Instruction for
Students with Severe Disabilities in General Education Settings
JOHN MCDONNELL
Abstract: This article discusses some of the issues associated with
effective instruction for students with severe disabilities who are enrolled
in general education classes. It is argued that developing a valid
technology of instruction will require the field to reconceptualize our
current model of teaching and learning for this group of students.
Specifically, we must begin to view student learning as the combined effects
of instructional methods used for all students in the class and those used
to meet the unique needs of each student. Achieving these aims will require
a two pronged approach. First, general and special educators in inclusive
programs must adopt and implement teaching practices that can accommodate
the diverse educational needs of all students in the class. Second, teachers
must begin to employ strategies that infuse opportunities for students with
severe disabilities to receive instruction on targeted routines, activities,
and skills within the on-going activities of the class.
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Comparison of
General and Special Education Classrooms of Students with Severe Disabilities
EDWIN HELMSTETTER
CHRIS A. CURRY
MARGARET BRENNAN
MELISSA SAMPSON-SAUL
Abstract: Nine students with severe disabilities were observed in their
general and special education classrooms using a two-minute time sampling
procedure. The amount of non-instruction and instruction was recorded, along
with the instructional format, content, partner, and student response. In
comparison to special education classrooms, general education classrooms
provided more instruction, utilized more whole class instruction, provided a
comparable amount of one-to-one instruction, addressed academic content more,
and utilized nondisabled peers more and special education adults less. Also,
in comparison to special education classrooms, participants in general
education were less actively engaged and more passively engaged in
instruction, engaged a comparable amount of time during independent work, and
less actively engaged and more passively engaged with teachers and
paraprofessionals. Limitations of the study and future research were
discussed.
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Teaching Adults
with Severe Disabilities to Express Their Choice of Settings for Leisure Activities
DIANE M. BROWDER
KARENA J. COOPER
LEVAN LIM
Abstract: Assessing the leisure preferences of adults with severe
disabilities can be complicated by underdeveloped communication, choice
making, and leisure experiences. Determining preferences can be especially
difficult for activities and settings, which are abstractions, in contrast to
objects or materials, which are concrete and visible. This study demonstrated
a method to determine setting preferences and subsequently, to teach three
adults with severe mental retardation to express their choice between settings
for similar leisure activities. Observations of duration of participation
revealed differences between settings for all three adults. The adults then
learned to use objects associated with the settings to communicate their
choice between a community and center-based option.
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Conversion from
Segregated Services to Supported Employment: A Continuing Challenge to the
VR Service System
MICHAEL WEST
GRANT REVELL
PAUL WEHMAN
Abstract: This article reports findings from a national survey of day
support providers regarding conversion of resources from segregated services
to supported employment. Approximately 23% of all agencies and 37% of agencies
with both facility-based programs and supported employment indicated that they
had converted resources to community-based employment. After an average of
five years of conversion, over half of agencies' consumers and budgets
continued to be in facility-based programs. Boards of Directors, funding
agencies, and consumers were perceived to be very supportive of conversion,
with over half of respondents stating that these constituencies were
"very supportive." The primary barrier to conversion was resistance
from families, staff, and communities. Findings are discussed in light of
ongoing systems change initiatives.
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Using Self-evaluation
to Improve the Work Productivity of Trainees in a Community-based Restaurant
Training Program
TERESA A. GROSSI
WILLIAM L. HEWARD
Abstract: A self-evaluation training package consisting of goal-setting,
self-monitoring, and self-evaluation of work productivity was implemented with
four adult males with developmental disabilities enrolled in a community-based
restaurant training program. All four trainees learned to set a goal, monitor
their work productivity, and evaluate their performance against a competitive
standard. Data on each trainee's work productivity were collected within a
multiple baseline across tasks design. The accuracy with which each trainee
recorded his work performance. Target work tasks were scrubbing pots, racking
dishes, sweeping and mopping floors, and bussing and setting tables. Each
trainee's work productivity improved for each of his tasks as a function of
the self-evaluation training package. Three trainees accurately self-monitored
their work performance and significantly increased the percentage of trials
within the competitive range.
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Team
Environmental
Assessment Mapping System: A Method for Selecting Curriculum Goals for Students
with Disabilities
PATTI C. CAMPBELL
CHARLES R. CAMPBELL
MICHAEL P. BRADY
Abstract: This paper describes a planning model for selecting curriculum
goals for students with disabilities. Components of the planning model are
described, and an example of how the model was used with one student is
presented.
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Understanding
of Emotion-Descriptive and Abstract Concepts by Aggressive and Nonaggressive
Adults with Mental Retardation
NICOLAY CHERTKOFF WALZ
BETSEY A. BENSON
Abstract: Recent research indicates that individuals with mental
retardation have deficits in processing facial expressions of emotion, but has
not investigated other aspects of emotional processing such as understanding
of affective concepts. This study investigated whether adults with mental
retardation have difficulty understanding emotion-descriptive concepts, and if
so, whether or not that difficulty can be attributed to a general difficulty
with abstract concepts. Another aim was to determine if aggressive and
nonaggressive adults differ in their understanding of emotion-descriptive
concepts. Seventy-three participants were administered the Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test-Revised (Dunn & Dunn, 1981). Participants performed better
on nonemotion than emotion concepts, but there was no performance difference
between abstract and nonabstract concepts. Aggressive participants did not
have more difficulty with emotion concepts than nonaggressive subjects.
Findings support the "emotion specificity hypothesis" (Rojahn,
Rabold, & Schneider, 1995b) and extend it to include difficulty with
concepts that contain affective meaning. Implications for clinical assessment
and intervention and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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Evaluating the
Initial Version of a New Cognitive Screening Test
MARCIA S. SCOFF
LOIS-LYNN STOYKO DEUEL
RICHARD C. URBANO
KATHRYN L. FLETCHER
CAROLYN TORRES
Abstract: Each of 37 prekindergarten and kindergarten exceptional
children with either mild mental retardation or learning disabilities, was
matched on age, gender and race/ethnicity to a child without learning
problems. All 74 children were presented the initial version of a new
cognitive screening test, which consisted of nine different tasks. Tasks were
evaluated in terms of their contribution to classification accuracy. The five
tasks selected were associated with high levels of sensitivity (86%) and
specificity (97%). There was only a small decline in sensitivity (81%) and
specificity (92%) when an external estimate of the hit rates was obtained.
There were no significant performance differences related to either gender or
race/ethnicity in this sample and the interrater reliability was high for four
of the five tasks selected. These data indicate the potential effectiveness of
this new test.
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A Survey on Terminology
that Refers to People with Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disabilities
ROBERT SANDIESON
Abstract: A reoccurring and sometimes confusing issue in the field of
Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities is the use of terminology. The
purpose of the present investigation was to document the current range and
frequency of terms in this field. This was done to inform those doing research
of which terms are relevant for searching and disseminating information. Three
computerized databases, PsycINFO, ERIC and MEDLINE were analyzed. A total of
sixty-six terms were identified as referring to people with Mental
Retardation/Developmental Disabilities. Of this total, seven terms and their
linguistic variations were found with a high frequency. The most prevalent
term was mentally retarded which has been used extensively over the last
fifteen years. The terms cognitive impairment and developmental disabilities
have been used more frequently in the last five years. Cognitive impairment,
however, often refers to a wider range of persons than those identified with
Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities. Developmental disabilities is a
term which is being used more frequently and although it does not always refer
to just people with MR/DD, it is more universally accepted than mental
retardation.
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