The purpose of this study is to analyze the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) data that states and U.S. territories report from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and discuss the status of the most restrictive special education placement settings for students with disabilities. In this analysis, we found that (a) states do not set rigorous improvement goals to reduce restrictive placements, (b) the percentage of students with disabilities placed in restrictive placements have remained essentially unchanged over the past decade, and (c) students with low-incidence (severe) disabilities are disproportionally placed in restrictive placements. These results suggest that segregated educational experiences continue for thousands of students with disabilities in spite of evidence that shows that opportunities to learn and develop are enhanced in more inclusive educational settings.

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The Persistence of Highly Restrictive Special Education Placements for Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities.

Background: The development of effective treatments for use by non-specialists is listed among the top research priorities for improving the lives of people with mental illness worldwide. The purpose of this review is to appraise which interventions for children with intellectual disabilities or lower-functioning autism spectrum disorders delivered by nonspecialist care providers in community settings produce benefits when compared to either a no-treatment control group or treatment-as-usual comparator. Methods and Findings: We systematically searched electronic databases through 24 June 2013 to locate prospective controlled studies of psychosocial interventions delivered by non-specialist providers to children with intellectual disabilities or lower-functioning autism spectrum disorders. We screened 234 full papers, of which 34 articles describing 29 studies involving 1,305 participants were included. A majority of the studies included children exclusively with a diagnosis of lowerfunctioning autism spectrum disorders (15 of 29, 52%). Fifteen of twenty-nine studies (52%) were randomized controlled trials and just under half of all effect sizes (29 of 59, 49%) were greater than 0.50, of which 18 (62%) were statistically significant. For behavior analytic interventions, the best outcomes were shown for development and daily skills; cognitive rehabilitation, training, and support interventions were found to be most effective for improving developmental outcomes, and parent training interventions to be most effective for improving developmental, behavioral, and family outcomes. We also conducted additional subgroup analyses using harvest plots. Limitations include the studies’ potential for performance bias and that few were conducted in lower- and middle-income countries. Conclusions: The findings of this review support the delivery of psychosocial interventions by non-specialist providers to children who have intellectual disabilities or lower-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Given the scarcity of specialists in many low-resource settings, including many lower- and middle-income countries, these findings may provide guidance for scale-up efforts for improving outcomes for children with developmental disorders or lower-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Protocol Registration: PROSPERO CRD42012002641 Please see later in the article for the Editors’ Summary.

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Non-specialist psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents with intellectual disability or lower-functioning autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.

The new American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) definition of mental retardation (Luckasson et al., 1992) represents a radical departure from previous definitions. In the present paper we examined the extent to which the new definition provides decision rules to guide clinicians and researchers in classification efforts. We concluded that the IQ criterion of 75 will increase the proportion of the general population eligible near the cut-off score. Moreover, the 10 adaptive skill areas adopted fail to consider developmental factors and cannot be assessed reliably with current scales. Proposed differentiation by levels of needed supports is also challenged as being imprecise and not amenable to reliable measurement. Implications of this new definition for diagnostic practices and research endeavors were explored.

Conceptural and psychometric concerns about the 1992 AAMR definition of mental retardation

Using the least restrictive environments (LRE) data from annual Reports to Congress, this study examined national trends in placement between 2000 and 2014 for school-aged students considered to ha...

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Examining National Trends in Educational Placements for Students With Significant Disabilities

Background While an extensive body of research has examined the outcomes of inclusion for pupils with special needs, in particular learning disabilities, its effects on the development of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been less explored. As inclusive practices tend to be more common for this group of children, it is important to acquire more knowledge on this issue.

Methods  A comparative study with an experimental group of 34 children with ID fully included in general education classrooms with support, and a control group of 34 comparable children in special schools has been conducted. The progress accomplished by these two groups in their academic achievement and adaptive behaviour has been compared over two school years.

Results  Included children made slightly more progress in literacy skills than children attending special schools. No differences were found between the progress of the two groups in mathematics and adaptive behaviour.

Conclusions  Inclusive education is an appropriate educational option for primary pupils with ID who require extensive support in school.

Effects of inclusion on the academic achievement and adaptive behaviour of children with intellectual disabilities

Background This study aimed at assessing the impact of including children with intellectual disability (ID) in general education classrooms with support on the academic achievement of their low-, average-, and high-achieving peers without disability.Method A quasi-experimental study was conducted with an experimental group of 202 pupils from classrooms with an included child with mild or moderate ID, and a control group of 202 pupils from classrooms with no included children with special educational needs (matched pairs sample). The progress of these 2 groups in their academic achievement was compared over a period of 1 school year.Results No significant difference was found in the progress of the low-, average-, or high-achieving pupils from classrooms with or without inclusion.Conclusions The results suggest that including children with ID in primary general education classrooms with support does not have a negative impact on the progress of pupils without disability.

The impact of including children with intellectual disability in general education classrooms on the academic achievement of their low-, average-, and high-achieving peers

This article presents a summary of results from a Swiss nationwide empirical study of the determinants of grade retention, its effects on learning, and its social and emotional consequences. Results show that the decision for grade retention does not rest only on the pupil's actual academic performance but also on the teacher's attitudes and evaluations. With regard to improvement in learning, the study yields contrasting short- and medium-term results: They are positive in the case of same-grade comparisons and negative when same-age comparisons are applied. However, globally, the effectiveness of grade retention is rather unsatisfactory, particularly when one considers its long-term consequences, although there is no evidence of negative social or emotional consequences. It is nevertheless suggested that grade retention should be avoided at the primary school level.

Grade retention: decision-making and effects on learning as well as social and emotional development

Der Beitrag liefert einen Uberblick zum Stand der Forschung sowie Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung zur Wirksamkeit der schulischen Integration: Die Lernfortschritte der integrierten Kinder in den Schulleistungen sind mindestens gleich gros wie jene vergleichbarer Kinder in Sonderschulen. Leichte Vorteile fur die Integration bestehen in der Sprache. In Bezug auf die Entwicklung der adaptiven Fahigkeiten (Lehrer- und Elterneinschatzung) bestehen keine Unterschiede zwischen den Vergleichsgruppen. Ausnahme hierzu bildet der Bereich Selbstfursorge im hauslichen Kontext. Die Mitschuler der Regelklassen werden in ihren Lernfortschritten (Mathematik und Sprache) durch die Integration nicht benachteiligt. Insbesondere das Kompetenzgefuhl der Lehrpersonen sowie ihre Erfahrungen mit integrativem Unterricht und Kontakte mit Personen mit Behinderungen im auserschulischen Kontext einerseits und die Berufserfahrung (mehr oder weniger als 20 Jahre Berufspraxis) sowie die Art der Behinderung der zu integrierenden Kinder andererseits beeinflussen die Einstellungen der Lehrpersonen zur Integration. (DIPF/Orig.)
After an overview of past researches on the inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in general education classrooms, this article presents the results of an empirical research project on that topic. Those results show that included children with intellectual disabilities made slightly more progress in literacy than children attending special schools. No differences were found as regards the progress made by the two groups in mathematics, global adaptive behaviour and all domains of adaptive skills, with the exception of self-care skills displayed at home. Furthermore, the inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in general education had no negative effect on the progress of their peers without disabilities in mathematics and literacy. Finally, the attitudes of teachers towards inclusion were influenced by self-efficacy beliefs, experience in including children with special needs, contacts with persons with disabilities outside of school, years of professional experience and nature of the disability. (DIPF/Orig.)

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Schulische Integration von Kindern mit einer geistigen Behinderung. Untersuchung der Entwicklung der Schulleistungen und der adaptiven Fähigkeiten, der Wirkung auf die Lernentwicklung der Mitschüler sowie der Lehrereinstellungen zur Integration

Gérard Bless

Papers

Effects of inclusion on the academic achievement and adaptive behaviour of children with intellectual disabilities

The impact of including children with intellectual disability in general education classrooms on the academic achievement of their low-, average-, and high-achieving peers

Grade retention: decision-making and effects on learning as well as social and emotional development

Schulische Integration von Kindern mit einer geistigen Behinderung. Untersuchung der Entwicklung der Schulleistungen und der adaptiven Fähigkeiten, der Wirkung auf die Lernentwicklung der Mitschüler sowie der Lehrereinstellungen zur Integration

Klassenwiederholung ; Determinanten, Wirkungen und Konsequenzen.