This article examines the theory, research, and social policy relating to family and individual life-cycle transitions for people with disabilities in the United States. Examples from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act illustrate both promising and inadequate policy…

Reports on a study of 212 first-year members of the National Art Education Association to discover the nature and extent of preservice preparation to teach art to students with disabilities. Finds that most felt unprepared to teach art in mainstreamed, integrated classrooms. (CFR)

Strategies for educating students with low-incidence disabilities in rural schools include inclusion, peer- and community-referenced curriculum, student-centered educational planning, instruction in actual performance settings, positive behavioral support, and transdisciplinary teams. In Utah, the state office of education, universities, and…

This reaction paper offers evidence for the effectiveness of nondirective instructional models with special needs young children. The construct of "developmentally appropriate practice" is viewed as a working hypothesis and as a continuous variable, not a dichotomous variable. Relationships between early childhood education and early childhood…

Article discusses the training education professionals need to provide appropriate services to students with disabilities. Most have no training for the educational, health, and social service situations associated with mainstreaming, and they do not understand how to create integrated service plans involving parents, administrators,…

Opinions of 503 support services professionals in Iowa were surveyed regarding reforms in service delivery designed to integrate special and regular education programs for students with low achievement. The majority of psychologists, social workers, and special education consultants supported providing services for students without formal…

Survey and case study data were analyzed to determine differences between the credibility and effectiveness of support teachers teaching mathematics. Results indicated the importance of cooperation between mathematics teachers and support teachers and significant differences between the perceived roles and abilities of the two groups. Includes…

Maintains that parents of a handicapped child, for example, a child with cerebral palsy, are "walking a tightrope." Successful intervention with the disabled child in the classroom is possible only when there is strong teacher-parent communication. This position is illustrated by an account of a parent's personal experience. (BB)

The article describes how a Virginia urban school system implemented an outcome-oriented work transition process with approximately 230 trainable or severely/profoundly handicapped students (ages 16-21). The article describes the system, students, and staff; developing a formal transition process; the individualized transition plan; and the job…

Provides suggestions for academic libraries to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Topics addressed are planning, including patron surveys; physical access to buildings; signage; library security systems; furniture; library services; staff development; telephone access; library acquisitions; and equipment and software. A sidebar lists…

This review of the past 10 years of computer-based instruction (CBI) with students having mild disabilities notes constraints (such as unrealistic expectations and limited access to hardware and software), and then considers the impact of CBI on curriculum, teacher training, teacher role and attitudes, instructional design, and learning of basic…

Traces the development of artistic ability in a six-year-old boy with autism and mild mental retardation. Addresses questions concerning autism and artistic development including whether intellectual realism is a necessary precursor to visual realism and whether a two-dimensional photographic memory is used as opposed to three-dimensional…

Reviews the work of neurobiologist, David Marr, concerning artistic ability and autism. Summarizes Marr's theory of perceptual vision illuminating the relationships among object, observer, perceptual process, and image. Briefly reviews the cases of four autistic people with extraordinary drawing skills. (MJP)

Reports on part of a project aimed at creating tools for training teachers in the diagnostic and adaptation process of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) systems for disabled children. Based on evaluation results the long-term objective is to add tutorial and coaching features to the system to be used in special-education training…

This commentary reflects on findings from previous articles that reviewed trends in special education research in the United States, Norway, Botswana, Ecuador, Australia, and Turkey. It discusses the function, funding, and subject matter of special education research, on research on the education of special education teachers, and on research…