This handbook is designed to help vocational educators identify students with special needs and be effective in teaching them. The first section describes disadvantaged students. A Federal definition is given, and some practical ways are provided to help identify disadvantaged students. Section 2 describes handicapped students and identifies characteristics associated with various handicapping conditions. Concepts of learning are discussed in the next section that can be applied to teaching special needs students. Several teaching techniques are briefly described that are useful with special needs students. Section 4 includes some safety guidelines. The final section is intended to help the teacher recognize instruction problems with special needs students and suggests preventive/corrective practices. Information is presented in a table format with the type of special need listed at the top of the table. In the left-hand column of the table a description of the problem or characteristic that may be observed is presented. The right-hand column contains a collection of helpful practices that may be tried to prevent or correct the problem. (YLB)