This response to an article (EC 633 617) on the use of facilitated communication by a Finnish man diagnosed with mental retardation and cerebral palsy urges consideration of simpler alternative explanations (than his authorship of the texts) for the interesting text produced by the process in this case. It urges the use of double-blind, controlled…

This article provides a rebuttal of a critique by the original authors of an article (EC 633 617-619) on the use of facilitated communication by a Finnish man diagnosed with mental retardation and cerebral palsy. The original authors ask for an alternative explanation to the attributed authorship when the individual himself is doing the typing.…

This response to EC 633 617, an analysis of a purported case of facilitated communication, stresses the role of linguistic and grammatical analysis of texts attributed to a Finnish man diagnosed with mental retardation and cerebral palsy. It identifies weaknesses in the analysis, urges use of multi-theoretical approaches, and notes the benefits…

This article on systems change focuses on the efforts of a mentally retarded man with cerebral palsy and his advocates to obtain the resources necessary for him to be able to leave a nursing home and live independently. First, the article identifies two kinds of change: change within the system's rules and changing the rules or the system itself.…

Describes a creative approach to including Nora, a student with cerebral palsy, in an outdoor adventure--a hilly, seven-mile trek through Eastern Oregon's Ponderosa pine forests. With teachers' and classmates' help, Nora practiced on a simulated horse and saddle, overcame her fear of heights, and eagerly joined classmates on horseback. (MLH)

The parents of a wheelchair-bound nine-year-old child with cerebral palsy and little speech or communication ability describe the role of electronic technology in improving the child's life in the areas of mobility, communication, and education. (DB)

A case study explores the attitudes, opinions, and concerns of the parents of a cerebral palsied adolescent (as well as the views of the affected public and private school administrators) concerning the decision to allow their son to move from a private to a public high school environment. (JW)