schools that are successfully integrating people with developmental disabilities into community activities. The articles are:…

Objective: Measure select Healthy People 2010 Leading Health Indicators in young adults with and without a history of developmental disabilities (DD) using a population-based cohort. Methods: Young adults were interviewed to assess the prevalence of seven Leading Health Indicators: physical activity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, substance…

There is growing evidence of an association between physical illness and problem behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Such behavior can compromise school performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate, using a group design, the effectiveness of medical intervention alone (N = 11) versus behavioral plus…

The shift in living situations for adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDDD) from family homes to group homes has raised questions about their healthcare needs and access to appropriate healthcare services. This study was undertaken to describe the disability characteristics and medical conditions in a sample of adults…

The psychometric properties of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) (Bricker & Squires, 1999) used in a French-Canadian preschool population were compared with psychometric data derived from U.S. normative studies. The ASQ was translated into French (Bonin, Robaey, Vandaele, Bastin, & Lacroix, 2000) and used in four early childhood…

In order for schools to help students with learning difficulties and disabilities improve their achievement in mathematics, educators, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers need a better understanding of the evidence based on what is behind these students' difficulties in learning math. That is just what they will get with this landmark…

This special issue of the Family Resource Coalition Report presents personal experiences and reflections regarding parent involvement and leadership in family support. Articles in this issue are: (1) "The Vaughn Family Center: It's My Story" (Jorge Lara and Matt Oppenheim); (2) "Asking the Right Questions is Key to Developing Parent…

This guide was developed to provide an overview of the major elements of the transition planning process from school to the adult system of supports and services for youth with developmental disabilities and their families. The workbook format is intended to enable families to be proactive at each stage of the planning process. Initial sections…

Two projects in the teacher education program at Seton Hall University gave assignments involving basic qualitative research methods as applied to a focused goal of interaction between future teachers and their students. The first project focused on life in community residential programs for adults with developmental disabilities, and the second…

This report responds to requirements of Public Law 100-146, The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1987. It describes existing services to persons with developmental disabilities, reports on a consumer satisfaction survey, and presents recommendations and plans. Thirteen major findings and discussion of 16…

This compilation presents five papers on issues and research in special education. "Qualitative Research in Special Education: An Evaluative Review" (Charles A. Peck and Gail C. Furman) explicates some of the epistemological assumptions underlying qualitative research methods, reviews examples of qualitative research, evaluates the contributions…

This report was prepared in response to Public Law 100-146, the Amendments to the Developmental Disabilities Assistance Act, which requires that information and recommendations be made available concerning public policy to promote independence, productivity, and integration of people with developmental disabilities. Information was gathered via…

Descriptions of several programs of the Shawnee Hills Community Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center, Inc. (Charleston, West Virginia) are presented. Included in this document are: (1) a description of the Shawnee Hills Day Training Center, a cooperative program of Shawnee Hills and several county school boards for severely/profoundly impaired…

This self-teaching workbook is designed to provide parents of developmentally disabled adolescents with basic information about the transition of severely handicapped youth from secondary school into community living. An initial parent quiz is followed by six chapters which address the following topics: (1) "What Is Transition?"; (2)…

Three classroom teachers and their 23 students with significant developmental disabilities were studied across 8 weeks as a new literacy and communication instructional program, "MEville" to "WEville," was implemented. Before and after the implementation, the students were tested on a variety of literacy measures, their…