In this article, we focus on the life and accomplishments of Ed Roberts, leader of the Independent Living Movement for people with severe disabilities, to consider ways he envisioned and enacted a radical shift in professional practices within the field of rehabilitation. Using the field of rehabilitation as an adult parallel to the field of…

Through a four-part discussion, this essay advocates for seeing the characteristics and special needs of gifted students with disabilities and using best practices to support their learning. Part 1 delineates the evolution of the legislative acts and professional initiatives regarding twice exceptionality. Part 2 discusses the educational rights…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a general education initiative that takes place prior to evaluation for placement in special education. Essentially, the first two tiers of RtI require general education teachers to use research-based instruction with all students and then to evaluate the effectiveness of that instruction. Given that the use of…

The literature and court cases point to the need for discipline alternatives for handicapped students other than suspension and expulsion. As more cases come to court, and as more specific policies are formulated, the discipline dilemma between this need and actual practice should be resolved. (JOW)

Questions are addressed regarding both temporary and long-term withdrawal of disabled children from school through suspension and expulsion. Questions involve differentiating between suspension and expulsion and determining whether suspension or expulsion represents a "change of placement" as that term is defined in federal statutes. (CT)