This article discusses the role of temperament in the development of young children with disabilities and the five dimensions of temperament: activity level, intensity, mood, persistence, and reaction to new experiences. Types of behavioral tendencies that exemplify each temperament dimension are described, along with interaction adaptation…

This article reviews routine-based teaching and monitoring and offers guidelines for using these strategies to track the progress of individual children with disabilities. The Individual Activity-Objective Matrix and the Group-Objective Matrix are explained as ways to help teachers to structure opportunities for a child to learn and practice…

This article discusses the increased emphasis on providing early intervention services within natural environments and how to maximize natural learning opportunities by using everyday activities that children experience and embedding intervention in daily routines. Guidelines for deciding the frequency of services, changing services, and the level…

This article describes resources for supporting parents who have developmental disabilities, including a study on the strategies of parents with disabilities, a video of a couple who moved from an institution to marriage and parenthood, a guide for supporting parents, a resource center, and an online support network. (CR)

This article summarizes national data on special education teacher characteristics. Data indicate that between 1990 and 1999 the special education teaching force grew by 11% and the students with disabilities population grew by 30%; 63% of special education teachers are licensed for their main assignment; and 86% are white. (Contains references.)…

This article discusses changes in effective teaching practice and characteristics of different levels of acceptance of school cultures. It reports the results of a survey of 72 inclusion teachers showing that teachers believed their attitude toward students was the first or second most important condition needed for successful inclusion. (Contains…

This article is designed to help professionals and parents learn and grow as they work together for the children in their charge. It discusses the levels of awareness parents have about the disability of their child. These include the ostrich phase, special designation of the disability, normalization, and self-actualization. (Contains…

This article describes the teacher preparation program in Texas that has evolved from a traditional 4-year program, to an alternative certification route, then to a post-baccalaureate certification. An analysis of each program's results indicates teachers who completed the traditional undergraduate program were better qualified to teach than those…

This article provides information about the roles and responsibilities of physical therapists, occupational therapists, therapeutic recreation specialists, and adapted physical educators working with students with disabilities. Examples are provided of individualized education programs that combine the expertise of these professionals. Examples of…

This article describes the Council for Exceptional Children's professional standards for special education teachers, including the content standards and the knowledge and skill standards. Information is provided on how to use the standards to structure a professional development plan, maintain expertise and evaluate competency. Self-evaluation…

This article reports on a team effort by faculty from a public school district and an urban university to create an observation tool to be used to evaluate and mentor preservice and inservice teachers' abilities to address issues of classroom diversity. The observation tool is provided, along with implementation suggestions. (Contains references.)…

The intervention described in this article focuses on providing extra spelling instruction to young children who experience difficulty with literacy learning. The CASL Spelling Program is designed to teach children basic sound/letter combinations, spelling patterns involving long and short vowels, and common spelling words that fit these patterns.…

This article presents a rationale for the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) approach to solving behavior problems in the classroom as well as FBA components and applications. The paper notes advantages of FBA as well as legal and ethical reasons for using FBA. A case study illustrates use of FBA within a four-stage decision-making framework.…

This article presents a detailed example of how faculty and staff at one middle school implemented team-based functional behavioral assessment (FBA) planning procedures with a student exhibiting recurring minor problems. Insets list tasks and considerations for an FBA, a sample formatted antecedent-behavior-consequence summary of team member…

This article shows how teachers can implement behavioral observation and assessment using a structured rubric narrative log format to understand a student's problem behaviors and find ways to encourage more positive behavior. Advantages of narrative observations for functional behavioral assessments are specified and include exploring one's own…