Full participation is one of the general principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for enabling the enjoyment of human rights. This concept cuts across all issues in the Convention, and is a specific obligation of states/parties that have ratified the Convention document. Other general principles…

The use of peer support arrangements can be an effective strategy to improve educational services for students with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). When developing peer support arrangements, secondary teachers should consider aligning these services with evidence-based predictors of positive postschool outcomes…

Special education consists of specially designed services available for students with disabilities, and should be available across placements. Students with the most significant disabilities continue to be taught in restrictive settings, despite accumulating evidence suggesting their special education services can be delivered effectively in…

Quality engagement in early childhood programs is critical to the development and learning of young children, particularly those with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of engagement and interaction of children with disabilities in inclusive kindergartens in China. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the…

The deinstitutionalization movement that began 50 years ago remains a current issue for professionals and families. Using qualitative phenomenology methodology, we investigated the experience of mandated deinstitutionalization for parents and siblings whose relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) transitioned from…

This article provides teachers and administrators with a description of foundational principles and curricular approaches to create meaningful educational experiences for secondary students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive general education classes. The four principles provide: (a) the least dangerous assumption, (b) partial…

The purpose of this systematic review was to (a) systematically review the literature to identify National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 secondary analyses articles published since 2009 that met the quality indicators for correlational research, (b) further extend the findings of Test et al. by identifying additional evidence to support the…

In response to legislative mandates that schools use evidence-based instructional practices, the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center has identified evidence-based practices and predictors in the area of secondary transition for high school students with disabilities. This article provides an overview of practices and…

Providing services to special education students has been fraught with controversy concerning the appropriate setting (Yell, 1995). This quasi-experimental study compares the progress of developmentally delayed preschoolers after two school years of schooling in two environments using the Brigance Inventory of Early Development (IED-II) (Brigance,…

Maria Montessori was one of the first special educators. In 1898, as an assistant instructor at the University of Rome's Psychiatric Clinic, Montessori visited an asylum for the "insane" and became interested in the children with special needs who were housed there. She noticed that the children were not being stimulated; learning was at a…

There is a federal movement to improve student outcomes targeting some of these predictors in several recently launched initiatives, but where does Arizona stand? What are we currently doing to move the needle, and what do we still need to do? This report prepared for the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council has two objectives: (1)…

The checklist provided here is intended to provide schools, districts, or other stakeholders in secondary transition with a framework for determining the degree to which their program is implementing practices that are likely to lead to more positive post-school outcomes for students with disabilities. The predictor categories listed have been…

Nearly four decades have passed since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensured access to public education for students with disabilities in the United States. During the years following its introduction, there was a growing recognition that helping students, especially students with disabilities, in their transitions from…

The passage from childhood to adulthood is a passage for families as well as individuals. As young people with disabilities move from their teen to adult years, they and their families experience many growing pains in common with all families at that stage of life. In addition, there are often milestones, questions, concerns, needs, and challenges…