Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities

This study examined elementary teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming EMR children on the basis of teacher age, academic training, teaching experience, grade level, and prior teaching experience with mainstreamed EMR children. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed no significant overall differences in teachers’ responses. A consistent pattern, however, of positive attitudes toward mainstreaming was clearly evident. Teachers’ responses to specific statements are presented.

The purpose of this investigation was to compare nonhandicapped students’ perceptions of severely handicapped students to their perceptions of nonhandicapped students. Students perceived the characteristics of severely handicapped students as being significantly different than the characteristics of nonhandicapped students, with the severely handicapped being perceived as having fewer positive characteristics. The students also expressed significantly different feelings toward severely handicapped students as compared to their feelings toward nonhandicapped students. Their feelings toward the severely handicapped were less positive and more negative. The results are discussed in light of past research findings related to the attitudes of nonhandicapped toward severely handicapped students.

Investigated were the perceptions of 420 Maine special education resource teachers working mainly with retarded pupils relative to (a) the most important areas of current inservice training needs and (b) the most effective method of delivering such training. Of 32 specific skills/competencies, identified as the most important was “individual pupil counseling skills.” Viewed as the most effective vehicle for delivery of such training was “short-term courses and modules” taught by university personnel. Implications of the findings of this study for agencies responsible for training of resource teachers working with retarded pupils are discussed.

This study investigated the self-perception of teachers’ and teacher aides’ role responsibility when working with severely and profoundly handicapped students. A multivariate analysis of variance was used in analyzing the responses of the subjects to a questionnaire on role responsibilities of teaching skill areas based upon professional status (teacher or teacher aide) and educational setting (public school or residential facility). A significant interaction effect did not exist between professional status and educational setting. Follow-up univariate analyses of variance did reveal significant main effects for professional status and educational setting. Demographic data were also reported.

Determining the significance or worth of particular programs for mentally retarded students is a critical factor in improving the education of this population. Without careful study and analysis of program quality, future delivery of services risks mediocre growth. In this interview Laurence Sargent discusses the need for public service programs to be effective, accountable, and provide a return on the public investment. As Consultant on Mental Disabilities for the Iowa Department of Public Instruction, Dr. Sargent proposes certain quality practice statements as criteria against which delivery of service can be measured. He shows how a state education agency can view evaluation as a way of providing leadership to local education agencies.

Prior to his present position, Dr.Sargent taught in the School of Special Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Northern Colorado. He has served as the Evaluator of Special Education Teacher Training Programs at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Dubuque, and Drake University. He has also been a classroom teacher of learning disabled and mentally retarded children. Dr.Sargent earned a master's degree in special education from California State University in 1976 and a doctorate in special education administration from the University of Northern Colorado in 1979. He has served as past president of the AAMD Iowa Chapter 1982 and of the CEC Greeley, Colorado Chapter 381.

The relationship between acknowledgment and compliance in the work performance of two moderately retarded adults was examined. Specifically, observations and interventions were undertaken to determine whether increasing acknowledgment of the receipt of instructions produced concurrent increases in compliance with the instructions. Following baseline assessment, verbal prompts and token points were introduced in multiple-baseline fashion. Verbal prompts appeared to affect acknowledgment negatively but compliance positively. Token points resulted in increases in the acknowledgment of instructions for both subjects and increased compliance in only one subject substantially and only slightly for the other subject.

A survey was designed to determine specific products, specific service contracts, hand operations, hand tools, and power tools in workshops for handicapped individuals. The survey was sent to more than 3,000 workshops and 737 usable responses were received. Electrical/electronic assembly and wood pallet manufacture were the most common products; collating and mailing were the most common service contracts; 449 separate products and service contracts were listed. The most predominant hand operations were bagging/packaging and assembly; fixture/jig and scissors were the most common hand tools; heat sealer and table saw were the most common power tools. A total of 86 different hand tools and 130 power tools were listed.

Flash cards were used to teach new vocabulary words to six moderately retarded adolescents in a group format. From a pool of 119 words that were not known by any student, 10 were randomly selected and taught to each student in the presence of the group. All students were tested periodically on their own 10 words, on the 50 words presented to their peers, and on 10 uninstructed control words. Students all showed significant learning of their own words, and the faster learners showed significant learning of their classmates’ words as well. The results were interpreted as favoring small-group instruction of moderately mentally retarded students.

A taxonomy was developed which designated mothers’ interrogative strategies as either facilitating or fragmenting in discourse with young children. The taxonomy was used to code the interrogatives used by eight mothers during play with their normal and Down's syndrome preschool children. Analyses at the discourse unit level demonstrated relationships between mothers’ rates of specific interrogative strategies and several conversational parameters. Use of the taxonomy in clinical intervention for language delayed populations is suggested.

Although attentional deficits have long been viewed as a primary contributing factor to mental retardation, little evidence exists which suggests that this characteristic has been considered in the development of instructional media for the retarded. A classification scheme is proposed as a structure for conducting research and evaluating the use of attention-influencing devices in instructional media for the retarded. Two exploratory studies were conducted to determine the impact of two attention-influencing devices on the attention of retarded children to visual stimuli. The results of these studies suggest that an arrow may be an effective attention-influencing device when used with a simple memory task or with older students, while the use of contrast (i.e., outlining a target object boldly) is more effective when used with a more complex recall memory task.

This study examined developmental changes in the free-play behavior of mildly and moderately retarded children during the preschool years. Both groups of children were found to decrease the proportion of time spent in teacher-child interaction and unoccupied/onlooker behavior as a function of increasing age. In contrast, use of solitary/parallel play increased with age for both mildly and moderately retarded preschoolers. Use of peer interaction increased with increasing age for mildly retarded children while remaining constant across age for moderately retarded children. Results are discussed within a developmental framework.

The point of this article is to suggest that preschool special education programs which concentrate exclusively on identifying and ameliorating developmental deficits should have to empirically document the relevancy of these deficits to the children's functioning in future environments. If absence of the need for special placement is the only valid criteria against which early intervention efforts can be measured, as Lazar and Darlington (1978) have argued, then there is a need to rethink present approaches to assessment and curricular design. The consequence of not being intensely concerned with skills that increase the probability of referral to and maintenance in less restrictive settings is that the LRE requirement will not be achieved. Young handicapped children will be denied the communication, social, and academic skill gains that researchers are now beginning to document in integrated environments (Apolloni & Cooke, 1975; Guralnick, 1978, 1980).

In summary, introductory MR texts by Blodgett (1971), Koch and Koch (1974), and Sellin (1979) were the easiest to read. They were also the most interesting. Results of this study should be interpreted with caution, particularly the human interest scores. Researchers in the future may wish to compare readability and human interest with frequency of use and student popularity. Information in these areas is not currently available.