Twenty-one children with moderate to severe developmental disabilities attending two special education schools in Israel participated in group bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies. Children were observed during the six-month learning process and the ceremonies. Parents and school staff were also interviewed. The study found the children could both express…

This qualitative study examined comments of 250 parents of children with Down syndrome concerning facial plastic surgery as a means of improving the physical functioning, appearance, and social acceptance of these children. Most respondents viewed improvement of negative societal attitudes toward individuals with Down syndrome and futhering their…

A survey of 202 students with disabilities in Taiwan identified eight service categories: medical service, adult living service, working/living environment adaptation, professional guidance, psychological guidance, personal affairs, community learning, and continuing education. Results indicate that the overall need for services is far greater…

Review of the literature on computer technology in clinical psychology services for people with mental retardation is organized around stages of a scientist-practitioner working model: assessment, formulation, and intervention. Examples of technologies to facilitate work at each stage are given. Practical difficulties with implementation of…

The Transition Service Integration Model integrates resources of public schools, rehabilitation, and developmental disability systems. School and private non-profit agencies work together to develop employment and inclusive community activities during the student's last school year. Rehabilitation and developmental disability systems then work…

This paper synthesizes literature on person centered planning and Asian American families who have children with disabilities. It finds that some values of person centered planning are not explicitly consistent with Asian-American cultural values. Guidelines and suggestions for modification and implementation address establishing a relationship,…

This review provides an updated synthesis on peer tutoring research focusing on school-age students with mental retardation serving as tutors and/or tutees. The focus included peer tutoring implementations in the areas of academic, social, and daily living/self-help skills. Results of the 52 studies were categorized and discussed according to…

Multimedia instruction was used to teach three secondary students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities to locate grocery items by reading words on aisle signs. Results indicate that the multimedia program was effective in teaching generalized reading of the associated word pairs and location of the grocery items in the store. (Contains…

This study assessed effectiveness of peer delivered simultaneous prompting (SP) in teaching the expressive identification of community signs to four students with developmental disabilities. Results showed that the tutors delivered the SP reliably and tutees were able to expressively identify community signs. Tutees maintained acquired skills one…

This study investigated effects of a positive behavior support plan accompanied by an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention on the reduction of challenging behaviors in four children with moderate and severe mental retardation. Functional assessment was followed by a positive AAC support plan designed by the school team to…

This report describes results of an initial investigation of the utility of a specially designed money management software program for improving management of personal checking accounts for individuals with mental retardation. Use with 19 adults with mental retardation indicated the software resulted in significant reduction in check writing and…

This study explored the reliability of the Co-Teacher Rating Scale (CRS), completed by 10 teacher co-teams working to support the inclusion of young children with disabilities in early childhood programs. Results suggest that the CRS, when completed by external raters, is useful for summative evaluation, but co-teacher self-ratings are…

A class action suit led to the 1985 closure of a large, publicly funded institution for persons with mental retardation in Oklahoma. This study compared services provided to class members with those not in the plaintiff class. Findings indicated that members of the plaintiff class received substantially more services and a greater share of the…

This report is the outcome of a research project carried out between December 2004 and June 2005 by the University of Western Sydney. The project was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) as a quality teacher initiative under the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme (AGQTP). The…

In 2004, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) conducted an assessment of a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students across Australia to assess their proficiency in civics and citizenship. The assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is being put progressively in place to…