Determined independent effects of nine self-reported medical conditions on the likelihood of developing specific instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) disabilities at three points in time. Various medical conditions differentially affect each specific IADL disability, and each IADL disability has its own set of predictors, which, in…

Purpose: The authors examine differences in reports of residual disability and unmet need by type of long-term care arrangement (assistive technology or personal care).Design and Methods: This study compares three specific dimensions of residual difficulty (pain, fatigue, and time intensity) and reports of unmet need across care arrangements.…

To support K-12 students with significant disabilities and get an accurate picture of their skills and knowledge, schools need to implement effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This is the guidebook every team should have--not only to develop successful AA-AAS linked with grade-level content standards,…

Background: The "Service Need Assessment Profile" (SNAP) measures individual functional needs in areas of daily living. It produces a support profile, detailing the time allocations for staff support to assist in each area of need. The "Supports Intensity Scale" (SIS) is a support needs assessment scale designed to provide an…

This booklet is for young people with handicaps who are getting ready to graduate from high school and begin working and living in the adult world, with special focus on individuals with cultural differences. The booklet provides advice on completing preliminary, essential tasks of adult living. It also explains the services of various agencies…

The report describes first year accomplishments of the Career and Life Skills Project, an approach using the arts to enhance basic skills development of moderately and severely handicapped youth. Among major accomplishments reviewed are staff selection, experimental site selection, conduct of writing seminars for staff, and development and…

The study examined the perceptions of 106 handicapped and nonhandicapped high school juniors and seniors concerning the vocational, leisure, domestic, and school skills they considered important and used frequently. Handicapped students were more likely to consider specific vocational skills as important than were nonhandicapped students.…

Describes the Work Study and Special Needs Programs of the Cleveland Public Schools, which were based on the rationale that assisting handicapped students to become economically self-supporting is necessary for self-growth and self-respect. The program focuses upon career awareness and personal guidance preparation and support. (JOW)

The need for curriculum change in the education of handicapped students to include a life skills (functional academics, vocational orientation, personal development, human interaction, community awareness, and communication) is presented. (PHR)

Twenty rehabilitation patients were assessed on their activities of daily living using the Barthel Index, and were also observed by two occupational therapists in a simulated home unit. Results indicated good inter-observer reliability, and good agreement between asking the patient and professional observation of the patient. (JDD)

This study, involving 118 adolescents and adults with deafness, found a high level of concurrent criterion validity for the National Independent Living Skills (NILS) Screening Instrument. The study concluded that the NILS is a valid tool for assessing independent living skills of persons age 16 and older with a hearing impairment and possible…

The quality, number, and content of residential Individualized Habilitation Plans (IHP) objectives were evaluated for 155 adult institution and community residents. Over 90 percent of objectives were functional and age appropriate. Community residents had significantly more IHP objectives and also had objectives from a wider variety of content…

Older adults are the largest group of wheelchair users yet there are no peer-reviewed studies on the national profile of older wheelchair users in Canada. We investigated the characteristics of wheelchair users in a national sample of community-dwelling older adults from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA-2). Questions on the use of…

On the last day of school in June 2002, the author received her class list for the following year: five girls ranging in age from 12 to 15 years old. Their disabilities included retinopathy of prematurity, encephalitis, Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, hearing impairment, cortical visual impairment, and significant…

This study reports on an assessment system for school-leavers with disabilities to identify their capacity for work and the type of transition-to-work programme best suited to each person. Participants were 1,556 high school students in four cohorts who left school between 1999 and 2002. Each school-leaver was assessed by rehabilitation…