Showing papers in "The Journal of The Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps in 2003"

A Palmtop Computer-Based Intelligent Aid for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities to Increase Independent Decision Making

Abstract: This study reports the evaluation of a software prompting system operating on a Pocket PC model palmtop computer designed to facilitate decision making for individuals with intellectual disabilitie...

A Content Analysis of the Curricular Philosophies Reflected in States' Alternate Assessment Performance Indicators:

Abstract: Both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 and the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) require the provision of an alternate assessment for students who cannot participate in state or district assessments with accommodations. Most states have defined performance indicators for these alternate assessments linked to their state standards. In this article, we consider five curricular philosophies (i.e., developmental, functional, social inclusion, self-determination, and academic) for students with severe disabilities and analyze how they are reflected in the performance indicators of states selected from an earlier study on curricular alignment. Overall, these states reflected a blend of academic and functional philosophies in defining reading and math performance indicators with few examples of social inclusion, self-determination, or developmental philosophies. The predominance of an academic philosophy was especially evident in states that experts and stakeholders identified as having performa...

An Analysis of Legal Hearings and Cases Related to Individualized Education Programs for Children with Autism

Abstract: Developing appropriate programs for students with autism has been an increasingly complex task for parents, schools, and other stakeholders. Parents of students with autism have challenged the appr...

The Beginnings of Inclusion in the People's Republic of China

Abstract: Education for children with disabilities in the People's Republic of China has experienced significant growth and reform since 1978, the beginning of the period of Reform and Opening (gaige kaifang...

Enhancing the Job Performance of Youth with Moderate to Severe Cognitive Disabilities Using the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction on student-selected work skills for 4 students with moderate to severe disabilities. The students learned to set their own goals, develop an action plan, implement the plan, and adjust their goals and plans as needed. Three of the 4 participants achieved their self-selected goals, and 1 student did not meet the mastery criterion, but performed at a higher level during the training condition than in baseline. The results provide support for self-determination instruction for transition-age youth with moderate to severe disabilities.

Obtaining Assistance When Lost in the Community Using Cell Phones

Abstract: This study replicated previous findings that established a five-level, least-to-most prompting system in conjunction with total task presentation as a successful method for teaching students with m...

Inclusion in Viet Nam: More than a Decade of Implementation.

Abstract: This article traces the evolution of special education policies and services and the introduction of inclusive education as a service delivery model in Viet Nam. The impact of a series of inclusion...

"Scientifically Based Research" and Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract: Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. (Anonymous, often attributed to Albert Einstein; Calaprice, 2000)

Special Education and Severe Disabilities in Costa Rica: Developing Inclusion in a Developing Country:

Abstract: Special education has been part of the Costa Rican public education system for more than 60 years. Approximately 10% of the 75,000 students who receive special services have a severe disability; however, there is a chronic shortage of personnel trained to educate students with significant educational needs. In the last 5 years, Costa Rica has promulgated four educational service models that extend special education expertise: Consulting teachers, educational assistance teams, itinerant teams, and resource centers. These models more equitably distribute the technical skills and knowledge of special education professionals throughout the country. In addition, the Department of Special Education has developed a pragmatic educational classification system that describes the level of modifications required by students with disabilities, rather than one that is driven by their diagnostic label. Few publications have been written about special education in Costa Rica. This is the first historical overview of the...

Training Preschool Staff to Promote Cooperative Participation among Young Children with Severe Disabilities and Their Classmates

Abstract: Young children with severe disabilities often require specific support to participate in activities with typically developing peers in inclusive preschools. We evaluated a program for training pres...

Concerns Regarding the Application of Restrictive "Eligibility" Policies to Individuals Who Need Communication Services and Supports: A Response by the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities

Abstract: Sometimes communication supports and services for school-aged children with extensive disabilities are re-duced over time or removed on the basis of inappropri-ate reasons or eligibility criteria that are flawed. Family members may feel unequipped to argue against the de-cisions that schools or agencies make for their child, and professionals may be in a difficult position to disagree with their administrators. The National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities has written a position statement on these re-strictive eligibility practices. This position statement ad-dresses concerns about inappropriate eligibility criteria and may be used to help individuals, family members, and providers gain access to necessary communication supports and services.

“You Have to Learn Who Comes with the Disability”: Students' Reflections on Service Learning Experiences with Peers Labeled with Disabilities

Abstract: Service learning is the integration of community-based student projects into the formal curriculum of a school or course of study. This qualitative, descriptive study presents understandings about ...

Instruction and Assessment: How Students with Deaf-Blindness Fare in Large-Scale Alternate Assessments

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to report the results from a study examining the relationship between educational experiences for students with deaf-blindness and large-scale alternate assessment ou...

Book Review: Implementing Person-Centered Planning: Voices of Experience:

Abstract: The folks at Inclusion Press have released the second installment in their series on person-centered planning (edited by John O’Brien and Connie Lyle O’Brien). This sequel to their 1998 release, A Little Book about Person-Centered Planning, should “continue and extend the discussion” (J. O’Brien & C. L. O’Brien, 2002, p. 1) by presenting the perspectives of practitioners as they reflect on what they have learned from their work to date. This latest installment, Implementing PersonCentered Planning: Voices of Experience (Volume II), describes some of the possibilities and pitfalls, through the voices and the direct experiences of 30 people who are struggling with the day-to-day realities and associated systemic complexities of doing person-centered planning. When the first volume in this series was published in 1998, it represented one of the first significant publications devoted exclusively to person-centered planning—consisting primarily of reprints of frequently cited papers from the early developers of personcentered planning. However, now 5 years later, a number of other publications exist on this topic. The Winter 2002 issue of this journal, for example, focused on person-centered planning (Research and Practice in Severe Disabilities, 2002). Also in 2002, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company released Steve Holburn and Peter Vietze’s, Person-Centered Planning: Research, Practice, and Future Directions (reviewed in Research and Practice in Severe Disabilities, Michaels, 2002). So at this point, one might ask, is another book on personcentered planning really necessary? While I believe this question is somewhat rhetorical in nature, I think that it is important that it is voiced and examined in the context of this review. I will begin the examination of this most recent contribution to the person-centered planning literature by addressing its unique construction, which truly captures and reflects the diversity of person-centered planning experiences in both its content and its style. The subtitle to this second volume, Voices of Experience, speaks volumes about the structure, and although the editors, John and Connie O’Brien, and the folks at Inclusion Press have carefully selected the contributors and organized this text, “voices,” in the plural, is what one finds here. According to the O’Briens, this was a conscious decision, rather than a mere accident:

Transitions between School and Hospital for Students with Multiple Disabilities: A Survey of Causes, Educational Continuity, and Parental Perceptions

Abstract: We studied the causes, educational continuity, and parental perceptions associated with students with multiple disabilities transitioning from school to hospital. A sample from the southeastern Uni...

A Preliminary Survey of Professional and Student Opinion of Special Education Practice in Contemporary Russia.

Abstract: Despite pervasive political, economic, and social changes in Russia since the collapse of Soviet rule, it remains uncertain what changes have occurred in special education in the last decade. The purpose of this study was to survey the perceptions of a sample of special educators about the status of special education in contemporary Russia. In addition, the respondents were asked what factors needed to be addressed to produce systems change. Results indicated that the majority of respondents were knowledgeable of and in support of inclusion practices advocated in the United States and Western Europe. However, belief in traditional practices of placing individuals with disabilities in more segregated settings that are somewhat in conflict with contemporary values was also evident. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Facilitation Strategies Used by Job Coaches in Supported Employment Settings: A Preliminary Investigation:

Abstract: Coworker perceptions of facilitation strategies provided by job coaches, and needed by coworkers, and discrepancies between facilitation strategies provided by job coaches and those perceived as being needed by co-workers were analyzed in relation to the types and frequency of problems reported to be exhibited by supported employees (N = 83). The results of this preliminary investigation indicated that when the frequency of work problems was low, the majority of the problems resulted in the need for and provision of less intensive facilitation strategies. Coworkers perceived they needed either low or a mixed level of support, not a high level of support, even when the frequency of work problems was high, except when the problems were related to challenging behaviors such as self-injury and property destruction. The most intriguing finding was that job coaches generally used the level of facilitation strategies that matched coworker needs.