Sibling interactions are challenges that all families face on a daily basis. These interactions are significantly more difficult when one child has autism. With the apparent increase in diagnoses of autism, there are more families each year who are dealing with issues of relationships. Children learn, as part of the growing up experience, how to…

Children's books with characters that have disabilities have been touted as an avenue to introduce children to their peers with disabilities. Children's literature specialists have suggested that the use of these books may result in a more positive attitude on the part of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities. Working…

Music-education majors often struggle when making classroom and curricular modifications for their lesson plans during their university coursework. This article offers behavioral, curricular, environmental, motivational, organizational, and presentational strategies for planning instruction for various disabilities in the music classroom.…

This article examines the application of the popular Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to the early identification and service delivery for students with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in schools. The article begins with an explanation of the RTI model as applied to the social behavior domain, based on the empirical research…

Youth sports were created as opportunities for children to play, be active, and begin learning how to become better or more successful at a given sport. Unfortunately for many children with disabilities they may not get the same opportunities that are available to other children. There are a number of barriers that may inhibit children with…

Families in India face many challenges in caring for and educating their children with disabilities. India has enacted a landmark special education law, Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, which provides schooling and services to all children. For some students with disabilities, however, integrated and special schools are providing schooling.…

Recent advocacy organization reports, Congressional hearings, and proposed federal legislation have called attention to the abusive use of physical restraint procedures in school settings. As a result, administrators and school officials wonder whether they should purchase "crisis intervention" training for staff and faculty members from outside…

Physical interventions for special education students in crisis remains a controversial concept. The first minute of a crisis situation represents the most crucial time to prevent injury or the exacerbation of injury. Although preventing violence and escalation of negative emotions is the first step in crisis management, school staff also must be…

Schools are changing rapidly, and the pressure is on to find ways to effectively support the growing diversity of student needs found in general education classrooms. Urban high schools, which serve students of diverse backgrounds, are in dire need of proactive approaches to discipline that will support student behavior rather than remove them…

Today's teachers face many challenges, and one of their most challenging tasks is to meet the needs of and support the success of a diverse group of students, including those with disabilities. How confident are elementary teachers in meeting the needs of the students with disabilities in their general education classes? In areas of low…

In a study conducted in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in the United States is approximately 1 in 150 people. An increase has also been seen in the number of students with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) attending postsecondary education institutions. Because of the rise in numbers of…

Students with specific learning disability (SLD) continue to account for a higher proportion of all special education enrollments than any other classification under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Probably the most frequent topic in the special education literature since the 2004 amendments to IDEA has been the movement…

Ms. Thomas, the general educator, and Ms. Merced, the special education teacher, plan to co-teach mathematics classes during the upcoming school year. Based on previous interactions with students and knowledge of students' abilities from school records, they know that several students, including students with disabilities, struggle with…

For a number of students, early failure is highly predictive of later failure, severely limiting the development of skilled reading. Students who do not read fluently generally do not become good readers. In addition, students with inadequate fluency are likely to avoid reading because of fear of failure and negative attitudes--and students who…

In 1997, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandated that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum. Access means more than being exposed to language arts, math, and science; access means academic progress. In addition, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires that all students have…