Gwent Education Authority (Wales) evaluated its policies, procedures, administration, and financial arrangements for students with special educational needs. The evaluation found a lack of a clear policy statement on pupils with special educational needs, inconsistencies in criteria for starting formal assessments of special educational needs, and…

This article examines issues in teaching history to pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD). It argues that use of statutory tests, inaccessible to many SLD pupils, restricts curriculum development; that history should start with material from the most recent past and work backwards; and that history must be made accessible without…

This paper describes the implementation of goal attainment scaling at the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments. Goal attainment scaling was chosen because of its accommodation of the heterogeneity that exists among children with movement difficulties and their variation in rates of progress. Advantages and problems with the…

This study documents the goals, purposes, and outcomes of a 6-week conductive education program for 10 children (ages 1-10) with cerebral palsy in Brisbane, Australia. Observations revealed little improvement in mobility or eating skills, though parents reported that their children had made gains in such areas as self-care, hand function, and arm…

Two versions of classwide peer tutoring in spelling were evaluated with fourth-grade at-risk students (n=6 and n=4). Both experiments demonstrated moderate to substantial improvement in the peer tutoring condition and only slightly better performance in paired peer tutoring using the Language Master. (DB)

This article describes methods for teaching higher level thinking skills to children. A four-step teaching plan utilizing Beyer's Taxonomy of thinking skills provides a sequential technique for teaching these skills as do increased verbal interaction, skillful questioning, and use of knowledge organizers. The I PLAN strategy can aid decision…

Basic information about epilepsy is provided for special education teachers. Epilepsy is seen as primarily a symptom and is not, by itself, a reason for special education placement. Epilepsy may, however, also occur in cases where learning difficulties are the sequelae of generalized brain damage. (DB)

Systematic training of a paraprofessional in effective instructional procedures with a student with severe mental retardation and aberrant behaviors resulted in improved skills and fewer negative statements by the paraprofessional and decreased aberrant behaviors and increased compliance by the student. Follow-up at 55 weeks indicated maintenance…

This article examines the various types and functions of mnemonic strategies that may be used to expedite recall in students with learning disabilities, reviews the research concerning mnemonics, and provides a critical analysis of mnemonics as it relates to people with learning disabilities. (DB)

This article argues that the Regular Education Initiative (REI) puts both special needs students and their teachers at risk. Effects of REI are examined in light of a Self-Esteem Index which explains factors integral to a sense of success by both teachers and students. Support activities, preservice and inservice education are strongly urged. (DB)

This paper identifies and explains principles and practices in empowering parents of children with disabilities to be their advocates. Five models of empowerment are examined: moral, medical, enlightenment, compensatory, and the enabling models of helping. A lack of empirical data on empowerment is reported. (Author/DB)

An augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention was designed to increase vocabulary acquisition in five mild to moderately handicapped children (ages seven to nine) in a self-contained class. The intervention resulted in high rates of vocabulary and sentence selection for all the children, an improvement which persisted after…

This study applied Reader Response theory (which stresses an aesthetic experience with the text) with seven less proficient readers (learning-disabled fifth and sixth graders). Student response was best when the text was read to them, when their responses were oral, and when instruction focused on active meaning construction and the reader/text…

This article describes a computer-based system, the "Direct Observation Data System" (DODS), which allows for unobtrusive collection of direct observational data in the classroom and natural settings. At present, DODS consists of event-recording and duration-recording programs which can be remotely accessed. The device has implications for…

This study evaluated a computer-assisted instructional program employing a constant time delay prompting procedure to teach spelling of abbreviations to four adolescents with mild learning disabilities. The program was found effective, and training generalized to hand-written performance in both a special and general education setting. (Author/DB)