Summarizes current information regarding personal and social talents and their roles in academic, career, and personal success. These talents will ultimately be deemed important for two reasons. They may be core requirements for success in politics, leadership, religion, teaching, and counseling, and they may link innate ability with mature…

Electronic travel devices are used to transform information about the environment that would normally be perceived through the visual sense into a form that can be perceived by people who are blind or have low vision through another sense (Blasch, Long, & Griffin-Shirley, 1989). They are divided into two broad categories: primary devices and…

Diabetes mellitus is a disabling, deadly disease, affecting one in five of adults over 65. Unfortunately, for the few elders that receive diabetes self-care training it is often taught using traditional didactic methods that are insensitive to their unique needs and immersed in the traditional medical paradigm. Integrating diabetes self-care into…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multimedia program (interactive computer program, video captions, and still photographs) to teach 3 students with moderate intellectual disabilities to make purchases using a debit card and an automated payment machine (APM). A multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate the…

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify individual characteristics associated with community integration of adults with an intellectual disability. Method: A group of 37 males with high support needs, and who had previously lived in a large institution, participated in the study. Using proxy respondents, data were collected on three…

Purpose: The authors examine differences in reports of residual disability and unmet need by type of long-term care arrangement (assistive technology or personal care).Design and Methods: This study compares three specific dimensions of residual difficulty (pain, fatigue, and time intensity) and reports of unmet need across care arrangements.…

Background: This study analysed goals formulated in a functionally focused curriculum called Mobility Opportunities Via Education[TM] (MOVE). Method: The subjects were 49 children with profound multiple disabilities (PMD) who attended a centre for special education where the MOVE curriculum was implemented. Each goal was analysed to see whether or…

Making choices is an essential part of functioning independently as an adult in society. Activities specifically directed toward helping students learn to make choices, however, are typically neglected in educational programs for students with severe disabilities. This paper presents a rational for the inclusion of choice-making as an important…

This paper proposes a strategic federal investment of $3 billion in the relatively small number of social interventions (i.e., programs, practices, strategies) shown in scientifically-rigorous studies to produce sizeable, sustained improvement in the lives of children and youth. Careful analyses show that the benefits of these interventions in…

Background: The "Service Need Assessment Profile" (SNAP) measures individual functional needs in areas of daily living. It produces a support profile, detailing the time allocations for staff support to assist in each area of need. The "Supports Intensity Scale" (SIS) is a support needs assessment scale designed to provide an…

The report summarizes accomplishments of the Health Education Paraprofessionals program, which provided individual instruction in self-care and hygiene skills to 363 severely to profoundly handicapped students. Nearly all (98%) of participants mastered one or more new skills, as measured on selected strands of the Santa Cruz VORT Behavioral…

A three-step assessment and quantification procedure is described that determines the goodness-of-fit (congruence) between a person's behavioral capabilities and setting-specific performance requirements. Concurrent validity and correlational data are presented, as well as potential uses of the Goodness-of-Fit Index (GOFI) procedure. (Author/JW)

Examined outcomes for all youths discharged from an independent living program from 1987 to 1994. Data included client characteristics and placement history, and assessment of skills as these relate to education, employment, savings, and living arrangements. Results indicated the life skills program improved the youths' self-sufficiency at the…

Describes and evaluates a life skills program that focuses on addressing the special needs of female inmates. Analyses of pre- and post-test scores of program participants compared emotional empathy, self-esteem, coping resources, problem solving, parenting stress, employability, and well-being. Results suggest tat the program does address some of…

Twenty rehabilitation patients were assessed on their activities of daily living using the Barthel Index, and were also observed by two occupational therapists in a simulated home unit. Results indicated good inter-observer reliability, and good agreement between asking the patient and professional observation of the patient. (JDD)