The father of a retarded adult describes the development of a course designed to teach independent living skills to mentally retarded adults living in a group home in Israel. The course included instruction on home management, food preparation, and interpersonal skills. How initial neighborhood opposition diminished is recounted. Difficulties…

A supermarket chain supplies a small grocery store in an elementary school in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The store program seeks to provide learning experiences for students, as they make selections, spend their earnings, and save for later purchases. Students with multiple handicaps and students with severe/profound handicaps shop in the store…

To be maximally effective in solving problems, researchers must place their methodological and theoretical models of science within social and political contexts. They must become aware of biases and assumptions and move toward a more valid perception of social realities. Psychologists must view women in the situational context within which…

The study looked at the quality of life of 24 retarded adults who had received a training program designed to teach them independent living skills, help them secure independent living settings, and provide them with followup services in these settings. Physical surroundings, financial conditions, social activities, and marital status of clients…

Effects of the physical and social environment on the feeding of severely and multiply handicapped students are discussed. The role of such physical environmental factors as sound, visual stimuli, light, movement, touch, clothing and furniture is considered. Among the social influences operating are the student's physical abilities and…

Application of Computer-based systems to Training in Information Technology (ACT-IT, a project by a consortium of partners in the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, is part of the TIDE program, an initiative of the European Community (EC) to make information technology more accessible to disabled and elderly people. This paper outlines the…

This monograph describes the Perceptive Motor Skills Program (PMSP) being used with adolescents and adults having mental retardation in Catalonia, Spain. The program is based on the following principles: chronologically age appropriate activities; use of daily living tools; multiple objectives and working materials; and balance between…

This paper describes the University of Tennessee's High School Equivalency Program (HEP), one of 21 programs throughout the United States aimed at assisting seasonal and migrant farm workers in improving their level of employment and education. For the first 4 years, the University of Tennessee's HEP was a campus-based residency program, but in…

A study investigated the relationship of adolescent work status to personal values associated with work, social skills, and academic performance. The Work Values Inventory and the Basic Living Skills Pupil Record Form were administered to 165 eleventh and twelfth grade students. These students were subsequently classified as being naturally…

The structure of the revised Client Needs Assessment Instrument (CNAI) is examined. In 1978-79, the Texas Department of Human Resources (DHR) developed the CNAI to provide an index of applicants' and clients' capacity for self-care by measuring the respondents' levels of functioning in: (1) physical health; (2) daily living activities; (3) mental…

This paper, focusing on schooling for children in Africa, recommends a pedagogy that begins with the practical, everyday experiences of the child and proceeds by extension toward more abstract ideas. It is pointed out that the basic areas of survival--food, clothing, and shelter--could be treated in courses in agriculture, home economics, and…

Two programs developed by the State of North Carolina are described which are designed to provide special services to the mentally retarded incarcerated adult male. Based on results of an assessment of adaptive skills believed relevant to coping in the prison population, coupled with an intellectual quotient (IQ) below 70, offenders may be placed…

The federally funded project is intended to aid inservice training specific to the skills and needs of severely handicapped children and youth. Project goals include: development, implementation, and evaluation of training procedures and materials to change the attitude and knowledge of persons responsible for the education of learners with severe…

The study developed a definition of "independent living" for handicapped individuals and evaluated the definition's seven domains using data provided by 3,758 handicapped members of the 1980 sophomore cohort of the High School and Beyond National Longitudinal Survey (N=14,553). The seven domains are: (1) self-care and advocacy skills;…

A 40-item behavior analysis task, the Menstrual Care Scale, was developed and tested with 75 randomly selected institutionalized severely retarded women (13-59 years old). The need for developing personal care skills in menstruation habits had been identified as a priority area for sexuality instruction by staff and confirmed by analysis of…