The communicative performance of 10 institutionalized persons (ages 12 to 21) with mental retardation was examined. The residents were observed in a classroom and in a residential living area. Results indicated that, although the overall amount of interaction was low, residents initiated the majority of the interactions. (Author/DB)

In this investigation a 14-week run/walk program was successfully implemented with 5 adult men with mild or moderate mental retardation. Each man was assigned a physical education major as a running partner and a point system established in which the men could earn daily and weekly privileges. (Author/DB)

Analysis of questionnaire responses of 51 regular elementary teachers and 50 paraprofessionals in British Columbia classes which included handicapped children found both groups tended to agree on actual, preferred, and not appropriate paraprofessional tasks. Task endorsement was primarily determined by the age, grade level, abilities, and needs of…

Questionnaire responses of parents (n=165) of gifted students (grades five through eight) and regular classroom teachers (n=90) with at least one child attending an enrichment program indicated parents were more supportive of the program than teachers with both groups being concerned about a lack of task commitment and possible elitist attitudes…

Implementation of a token economy system with a time-out backup consequence in a highly structured self-contained elementary classroom for children with emotional and behavior disorders demonstrated a strong functional relationship between the intervention system and improvement in the students' behavior. (Author/DB)

This review concludes that peer tutoring is a very powerful intervention for special education because it increases students' opportunities to respond, reduces teacher-pupil ratio, individualizes instruction, improves students' social skills, and increases students' academic achievement as well as aiding in the integration of disabled students…

Self-management strategy training was given to four learning-disabled adolescent males. The subjects mastered the steps in seven to nine sessions and went on to apply the strategy to target behaviors following which these behaviors were at or above criterion in both training and generalization settings. (Author/DB)

This paper examines the philosophies and practical methods of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard and Edouard Seguin in the nineteenth century to consider the genesis of the special education field. Noted is how many of these early techniques and ideas are either still relevant or common place today. (Author/DB)

This paper on underachievement in gifted students distinguishes between environmental, personal-neurological, and personal-psychological causes of underachievement. Characteristics of gifted underachievers are described, and strategies to change the pattern of the "personal-psychological" underachiever are discussed, with emphasis on coping…

This paper reviews research findings and research needs in the area of identification of gifted students from disadvantaged and culturally diverse groups. The Frasier Talent Assessment Profile system is presented as a way to utilize data from test and nontest sources to identify these children. (JDD)

Background information is provided on gifted students with learning disabilities and/or physical impairments. The need for collaborative interventions to meet the needs of these students is discussed, viewing collaboration as personal interaction, as the interaction of roles, and as interinstitutional interaction. A collaborative/consultation…

This paper reviews historical trends in provision of services to young gifted children, with particular emphasis on inhibiting factors preventing greater services. Work with young gifted children and their families is then discussed, focusing on children from upper- and middle-class backgrounds, with handicapping conditions, and from low-income…

This paper discusses selected issues and literature concerning gifted female students, examining achievement and aptitude, career choice, self-perceptions of ability, course taking, parental influences, the glamorization of sex differences, stereotyping, effects of classroom groupings and teaching strategies, and effects of single-sex schools and…

This article presents an annotated bibliography of 8 items on gifted underachievers, 13 items on culturally different gifted students, 10 items on gifted students with disabilities, 5 items on young gifted students, and 9 items on gifted females. The bibliography lists journal articles, monographs, monograph sections, and reports. (JDD)

This paper reviews 25 studies of intervention research in mathematics with subjects classified as mentally retarded. Research has primarily been conducted in three areas: basic skills and concepts; rule learning and problem solving; and applications, including time, money, and measurement skills. Results are discussed in relation to instructional…