Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

This article is intended to provide coaches, parents/guardians and school administrators with specific guidelines that identify coaching practices that are in the best interests of the adolescent female athlete (appropriate) and those that are counterproductive or even harmful (inappropriate). These guidelines can be used as a self-assessment for…

This article begins with a 12-year-old girl's story that serves as an example of how "caring coaches" in the schools contribute greatly in helping schools become hopeful places for children. Helping students become more hopeful is rewarding for the students, teachers, school psychologists, counselors, parents, and other caring adults. Twenty years…

There has been recent emphasis on the importance of investigating prosocial and antisocial behavior simultaneously owing to doubts about whether examining one automatically gives information about the other. However, there has been little empirical research into this question. The present study (based on a large population sample of…

This article offers an overview of factors important in positioning the child with physical disabilities including proper techniques, multidisciplinary assessment, selection of equipment, trying equipment, and ongoing team evaluation. Specific terms concerned with clinical aspects, seating, standing, and seating components are defined. (DB)

The authors provide information about test construction and testing practices in order to help parents and teachers to ask important and critical questions about them. Issues pertinent to the appropriate selection, use, and interpretation of tests are presented. (Author/CL)

Over 20 years ago, the first university rankings entered public attention in the United States. Since then, there have been numerous other efforts to rank or rate universities or university departments. University report cards have become both popular with the public and increasingly important for academic institutions. A detailed examination of…

In this article, the author shares how she turned once-dreaded parent-teacher conferences into valuable assessments, evaluations, and action plans using the fourth-generation evaluation method. Fourth-generation evaluation has three main components. First, it includes a multitude of assessment tools. Second, it involves stakeholders in the…

The article lists questions parents can use to evaluate the quality of educational services for children with learning disabilities. Questions are grouped into the following categories: services, agency and staff, residential or special schools, camps. (DB)

This article offers an explanation of standardized tests so that parents may understand the significance of their children's tests scores. Definitions of terms such as "percentile ranking," "norming group" and "criterion-referenced" are given. The author also questions the validity of high-stakes tests as a true…

The Parent Checklist was developed for parents of hearing-impaired children to use when evaluating prospective mainstreamed classrooms. Areas of assessment include: physical environment, teacher, attitude of school, information regarding the student, and special services. (Author/PB)

The reactions of many parents to being told that their child might have a developmental delay that needs to be addressed through special education range from shock or disbelief to confusion. This is also the case for Hispanic parents, who often to not understand what is happening or may be unfamiliar with the language in which the information is…

It is widely known that parent-teacher partnerships are vital to children's progress in their development and learning in schools. These partnerships involve parent-teacher conferences, parents helping in the classroom, teachers making home visits and parent education seminars. However, partnerships rarely extend to having parents involved in the…