This paper reports on group discussion by 11 leaders in special education and related disciplines on research in alcohol and drug abuse, in relationship to the preparation of special education personnel. Five main themes emerged from the discussion: (1) prevention and drug education must be put into high gears; (2) systems change efforts, including incentives for manpower development and retention, should be acted on with a high priority; (3) special education should do what it does well, that is change behavior and not be distracted into drug counseling; (4) the major functional features of early intervention should be utilized to guide refinements in much of special education; and (5) meaningful research and dissemination are needed in topics of alcohol and drug abuse. Participants prioritized research topics related to: defining the issue (highest rated topics were research on the impact of substance abuse on learning and memory, and validation of treatments); alternative solutions (highest priorities were given to research on family-focused intervention methods, and staffing and staff training); and obstacles, barriers, and inhibitors (recommended research needs included wider use of individual/single subject research methods and more funding of decision making). (DB)