The manual is intended to help Maryland special education administrators and teachers plan and develop programs for students who will pursue a course of study leading to a high school certificate in Maryland. A life skills approach called the "Maryland Life Skills Curricular Framework" is designed to help students adapt to their…

Guidelines are given assessing the community living skills of deaf students through an adaptation of the Street Survival Skills Questionnaire (SSSQ), which was originally designed for developmentally disabled or handicapped adolescents and adults. Adaptations include consideration of situational factors (such as visual distractions) and the…

The Survival Skills Center described in this report operates at Columbia College, CA, to provide individualized instruction in basic reading, writing, and math skills using a series of modules which focus on problems commonly encountered in everyday life. After discussing the need for such instruction among nontraditional students, the paper…

The development and implementation of the Dallas Independent School District's Basic Objectives Assessment Test (BOAT) are described. Beginning in 1979, this minimum competency test was administered system-wide to all students in grades 8-12 (except for those enrolled as special education students), and beginning in 1983 it will be used in…

The Communication Experience Approach (CEA), a modification of the Language Experience Approach to teaching reading, involves the use of group activities designed to help functionally illiterate persons learn basic communication skills. This paper first discusses six distinct processes in the CEA: setting a specific purpose for communicating,…

Five criteria derived from an original conception of basic education are used to appraise The Essential Learning Skills Television Project and to guide the proposal of ideas to strengthen the project. It is assumed that to prepare students to cope with the challenges of daily living and citizenship, curricula must stress acquisition of skills in…

Presents an overview of findings related to preparing for employment and making a successful college-to-work transition. Reports how some educators responded to these findings and their recommendations for nontechnical skill development at the postsecondary level. (JOW)

A methodology for teaching students how to use a combination lock was successfully used with 7 students (ages 11-13) with moderate mental disabilities. Discussed are entry level skills, long- and short-term objectives, picture prompts, modeling and guided practice activities, assistance, feedback, and generalization. A detailed task analysis is…

Both simultaneous prompting and antecedent prompt and test procedures were effective in teaching four adolescents with moderate mental retardation to read grocery sight words. However, the antecedent prompt and test procedure was more efficient on measures of acquisition and the simultaneous prompting procedure was more efficient on measures of…

Assisting children with delays and disabilities to develop skills that will maximise their chances of success in regular education classrooms has become important with the trend to inclusion. This study examined (1) the essential skills for successful integration nominated by teachers, (2) the relationships between teacher perception and child…

The paper describes a system used in Nebraska in which vocational rehabilitation specialists determine who is a high need client and develop programs via a social-ecological or "person-environment" perspective. A high need client is defined as an individual who will require considerable staff support, intervention, and time. A three-phase study…

This document contains tier locator and mastery tests, which form part of the Comprehensive Competencies Program (CCP) for adult and high school populations. The document begins with a detailed report on the nature and purposes of the tests. The report begins by discussing the structure of the tests, which parallels the structure of the CCP, and…

Designed to meet the needs of older nonreaders, this booklet provides teaching suggestions and classroom activities for functional or survival reading skills. The topics covered include using the telephone; figuring the cost of a purchase; following directions; survival vocabulary for public signs; vocabulary for the medicine chest; reading the…

Describes a study conducted in 1975 by the University of Texas to identify basic skills needed for adulthood. Identifies five knowledge areas for required skills, reports results of competency testing of 7,500 adult subjects in the five areas, and reviews implications for life skills instruction in the schools. (AV)

The Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) is a national study of the characteristics, experiences and achievements of students with disabilities in elementary and middle school. This report presents results of data (mainly surveys of and interviews with parents) on more than 12,000 students with disabilities, ages 6-12, selected…