We are entering a new phase in learning about childhood disabilities. While we have found out much of what we need to know about their causes and aetiology, solutions to many of the challenges we will face in the future will come from the evidence base held by practitioners. Practitioners are ideally placed to carry out "real world" research but…

In this article, Hazel Lawson, principal lecturer in education at the University of Plymouth, Sue Waite, a researcher at the University of Plymouth, and Christopher Robertson, lecturer in special and inclusive education at the University of Birmingham, discuss the curriculum for students with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties…

Many practitioners are now grappling with the practical realities involved in collaborations between mainstream and special schools. Colin Gladstone is a teacher at Greenside, a special school in Hertfordshire. In this article he describes his experience of running a Young Enterprise Scheme project linking teenage students with severe learning…

The article suggests use of a miscue analysis of mathematics problems in children with learning difficulties. Analysis of errors, past learning, and monitoring of progress are illustrated with a case study of a 10-year-old British learning disabled boy. (DB)

Two proponents of the precision teaching approach to teaching the handicapped discuss such principles as: the problem of partial application of the method; relationship to behaviorism; relationship to experiential learning; and the importance of fluency in task performance, mastery learning, and recordkeeping. (DB)

Normal children (average age 11, n=25) and multiply disabled children (aged 9-15, n=8) were integrated in physical education classes, emphasizing work with disabled-normal dyads. Girls were more willing than boys to accept disabled children into their groups, but during individual activities, boys were less reticent about making physical contact.…

Three case studies of students (aged 8-13) with emotional and behavior problems are presented to illustrate issues in teacher-parent communication difficulties. Teachers' visits to the students' homes were used as part of a family systems approach in successfully devising a method to reinforce behavior change. (JDD)

The article describes how a British residential school for hearing-impaired children tackled difficult behavior and became more conscious of its ethos by employing a problem-centered methodology. Problems such as intra-school communication and students' inappropriate social behavior were the focus of a teacher workshop and resultant task groups.…

Table games with special dice can help children with severe learning difficulties to improve their basic number skills (rote counting, numeral recognition, and counting out a quantity of objects from 1-200. Field testing supported the value of such games with 9- to 18-year-olds with moderate mental handicaps. (CL)

Language Through Reading Materials, developed for children with severe specific language disorders, are described in terms of three levels and possible applications with students who have speech and language disorders, hearing impairments, and moderate learning difficulties. (CL)

Suggestions are offered to teachers with deaf-blind children in their classrooms. Guidelines touch upon general curriculum development principles and approaches for improving communication skills, cognitive development, social and emotional development, motor and self care skills, and sensory development. (CL)

Teachers can promote learning within the mainstream classroom through organization of three aspects: (1) preparation of materials, (2) presentation of materials, and (3) teacher-pupil interaction. (CL)

An investigation of actions to promote positive attitudes to disabled pupils among their secondary peers revealed that classroom simulations of disability, lesson content, use of outside speakers, and off-site community service were employed. Problem areas are noted as well. (CL)

Proposes that the repetitive and stereotyped behavior displayed by many children with severe disabilities may be used as part of the child's educational program. Discussion is on recent research into stereotyped behavior, functionally equivalent behaviors, the relevance of early normal development, the social context of learning, and ways to use…

Using a personalized word association method, six children with persistent reading difficulties in two British elementary schools were instructed in recognizing 100 common words. All children made significant progress, with the most progress made by those who originally had the smallest sight vocabularies. Students who devised their own sentences…