Evaluation of effects of moving mentally disabled individuals from a British National Health Service hospital into community group homes found much overlap between the institutions' caring routines and practices with the community hostel setting, providing only slightly more opportunities for personal choice, privacy, personalization, integration,…

Comparison of the attitudes of German high school students (n=119) with earlier studies of Irish and Australian students found German students more confident at meeting a person with mental disabilities, more interested in policy changes to ensure better services, less positive about general social integration, and very negative about…

Examines differential patterns of cultural and social assimilation of Israeli immigrants using a cross-sectional mail survey of 155 naturalized and 50 nonnaturalized immigrants in New York City. In general, the higher the economic status, the greater the degree of cultural assimilation. (SLD)

This paper describes how sixth form girls in England provided music experiences to young children (ages 3-9) with severe learning difficulties. The weekly sessions involve individual sessions and use of various instruments. The relationship of the music therapy program to the National Curriculum is noted. (DB)

Some students at historically Black and Baptist Virginia Union University are disappointed they are not getting the kind of religious experience they'd anticipated. A few miles away, at the traditionally white and Baptist University of Richmond, the salient issue for African-American students is greater social integration. (MSE)

This paper focuses on the integration of preschool children with moderate to profound disabilities in a day care center. The paper offers a rationale for day care integration, outlines best practice components, and describes a program which merged an early intervention program for children with disabilities with a community-based child care…

The Co-worker Involvement Instrument measures involvement with supported employees with disabilities, via items pertaining to physical integration, social integration, vocational integration, training, associating frequency, associating nature, befriending, advocating, evaluating, and information giving. The instrument was found to be a reliable…

This study compared regular education teacher evaluations of the social competence of elementary children with learning disabilities (n=68) receiving services in either traditional "pull out" models or in "integrated" programs. It found that service delivery model alone without any specific planned social-behavioral interventions did not have a…

Analyzes the situation of Salvadoran refugees of rural origin to Montreal (Canada), using life histories of 11 males and 11 females in Canada less than 5 years. This study of adaptation highlights the special needs of this population, particularly for information about social services and government programs. (SLD)

Evaluation of multidimensional measures of community adjustment in 239 young adults with mild to severe mental retardation resulted in development of a cross-validated model which found such broad dimensions of community adjustment as social network integration, recreation leisure integration, community and economic integration, and need for…

This study, with a national sample of 370 older persons with mental retardation in foster care, small group homes, large private facilities, and large state-operated facilities, found generally low levels of social integration. Individuals in community settings were much more likely to experience some social integration. (DB)

Describes the author's experience with the loss of hearing in early adulthood. The use of hearing aids, the situations in which hearing is easier or more difficult, and discrimination faced by people with hearing disabilities are discussed. A vision of a future that enables hearing-impaired persons to participate is described. (Contains three…

Preschool children (n=128) at risk for development of a developmental disability were assessed using the Scales of Independent Behavior and the revised Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Survey Form. The summary scores of both tests were found to correlate moderately with IQ and with the extent of integration children achieved in their subsequent…

Analysis of responses of Virginia educators (n=788) to a survey concerning increased integration of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) found limited program change-related guidelines or category-specific outcome-monitoring measures. Doubts about the ability and willingness of general education teachers to make instructional changes…

Suggests that the first step toward racial equality is recognizing one's own racism. Indicates that individuals should treat others as they themselves wish to be treated, strive to correct socioeconomic inequities, and honor diverse perspectives. Suggests ways educators can achieve racial equality in their schools and ways individuals can become…