The overview, the first in a series of five manuals, describes the goals of the AID (Accepting Individual Differences) curriculum of fostering acceptance and respect for differences, as exemplified by disabilities. Briefly discussed in the guide's section on the curriculum's rationale are need, assumptions (such as that handicapped individuals have a right to acceptance and respect), and goals (with three cognitive objectives and four behavioral objectives). The section describing the curriculum notes the following four themes of the curriculum: (1) People are different; people are the same; (2) People learn in different ways: (3) Even though we are different, we like each other; and (4) A person's appearance seems significant only when we don't know him or her. There is a common format for the four guides; instructor activities, lesson activities for primary grade students, and guidelines for appropriate activities for more advanced students are contained in each manual. Half the overivew consists of a selected bibliography including approximately 81 professional references; 28 recommended readings for preschool, primary, and middle grade students; 14 biographies and autobiographies for adults and adolescents; and multimedia materials including thirty 16mm films, four filmstrips and slides, three videotapes, one audiotape, and two records. (MC)