This article presents a multi-step process and multi-level model to promote access to the general curriculum for students with mental retardation. It discusses the incorporation of the following universal design principles: equitable use, flexible use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error and low physical and…

Interviews and home observations examined friendships of 28 children (ages 3-10) with disabilities. Children with the greatest amount of contact with friends had disabilities that were mainly physical, while children with behavior problems and cognitive limitations had the fewest peer interactions. Children living in isolated areas had more…

Case studies evaluated the feasibility and benefit of inclusion of two high school students with mental retardation. The transfer of the students from a self-contained class to a regular class was associated with an improvement in classroom work skills; however, social integration was minimal. Teachers evaluated the inclusion as satisfactory.…

A study examined the effects of self-monitoring on selected social and academic behaviors of four high school students with mental retardation in inclusive classes. Occurrences of self-monitoring were associated with improvement in target behaviors. In addition, teachers and classmates perceived improved performance of target behaviors when…

A study compared the use of mnemonic strategies in using pictures for enhancing acquisition of the form and sounding of Hebrew letters by students (ages 10-15) with mild mental retardation. Results indicate that the students who were taught the mnemonic strategies learned significantly more letters than controls. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study compared a 4 s constant time delay and a simultaneous prompting procedure on teaching receptively identifying animals to three children (ages 7-10) with mild/moderate mental retardation. Both procedures were effectively implemented by sibling tutors, simultaneous prompting was more efficient, and constant time delay resulted in more…

A study involving four adults with disabilities examined effects of presenting motion video stimuli as job choice response options in single and paired-choice formats. All participants expressed preferences using the motion video by differentially responding to the job videos. In the paired presentation, participants were more discriminating in…

A study examined all research articles published in four journals from 1993-2001. Approximately two-thirds of the articles consistently described participants by the diagnostic categories from the 1983 American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) diagnostic manual. An average of 10% of the articles described participants in terms of the 1992…

A review of 10 research articles on the use of auditory prompting systems with persons with moderate to severe disabilities found a functional relationship between the use of an audio prompt system and increased task performance. Results support the use of an audio prompt system as an effective intervention. (Contains references.) (CR)

A study examined self perceptions of eight persons with mental retardation on the adequacy of their social support systems. Suburban participants had more informal sources of support and utilized informal supports more frequently than rural subjects. Suburbanites also had a higher self-perception of the adequacy of their social support systems.…

Happiness indices were observed during naturally occurring work and leisure activities for individuals with severe (n=12) and profound (n=7) disabilities. Both groups showed more happiness indices during leisure activities, although the difference for the profound group was smaller. There was also a significant difference between groups for…

This article presents the role of the Job Observation and Behavior Scale (JOBS) in promoting objective employee performance evaluations and summarizes the technical properties of the instrument. JOBS is designed to be sensitive to both the work performance and support needs of people who participate in supported employment. (Contains references.)…

This article discusses the role of supported employment specialists, professionals who help identify, coordinate, and/or provide individualize employment and related services to person with the most significant disabilities. Recruitment of employment specialists, hiring considerations, and selection criteria are discussed. Sample interview…

This study used modified functional analysis and functional communication training to assess and replace the faulty communication responses of three older children with autism during conversational exchanges. Results suggested that attention was the maintaining consequence. Correct responses and speaker/listener exchanges during social…

Four students with moderate mental retardation were taught to read or define words on vocabulary lists of general education classes using embedded instruction. Results indicate that embedded instruction led to the acquisition and maintenance of the target skills. Paraprofessionals successfully implemented the embedded instruction in general…