With an increasing number of students with special needs being included in regular classroom environments, consideration of, and planning for, a smooth transition between different school settings is important for parents, classroom teachers and school administrators. The transition between primary and secondary school can be difficult for…

In this article, I summarise the primary content included in a keynote address I delivered via videoconferencing in July 2012 at the national conference of the "Australian Association of Special Education", held jointly with the annual conference of the "Tasmanian Principals Association" in Hobart, Tasmania. The address focused…

A National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) that requires assessment of all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 is now firmly established on the Australian educational landscape. Australian legislation and policies promote inclusive assessments for all; however, in relation to NAPLAN, almost 5% of students, many of whom have…

The highly regular orthographies (spelling systems) of many nations expedite literacy development, and their children experience a rapid transition from early literacy (learning to read and write) to sophisticated literacy (reading and writing to learn). In contrast, English orthographic complexity impedes literacy development, particularly for…

The aim of this article is to provide clinical and practical guidance for the provision of one-on-one intervention for children with spelling difficulties. We briefly discuss the requirements of theoretically guided assessment and suggest some norm-based assessment tools in this light. The main focus of this article is on teaching children with…

In this article, the evidence regarding a proposed "cure" for dyslexia and other, arguably related, conditions is examined critically. The origins and history of the Dore program and its progenitors, its introduction to Australia and its advertising claims are reviewed, with a focus on the claims made with regard to dyslexia, and particularly with…

This article reports on inclusive education in Bangladesh for children with special needs. Bangladesh is not behind other developed countries in enacting laws and declarations in favour of inclusive education, but a lack of resources is the main barrier in implementing inclusive education. Special education and integrated education models exist in…

In Queensland, inclusive education reform is on the political agenda, following the report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Inclusive Education (students with disabilities) in 2004. The Government's responses to the initiatives outlined in the taskforce report emphasise a commitment to social justice and equity so that all students can be included…

This brief report describes recent data on the enrolment of students in New South Wales (NSW) government special schools and special classes. There has been an increase in both special school and special class enrolments since 1998 with large increases among students with emotional disturbance. This pattern is briefly discussed in relation to…

Sustaining comprehensive secondary school reform (CSR) represents an immensely difficult and unresolved challenge for the field. The problems associated with CSR are of significant concern to proponents of inclusion given that more responsive schools and classrooms are connected to, if not dependent upon, the success of broader school reform…

In this address, the author examines what it means when one uses phrases like "evidence-based practices" and "evidence-based policies." She suggests that there is a need to re-think the meanings attached to these terms and she presents a rebuttal of the reliance on a single conceptualisation of evidence. The author then argues for a re-making of…

This paper is written primarily as a call to those of us in the special education field in Australia to become more actively involved in responding to the popular culture construction of disability as it takes place in the mainstream media. It is not the aim to define the form such activism should take but rather to raise awareness of the issue…

Recent research suggests that inquiry-based approaches can be powerful in stimulating the development of inclusive practices. However, the implementation of such approaches can be difficult, particularly in contexts where there is a strong emphasis on improving standards, as measured by test and examination scores. This article describes and…

Much of current inclusive education provision in Australian secondary schools relies on "specialist" support from outside the classroom. Students with diverse abilities are placed within the regular classroom and additional specialist services such as therapy, counselling, psychological assessment and special education teaching are required to…

Many students approach the transition to secondary school with feelings of both excitement and apprehension, but it is excitement that usually prevails. For students with Asperger's Syndrome, however, those aspects of secondary school that most students anticipate with great enthusiasm, such as being in a new and larger environment, having…