This article reports on the pilot work for a collaborative National Health and Medical Research Council project in Australia involving education and health professionals to improve the health and well-being of young people who have an intellectual disability. The pilot study was a qualitative exploration of teacher experiences using a health diary…

The authors support role changes for educational practitioners who work with children and youth with disabilities as they make important transitions. Principles from critical pedagogy and disability studies are summarized to provide a new theoretical framework to support role changes. Rather than needs-based services that focus on helping those…

The grand narrative of modernism is a dominating story with profound sociopolitical implications in the lives of people with the label of intellectual disabilities. In this article, we throw light on the life stories and interpretive theories of self-advocates, which usually remain hidden between the story-lines of life. Professionals in the field…

Background: Few teachers and special education specialists are aware of the materials and resources available to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction for the scattered and isolated 3000 students with sensory and motor disabilities in Iowa's K-12 schools. Additionally, faculty at many community colleges and regent…

Background: This paper discusses the recent debate on parenting by people with intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands. By and large this debate has been dominated by disastrous examples of child abuse and neglect in families where one or both parents have a disability. Feeding on horror stories the media have construed the issue as one of…

Prior to entering college, most students with disabilities are taught to rely on parents, teachers, doctors, and others to arrange for educational accommodations. In college, the job is theirs. As such, it is imperative that they learn self-advocacy prior to entering college. In this article, the author discusses how disability educators can help…

As the Higher Education Opportunity Act opens the door to more options and supports, more and more students with intellectual disabilities are "thinking college." That means high schools, colleges, and universities must be fully prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities--and this comprehensive resource is just what they…

Four steps in self-advocacy for disabled persons are described: (1) targeting individual or family needs, (2) preparing to work with service professionals to meet the targeted needs, (3) influencing decision makers, and (4) following up to ensure that agreements are kept. (CL)

Social empowerment is designed to prepare individuals to reconstruct their political, economic, psychological, and social environments. Addressing empowerment for lesbian and gay male populations is critical because of the numerous stereotypical situations that result in their powerlessness. The application of social empowerment strategies as…

We examined facilitators and detractors of academic success of 25 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) students selected from a pool of 187 students attending general education classes and enrolled in a study of academic progress. Interviews with their teachers of DHH, general education teachers, principals, parents, interpreters, and students themselves…

Students with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in the nation's community college population for multiple reasons. These include low expectations, poor high school preparation and transition planning, lack of communication or support services, and ineffective or poor support from school services personnel and faculty. This paper…

Historically, first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities have had very high attrition rates at California Community Colleges and institutions of higher education in general. Based on figures compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 2004, 4.5 million low-income, first-generation college students comprise…

In this article, the authors trace the possible political potential of their post-modernist, feminist approach to life story research with people with the label of "learning difficulties." As a self-advocate with an ally, they define tagging along with each other as discovery science. The authors reflect on how they openly and critically write…

Many students with Asperger's Syndrome have the cognitive ability and specific interests to be successful academically at the college level. However, these students often have difficulties navigating social systems, and higher education presents great challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore parent perceptions regarding the: (a)…

Although research indicates a trend toward increased representation of students with psychiatric disabilities in postsecondary education, the experiences of these students tend to be marked by academic failure and social isolation. However, the existing qualitative and quantitative research on this student population largely excludes the…