This article explores the current status in the United States of support to families who care for children with disabilities at home. It summarizes essential program features, program effects, and outstanding issues (such as, ensuring family involvement in policy formation, sufficient funding, and system collaboration). (DB)

Early childhood intervention service providers (N=242) in Louisiana reported that their inservice training experiences were primarily of a passive nature, and few received support following training. More dynamic training strategies such as teacher modeling, small-group discussions, and opportunities to practice targeted skills were felt to more…

This study investigated the validity of 3 curriculum-based measures for predicting the performance of 184 secondary students (including 13 with mild disabilities) on content-area tasks. Reliable correlations were found between oral reading, maze, and vocabulary measures; and students' performance on comprehension, acquisition, and retention of…

Using data on eighth-grade students from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study compared parent expectations for students with visual impairment, hearing impairment, deafness, orthopedic impairment, or no disability. Parental educational expectations were higher for students with disabilities than for those without. Student…

Twenty-nine elementary special education teachers each monitored 2 students with mild disabilities using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for 16 weeks. Students whose teachers implemented CBM more accurately made significantly greater math gains than students whose teachers either implemented CBM less accurately or who did not use CBM. Adequacy…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act includes school health services among possible related services. A review of relevant documents and court decisions from the past 10 years provides insight into congressional intent, federal regulations, and local implementation of service delivery related to children with extensive health care…

This position paper proposes an expanded definition of transition, based on common components of early childhood and secondary perspectives. It advocates for a seamless model of transition service delivery for students with disabilities, including program planning, from birth through age 21. The model addresses curriculum, location of services,…

A 3-year follow-along study of 422 students with disabilities in their last year of high school and 1 year later found that students with serious emotional disturbances and demonstrated low personal/social achievement skills were more likely to be victimized than those with other disabilities. Prior victimization, gender, and arrest record also…

This survey found that middle and high school students (n=1,137) believe friendship with a student with a severe disability is more likely to occur if the student is included in the general education class, if cooperative learning is used, if information on disabilities is given, and if integrated social activities are arranged. (CR)

A study investigated the perceptions on inclusion of 102 special education teachers of whom 5 had administrative certification, 578 regular education teachers of whom 53 had administrative certification, and 10 unspecified others. Results indicated the educators favored inclusion. Administrative support and collaboration were predictors of…

A survey of 77 parents of children requiring ventilator support and interviews with 22 of the families sought to determine parental satisfaction with their child's educational placement. The survey showed that 44% of children were in general education programs, and 87% of parents agreed with their children's placement. (CR)

Application of systematic research synthesis procedures to 28 studies of general education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion indicated that, overall, about two-thirds of the teachers support inclusion. Their support, however, varied depending on the disability. Only one-third or less believed that they have the time, skills, training, or…

A study compared the experience of parents of children with disabilities (n=93) and parents of children without disabilities (n=111) as their children prepared to leave high school. Parents of children with disabilities were more likely to be pessimistic and feel greater discomfort about the children's transition from school. (CR)

A study of 51,624 Michigan students declassified from special education indicated that the students were academically, socially, and behaviorally well adjusted in general education programs. Teachers and counselors felt that 11% continued to need special education. Four percent of declassified students returned to special education within three…

This study of 14 special education professionals from minority groups revealed their perceptions on cultural sensitivity in family interviewing. Recommendations for improving interviews include increasing knowledge about other cultures; examining cultural biases; allowing sufficient time for interviews; providing a family focus; and considering…