The purpose of this research study was to determine how Community Based Instruction (CBI) affects the social skills of middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities. Community Based Instruction is instruction that takes place outside of the school campus and provides students with real life experiences that can help them become more…

Students with significant developmental disabilities who engage in activities outside the classroom appear to have better post-school outcomes in the areas of employability, living skills, and independence. No research has examined whether functional independence was significantly different in graduates with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have…

During my first year of practice as a new action learning facilitator undertaking an "ILM Level 5 Certificate in Action Learning Facilitation", an innovative Individual Service Fund pilot was launched by "Certitude", the organisation for which I work. The aim of this pilot was to enable people with learning disabilities and…

Young adults with disabilities face multiple challenges in obtaining successful post-school outcomes. In a National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 report, Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, and Levine (2005) found that for former students with disabilities, 70% had engaged in paid employment since leaving high school, though only 40% were employed at…

This research was conducted to determine if job related field experiences improved the confidence of secondary transition students. There were six students included in the study. The students ranged in disabilities from emotional and behavioral disability, borderline cognitive disability and severe (IQ under 60) disability. In addition, the case…

Background: Seventeen pre-service teachers from The Hong Kong Institute of Education involved in a service education project during the summer vacation in 2008. They spent seven weeks in an orphanage and a commune in Vietnam to provide various services for disabled children and to help constructing a house for the poor villagers respectively. They…

A survey of 116 early intervention service providers for young children with disabilities examined their experiences and perceptions of providing services in natural environments such as the home, day-care center, restaurants, play grounds, etc. A questionnaire, "The Natural Environment Questionnaire," was developed which included questions with…

Community-referenced activities, which involve combinations of skills used in routine tasks of daily living, are critical for the independent functioning of moderately and severely handicapped persons. The paper examines the characteristics of these activities in order to extract implications for enhancing instruction. The tasks involved in such…

This article describes one school's efforts to teach students with mental retardation functional skills in community settings, while maximizing inclusive experiences. The approach includes a method of identifying functional curricula, collaborative instructional planning and teaching, and community-based instruction for all students. (DB)

This study surveyed 15 instructors providing community-based instruction to adolescents with moderate and severe handicaps regarding their experiences. Questionnaire results are reported for respondent attitudes concerning importance and appropriateness of community training procedures, community setting employees, and personal attitudes and…

This article describes a program to prepare students with moderate to severe disabilities for later community-based vocational instruction. It offers general principles, suggested content areas, and examples of appropriate school-based vocational activities. Tables outline Department of Labor guidelines and recommended amounts of time for…

This Digest reviews what is known from recent research about delivering instruction to young children with disabilities in the natural environment. It notes the endorsement of this practice by the Division for Early Childhood Education of the Council for Exceptional Children. Research is reported which has focused on validating specific…

One Hawaiian school, which serves gifted and dyslexic students, created the Mentorship Program for high school students and certain students in grades 5-8. The program sends students into the community with mentors experienced in various fields, teaching them real world skills in real world environments. Evaluation shows that everyone in the…

This book chapter puts community-based rehabilitation and community-based instruction in an historical perspective by describing a number of influential social, political, legal, technological, and philosophical factors that have shaped contemporary special and regular education. The characteristics of community-based instruction, community-based…

This study of community-based instruction with 34 high school students with moderate to profound mental retardation found (1) students made significant gains in 3 of 4 independent behavior domains; and (2) amount of community-based instruction was a more powerful predictor of gains than were intelligence quotient, level of student ambulation, or…