To combat negative effects of the AIDS epidemic, violence, and adolescent sexual behavior, schools must broaden their curricula to include character and values education. Schools can actively help youngsters by providing an integrated curriculum that encourages decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution; a teaching staff dedicated…

Research supports the importance of teaching skills within the contexts that they will be used (Falvey, 1989; Nietupski, Clancy, Wehrmacher, & Parmer, 1985), yet many school-based programs face resource constraints which limit the number of opportunities where instruction can occur in authentic, community-based settings. When community-based…

This paper discusses the evidence that the specific developmental profile frequently described as being associated with Down syndrome--a profile of communication weaknesses relative to social and daily living skills--can be changed. It is not an inevitable outcome of having Down syndrome. Drawing on data collected to explore the outcomes of fully…

A study conducted a nationwide evaluation of 15 residential camp programs designed for children, youth, and young adults with mild to severe disabilities. The study involved 2,184 campers (ages 7-19) with disabilities and was undertaken to further validate evaluation instrumentation, evaluate residential camp programs for children with…

Parents have a major influence on their children's attitudes toward work and life. Handicapped youth, who have more difficulty than other youth in making the transition from school to work and adult life, have a special need for parental guidance. Parents can play key roles in transition, especially in the areas of career exploration, job search…

Nine moderately/severely retarded adolescents and young adults were trained to use coin-operated washing machines using three types of materials: artificial (pictures), simulated (cardboard replicas), and natural (realistic). Most students increased their laundry performance with all three sets of school-based material, but generalization to…

Two surveys of 198 Australian high school students gathered information about the students' major life concerns, and a method for classifying adolescent concerns was developed from the results. (MSE)

The leader's guide and member's manual are presented for a 4-H project designed primarily for older teens, ages 16-19, the group most likely to need information on how to rent their first "home away from home." The member's manual is divided into 10 sections, with each section covering a particular aspect of the rental process. It guides…

Scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale were compared to age and performance IQ for 72 children and adolescents with autism and 37 nonautistic controls with mental retardation. The relationship between the two groups' adaptive behavior profiles was stable from preschool age through adolescence. Increasing IQ was associated with lower…

Analysis of Anglo or Hispanic ninth-graders' (n=244) reports on coping strategies showed that females engaged in social relationships and creating change, either in actual or cognitive terms, more frequently than males. Boys tended to rely on stress reduction activities or diversions. Ethnicity tactics were also noted. (RJM)

The 4-year followup of 87 deinstitutionalized Australian persons (mean age of 21 years) with severe to profound mental retardation found that subjects showed a gain in 6 of 9 skill domains of at least 1.6 developmental years over that which would have been expected had they remained in the hospital. (DB)

A college junior's personal narrative tells how, with the help of a handful of caring adults, he managed to overcome a life of poverty with no parental support. He states that adults can help troubled adolescents by emphasizing their creativity and intellect, not their bad habits or inescapable backgrounds and history. (Author/MKA)

Notes that street life for children and adolescents in India provides few cognitive developmental opportunities that would lead to a better life, but does provide survival and crisis coping skills. Presents findings from a study of 100 street children and adolescents who return home every evening; the subjects work, interact with peers, and have…

To determine if the content in a sexual health fair was appropriate, a survey of 45 Ontario students in grades 9-10 assessed their knowledge of sexual health. Findings indicate that students had basic knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases, anatomy, and pregnancy prevention, but not about behavior in relationships. The health fair provided…

Parental opinion is an important indicator of educational effectiveness. Parent attitudes toward school effectiveness were measured in this survey to determine one school district's strategic plan concerning community involvement. A random sample of 650 households, representing prekindergarten through twelfth grade, were asked about their…