Historically, preservice teacher education programs have not adequately prepared teachers in parent involvement or family-centered practices. Because teachers do not routinely encourage family involvement, and parents do not always participate when they are encouraged to do so, the importance of preservice training to involve family members in…

Autism spectrum disorders, as the name suggests, do not represent a single nor straightforward set of needs to be met. The challenges facing education and other professionals, and the young people whose needs are being addressed, are considerable. The key is to see past the presenting issues, often behavioural in nature, to the communication…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Self-Directed IEP to teach individualized education program (IEP) meeting skills. One hundred and thirty secondary students were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Observations of 130 meetings and 764 IEP team members were performed using 10-s momentary time sampling to determine the…

Music teachers around the country are dealing with an exponential increase in the number of students with disabilities in their classrooms and ensembles. Teachers often do this without any training, support, or specialized information about how best to educate these children. They do their best to include all children in their music classes, but…

Transition from secondary education to adulthood represents a period during which adolescents with disabilities face multiple responsibilities and changing roles that include establishing independence, attending postsecondary education or training, developing social networks, choosing a career, participating in their communities, and managing…

This brochure summarizes law, policy, and practice concerning inclusion policies for students with specific learning disabilities (LD). It summarizes requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act concerning the availability of a continuum of placement options and placement in the least…

This text addresses curriculum development for students with mental retardation based on the premise that it is the primary job of educators to teach these individuals independence skills and also based on criticism of the academic focus of most current instructional approaches. Individual chapters consider the following topics: (1) an overview of…

This document consolidates, clarifies, and updates federal regulations on Head Start services for children with disabilities. The regulations are designed to complement the Head Start Program Performance Standards governing services to all enrolled children. Specifically, these regulations require Head Start programs to: (1) design comprehensive…

This monograph is intended to provide guidance to state, school district, and building-level personnel, and family organizations as they strive to comply with the transition requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The monograph includes: (1) a description of the importance and intent of transition services for youth…

This brief paper considers planning for the transition of students with disabilities from the school setting to adult life. First, "transition services" are defined according to requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The relationship of transition services to the student's Individualized Education Program is…

This policy brief examines states' experiences and data regarding implementation of the transition planning mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It reports on a study which investigated whether implementation of transition planning was associated with decreased dropout rates for youth with disabilities and whether the format…

This paper presents guidelines for creating a collaborative approach for communication among teachers, parents, and students to plan for their transition toward further education or work in adult life and to become informed self-advocates. Guidelines for teachers are presented and include: (1) establishing a system that places the student at the…

Thirty-three college students with learning disabilities responded to a request to identify their learning disability. The responses were then coded and a summary of the professional diagnoses of the learning disabilities was added to the students' self-descriptions. Five authorities in the field of learning disabilities were asked to use a…

This report examines efforts in Idaho to provide transition information and planning to secondary students with disabilities and their families. It offers an ideal profile of best transition practices. It then reports on a survey of 247 teachers, 170 principals, and 105 special education directors/superintendents in Idaho. The survey examined: (1)…

This handbook is designed to address teachers' most common concerns about learning disabilities (LDs) and teaching adults with LDs. Section 1 defines LDs by describing traits that adults with LDs share. Section 2 focuses on identification of students with LDs. LD characteristics are divided into eight categories: academics, speech/language, motor…