Ways that teachers can prepare themselves for a class with a mainstreamed disabled student are described, including obtaining information about the specific disability, visiting the child and parents at home, reflecting upon personal attitudes about disabilities, setting up for a wheelchair user, working with visually- or hearing-impaired…

Fourteen children's books which may help classroom teachers understand children with handicaps are described. The books deal realistically with a variety of handicaps (mental retardation, hearing impairments, blindness, physical disabilities, and multiple disabilities) and can be an effective tool in helping nonhandicapped children empathize and…

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers can help disabled learners through observation and awareness efforts (such as sharing their knowledge of cross-cultural differences with special education resource staff), sensory activities (evolving a multisensory approach), and translating one sensory experience in terms of another. (CL)

Special educators are encouraged to prepare the regular teacher for a handicapped child, familiarize the regular teacher with the individualized education program, prepare the regular students for the handicapped child's arrival, reinforce appropriate behavior in the handicapped child, involve others in the integration process, evaluate teacher…

Discusses the child who has newly immigrated, the importance of peer acceptance, the skills of friendship, the promotion of prosocial behavior, the developmental sequence of friendship, the impact of moving on friendship, the encouragement of peer interaction, and the role of the teacher as mediator. (RH)

Formal and informal methods for promoting integration, directed toward both school staff and students, are provided to assist teachers of the severely handicapped in systematically integrating their students into the regular school milieu. (Author/SB)

This article considers educational implications of a child with cancer, including incidence, telling the child about his/her disease, school reentry, what classmates want to know, counseling the child with cancer, handling the issue of death, and staff issues. A lesson plan on childhood cancer for elementary students is also included. (DB)

The article outlines practical strategies based on a theoretical model and research support for establishing constructive interaction among mainstreamed handicapped and nonhandicapped students. (SBH)

The presentation covers assessment and intervention of social interaction skills with emotionally disturbed children. Noting the importance of social interaction skills and yet the neglect of such skills in the literature, the paper advocates a systematic instructional approach to improve the social acceptability of emotionally disturbed children.…

This handbook was developed for teachers who have a visually handicapped child in their regular classroom. Classroom activities designed to prepare students to receive a visually handicapped classmate are described. Recommendations are made on the use of special resources available to the teacher, and descriptions are given of successful…

Utilizing specialized classroom strategies to foster greater social acceptance of mainstreamed learning disabled students may be more efficient than having school personnel constantly involved in resolving student-to-student conflicts and assuaging hurt student feelings. Learning disabled students assigned to mainstream classes often present…

The digest addresses, in question-and-answer format, ways to promote peer acceptance of handicapped students. Topics covered include the effects of first impressions on nonhandicapped students and the impact of physical proximity, and the nature of interdependence among students' learning goals and rewards as structured by the teacher. A…

The brief guide offers information on epilepsy to teachers and other school personnel. Types of seizures are defined (e.g., simple and complex partial seizures, generalized tonic clonic seizures), and management practices in the classroom setting for each type of seizure are described. Signs indicating that a seizure requires immediate medical…

To help children develop social competence, teachers ought to understand differences between popular and unpopular children, know how to assess social competence, and employ techniques which aid the development of children's social skills. In general, popular children have developed skills and strategies which allow them to interact with their…

This handbook was developed for teachers with hearing impaired students in their regular classrooms. A preliminary discussion on hearing impairments describes various degrees of aural handicaps, ranging from deafness to hard of hearing, and communication methods used in educating children with these handicaps. Activities for preparing…