These proceedings of the conference's Special Sessions contain 85 papers organized into the following sections: "Implant Materials and Devices,""Communication Aids,""Neural Prosthetics for the Disabled,""Current Concepts in Spinal Cord Rehabilitation,""New Models in Rehabilitation,""Communication Aids for the Hearing Impaired,""Vocational Rehabilitation,""Prosthetics and Orthotics,""Blind, Visually Impaired," and "Adaptive Aids." Included are the following papers: "Engineering Design of Implant Systems" (G. McNeice); "Communication Interaction Between Aid Users and Natural Speakers--An International Perspective" (A. Kraat); "Electrical Control of Bladder Function in the Paralyzed" (A. Talalla and J. Bloom); "Biomechanics of Spinal Reconstruction" (R. Whitehill);"Transcendence Towards an Ethics of Rehabilitation" (D. Roy); "Coding of Speech in Cochlear Implants" (M. Merzenich); "Employing Severely Disabled Persons in Computer-Related Fields" (C. Warren); "Linking Rehabilitation Technology to Rehabilitation Service Delivery" (C. Whitcraft and C. Laenger, Sr.); "The Use of Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Scoliosis in Children" (M. Herbert); "Technological Change and Employment of Blind and Visually Impaired People" (F. Schmidt); "Questionable Devices" (A. Enders); and "Implications of the Environment for Persons with Disabilities" (P. Cluff). (JDD)