{"title":"Adapted Physical Education: Self-Control and Attention","authors":"B. Cratty","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V37I3.6810","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V37I3.6810","url":null,"abstract":"The most pervasive characteristics of populations of children and youth with special needs are distractibility, lack of self-control, and poor attention. Typically these problems occur because the individual is overactivated or too excited to function normally, or underactivated or too \"dreamy\" to pay proper attention to important parts of the environment. These problems can be manifested in (a) poor assimilation of a lesson, (b) social abrasiveness and aggression toward peers, parents, and teachers, and ( c) physical danger to the child or youth himself or herself. Over the years many professionals have suspected that hyperactivity and inattention have a familial basis. Data from a recent study suggest that hyperactive children may or may not have family members who are similarly afflicted (August & Stewart, 1983). These same investigators found that a child, one of whose parents may have been hyperactive, is likely to display a greater variety of behavioral disturbances than a child whose family members are free of hyperactive tendencies. Usually, hyperactivity in a child is caused by organic (neurological) problems combined with environmental and social-emotional factors. Educators promoting physical activity have a special obligation to understand the root causes of distractible behaviors and provide techniques and methods by which these undesirable aspects of behavior may be adjusted in positive ways. A useful tool has been developed by Torrey (1981) to help parents and others identify hyperactive-hypertensive children in need of various kinds of intervention. This Hyperactivity Behaviors Identification Questionnaire is beginning to be used in various research studies (Brandon, Eason, & Smith, 1986). The questionnaire asks the rater to rank a child on a 5-point scale ranging from 5 (always) through 3 (sometimes) to I (never). Thirteen statements are rated in this manner. For example: \"My child gets into things\" ... \"My child is easily upset\" ... \"My child is impatient.\" For several decades various medications (usually stimulant drugs) have been used in efforts to reduce hyperactive/inattentive behaviors. For the most part, however, medications have not significantly improved test scores, they produce highly variable individual","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V37I3.6810","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43894412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Group Counseling for People with Physical Disabilities.","authors":"H. Livneh, L. Wilson, R. Pullo","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V36I6.6804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V36I6.6804","url":null,"abstract":"The origins of group work as applied to individuals with physical disabilities can be traced to the pioneering work of Joseph Pratt, a physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, who, as early as 1905, used group methods to assist patients with tuberculosis (Gust, 1970; Miller, Wolfe, & Spiegel, 1975). Upon noticing the role group members played in positively affecting one another's emotional adjustment to their illnesses, Pratt later expanded his work to include patients with other chronic illnesses (Durkin, 1972). Pratt's approach valued two e:.:omponents embedded in group methods-support and inspiration-as being of particular importance in light of the feelings of depression and isolation often associated with long-term disabling conditions.","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"36 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V36I6.6804","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42114303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Framing the Progress of Collaborative Teacher Education.","authors":"C. Griffin, M. Pugach","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V39I6.6827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V39I6.6827","url":null,"abstract":"Each of the 10 postulates in this article describes what we believe to be true about collaboration in special education. Each program description offers an important example of serious advancement toward collaborative programs in teacher education. Within this collective movement some programs can be placed at one end of a hypothetical continuum of development, and others at the other end. Despite these evolutionary differences, each program and each group of faculty has made significant steps toward programmatic reform in teacher education. After considering what these programs have accomplished already, we thought about how they might be improved. We asked ourselves questions such as: Have these programs gone far enough? What areas haven 't they addressed? Would differences in the nature of the process used to arrive at the new program have changed the outcome in any way? As we questioned certain features of the existing programs, we also thought about programs yet to be developed. We then generated sets of questions, starting on page 8, which we hope will serve all of our readers as they work to strengthen existing collaborative programs and promote the development of new ones.","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V39I6.6827","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48363439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-Secondary Education and Transition Services for Students Ages 18-21 with Significant Disabilities.","authors":"D. Neubert, M. Moon, Meg Grigal","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V34I8.6791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V34I8.6791","url":null,"abstract":"For the past 20 years, students with significant disabilities (SD) who remain in public school programs until age 21 have generally participated in functional or communitybased instruction (CBI) during their high school years (Agran, Snow, & Swaner, 1999; Billingsley & Albertson, 1999). In some states these students may earn IEP diplomas or certificates of attendance instead of a diploma upon exiting the school system (National Center on Educational Outcomes, 1999). After leaving the school system, these individuals typically have entered supported employment, independent living services, or adult day programs provided by nonprofit community agencies funded by Medicaid, developmental disabilities, and vocational rehabilitation systems (Neubert & Moon, 1999). Many professionals, advocates, and families, however, are questioning when and how often students with SD should participate in CBI during the high school years (Billingsley & Albertson, 1999; Quirk & Bartlinkski; 2001; Tashie, Malloy, & Lichtenstein, 1998) and what type of educational and transitional experiences will lead to more optimal post-school outcomes in integrated settings (Patton et al., 1996; Smith & Puccini, 1995). In 1995 the Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (Council for Exceptional Children) recommended that students who require educational services beyond the age of 18 be allowed to graduate with their peers and then continue their education in settings such as colleges and vocational-technical schools (Smith & Puccini, 1995). Others have supported this philosophical shift to provide age-appropriate interactions with same-age peers; attend classes and social activities on college campuses; work in the community; and participate in flexible, community-based instruction during the final school years (Falvey, Gage, & Eshilian, 1995; Fisher & Sax, 1999; Moon & Inge, 2000; Patton et al., 1996; Tashie et al., 1998). Several reports highlighting transition policy and practices for students with disabilities also have targeted a need for different or specialized transition services for students ages 18-21. The National Council on Disability and Social Security Administration (2000) identified \"expanding secondary transition programs for students ages 18-21 to include twoand four-year college campuses\" (p. 19) in a list of strategies that may lead to more successful post-school outcomes. Also noted was an \"intense need for ... access to individualized and effective post-secondary education services and supports ... and meaningful options for choice by individuals in the pursuit of education, career training, and individualized services and supports\" (p. 17). In a national survey of parent centers funded","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"34 1","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V34I8.6791","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48219917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Counseling with Exceptional Children.","authors":"Shari Tarver-Behring, Michael E. Spagna","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V36I8.6806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V36I8.6806","url":null,"abstract":"Children and adolescents with disabilities are an extremely heterogeneous group of diverse learners, each with unique learning strengths and needs. Often misunderstood and frequently less served by the counseling profession, these children and adolescents need counseling services just as much as, if not more than, other children (McDowell, Coven, & Eash, 1979). Federal legislation makes it imperative that all counselors who work with children and adolescents, even those not working within public school settings, be knowledgeable about the identification of and services for those with disabilities. In addition, all counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to facilitate conditions that promote the full potential for all individuals, including exceptional groups (Baker, 1992; Holmgren, 1996; Maes, 1978; Seligman, 1985). As knowledge and experience are obtained for this population, counselors can serve children and their families more fully as intended by legal and professional guidelines. Most counselors will encounter in their practice children and adolescents with disabilities. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2000), approximately 9% of the school-age population is classified as having a federally recognized disability and, there-· fore, receiving special education and/or related services. This figure does not include gifted children, who also are significantly different from the norm and are in need of identification, curricular modifications, and counseling interventions (Silverman, 1993). Nor does it include students with disabilities who do not qualify for special education but may be eligible for other educational and counseling services. Despite the number of children and adolescents with disabilities, counseling professionals historically have had limited contact with this population for a variety of reasons. Some counselors lack confidence and training to serve these groups. Some are uncomfortable around people with disabilities. Others have incorrect information about or prejudices toward those with exceptional needs (Tucker, Shepard, & Hurst, 1986). In addition, because services to children and adolescents with disabilities are most often delivered by special education personnel within public schools, counselors may believe that their skills are not needed for these groups (Tarver Behring, Spagna, & Sullivan, 1998). Most counselors, however, do have many of the skills needed to work with these children and their","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"36 1","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V36I8.6806","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45489845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing Self-Determination of Culturally Diverse Students With Disabilities: Current Status and Future Directions","authors":"Dalun Zhang, M. Benz","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V38I9.6823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V38I9.6823","url":null,"abstract":"American society is becoming increasingly multiethnic and multilingual (Rodriguez, 1990). Nearly 25% of the U.S. population is composed of individuals of racial/ethnic groups other than Caucasian (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Texas now has joined Hawaii, New Mexico, and California as a majority-minority state, along with the District of Columbia (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). As a result, the U.S. school population also has become more diverse in recent years. The same is true with regard to special education students. According to the Twenty-Fifth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; during the 2001-02 school year, 5,867,234 students aged 6 to 21 were served under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) in U.S. schools (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). Among them, 38.3% were racial and ethnic minorities, compared to 30.9% of minorities in the general population in the year 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). American Indians/Alaskan Natives and African American students were overrepresented in special education (the percentage of students from a racial group served under IDEA was greater than the percentage of this group in the general population); Asian/Pacific Islanders and Caucasian students were underrepresented; and Hispanic students were represented at a similar rate as Hispanics were represented in the general population (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). The issue of minority overrepresentation in special education has drawn national attention for a number of years (e.g., Artiles & Trent, 1994; Zhang & Katsiyannis, 2002). Although efforts and progress have been made to reduce the overrepresentation issue, an increasing concern is the achievement of minority students with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities from minority groups continue to be at high risk for poor school performance, high unemployment, low wages, limited access to postsecondary education and training, and limited opportunities for living independently and participating fully in their communities (Simon, 2001). Transition outcomes of students aged 14 and older who are served under IDEA vary greatly across racial and ethnic groups, although some racial/ethnic differences revealed in the last decade have decreased (Wagner, Cadwallader, Garza, & Cameto, 2004). Findings from the National Longitudinal Study 2 indicate that both Caucasian and African American youth with disabilities have made significant improvements in school-completion rates; as a result, three-fourths the proportion of youth in both groups completed high school (Wagner","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"38 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V38I9.6823","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67517106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Mainzer, D. Deshler, M. R. Coleman, E. Kozleski, Matty Rodriguez-Walling
{"title":"To Ensure the Learning of Every Child with a Disability.","authors":"R. Mainzer, D. Deshler, M. R. Coleman, E. Kozleski, Matty Rodriguez-Walling","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V35I5.6797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V35I5.6797","url":null,"abstract":"Today, students with disabilities are identified earlier, attend school, graduate and go on to post-secondary education and jobs in larger numbers, and learn in more inclusive settings than ever in history (American Youth Policy Forum & Center for Education Policy, 2001). Special education outcomes have never been more positive. Too many students with disabilities, however, still do not graduate from high school, too many are excluded from challenging learning outcomes, too many do not successfully make the transition to independence, and too many end up living lonely, unproductive lives. These quality-of-life indices are inextricably linked to the quality of education that people with disabilities experience. Even though access to a free and appropriate education has been achieved, the educational quality of that experience remains problematic. The progress that special education has made in its three brief decades of existence is remarkable. Nevertheless, in the same spirit of social justice and advocacy in which special education was born and nurtured, special educators continue to advocate for improvements in the education of students with exceptionalities (Kode, 2002). Today, rather than advocating for inclusion in public education, special educators are working within the general education community to gain genuine access for students with disabilities to the challenging educational results that most individuals in our society take for granted. The push for research-based practice and results-driven accountability is being compromised by a crisis within the special education profession: Special educators labor under work conditions that contribute to attrition rates in special education that are twice as high as those of general educators (NCES, 2000). Recognizing this burgeoning problem, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) established a CEC Presidential Commission on the Conditions of Teaching in Special Education. The Commission (Kozleski, Mainzer, Deshler, Coleman, & Rodriquez-Walling, 2000) identified three outcomes fundamental to ensuring high and challenging learning results for every exceptional learner:","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"35 1","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44145544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mary T. Brownell, P. Sindelar, A. G. Bishop, Lisa K. Langley, Seonjin Seo
{"title":"Special Education Teacher Supply and Teacher Quality: The Problems, The Solutions.","authors":"Mary T. Brownell, P. Sindelar, A. G. Bishop, Lisa K. Langley, Seonjin Seo","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V35I2.6794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V35I2.6794","url":null,"abstract":"Special education is facing the daunting challenge of increasing the supply of teachers while simultaneously upgrading its quality. Shortages of fully qualified teachers have plagued special education for two decades, and schools also have struggled to find qualified math, science, and ESL teachers. Shortages in all of these fields are likely to worsen as the teaching workforce ages and as statewide initiatives (such as reductions in class size) fuel increased demand. The quality of the teaching workforce also has come under scrutiny, as schools across the country are initiating standards-based reforms in which teacher competence is linked to student performance on high-stakes assessments. In this article, we first consider two policy initiatives that address the dilemma of increasing numbers and improving quality simultaneously. We then consider the problem of attrition, which contributes in significant ways to both the quantity and quality issues. We explain why attrition is a particular problem for beginning teachers and describe programs that have proven effective in combating it. In response to burgeoning demand and dissatisfaction with the quality of the existing workforce, the Bush Administration has promulgated policies to increase supply, notably through the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the most recent authorization of what had been known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. These initiatives are designed to promote easy entry to the profession via alternative training routes for specific populations of teacher candidates. Previously, the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) had issued a policy blueprint in 1996 that addressed shortages and quality in a different manner, emphasizing the professionalization of teaching and the enhancement of schools as workplaces. It was argued that fewer teachers would leave the field-and more candidates would be attracted to it-if they ~ere to teach at schools that would support their work and foster their professional growth, and if they were to earn a professional wage.","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"35 1","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.17161/FOEC.V35I2.6794","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42565557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A modest proposal in four parts","authors":"H. Turnbull","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V42I1.6842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V42I1.6842","url":null,"abstract":"Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, wrote a famous essay that I invoke now. In A Modest Proposal, Swift (1729) satirically suggested that, for more Irish to live longer during a current famine, adults should eat their newborns, thus feeding the more able while preventing a population growth that would exacerbate the famine. I, too, wish to make a modest proposal, to justify it historically, and to relate it to contemporary and future issues in special education. Unlike Swift, I am serious, not satirical. Unlike Swift, I do not address a problem of physical famine but, instead, a problem of hunger for a more productive system of education for all students. And, again unlike Swift, I do not expect my proposal to be acted upon, although I believe it has the merit of challenging a conventional approach in education, which is that general education policy should affect, but not be much affected by, special education policy (West & Whitby, 2008).","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43741327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lee Cross, Marisa J. Salazar, Natalie Dopson-Campuzano, H. Batchelder
{"title":"Best Practices and Considerations: Including Young Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Settings","authors":"Lee Cross, Marisa J. Salazar, Natalie Dopson-Campuzano, H. Batchelder","doi":"10.17161/FOEC.V41I8.6840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17161/FOEC.V41I8.6840","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":89924,"journal":{"name":"Focus on exceptional children","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44221237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}