This guide to the basic literature on self sufficient living presents current selection tools for use by public librarians. Sections are narrative and describe a newspaper, a magazine, a specialized publishing company, out-of-print sources, government publications, a specialized lending library, and miscellaneous publications. (KP)

It is noted that the Montessori Approach which involves programed instruction can be useful in teaching practical living skills to retarded and other handicapped children. (SBH)

A critique of a report asserting that there are serious shortcomings in the services provided for disabled persons proposes that a partnership between the medical profession and autonomous structures of the disabled would lead to the development of responsive and nonintrusive services that encourage independent living in the community. (Author/CB)

A successful five-week weight reduction program for individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome is described. The program combines diet and exercise, and participants are taught to make menu choices within the framework of daily food exchange allotments. (Author/JW)

Santa Cruz City Traveling School was created to help youngsters cope with life pressures and complexities and gain a more complete education. Each semester, 36 students in grades 7-12 tour a region of the U.S. or Canada in a school bus. They live in hostels and group camps while being taught full range of academics and personal growth skills. (MLH)

The study identified ways in which blind and visually impaired persons utilize adaptive skills following successful rehabilitation. Chi square analyses demonstrated significant relationships between educational level and typing skills, degree of vision and handwriting skills, degree of vision and personal management skills, age of onset, and…

Results of participant-observation techniques used to study the everyday cognition and problem-solving process in marketing tasks defined and organized by mildly mentally retarded adults, revealed five "composites" of strategic behavior. An association between composite and early life experiences was also shown. (Author/CL)

Because educators lack data on outcomes of educational interventions with handicapped students, the criterion of the least dangerous assumption is presented as an interim standard. The criterion holds that without conclusive data educational decisions should be based on assumptions which, if incorrect, for potential will provide the least danger…

A photo-bus-route-map resulted in increased independence in bus travel for four trainable mentally retarded adults. The map included names and numbers of buses, photographs of the boarding point and at least 14 possible destinations, and rebus figures. (CL)

Disabled secondary students (N=62) who participated in the Self Protection for the Handicapped curriculum demonstrated significant growth in "safe" responses to role play simulations involving harassment and exploitation. (CL)

No differential effects were revealed between minimal and relatively lengthy intervals in simulated and in vivo training of two students (8 and 13 years old) with severe handicaps. Performance in community fast food restaurants was measured. (CL)

Thirty-five severely mentally retarded secondary students trained in the classroom and in natural settings according to the behaviorally based technology showed signficantly greater gains on those community living tasks for which they were trained than on those for which they were not. (CL)

The paper presents strategies for conducting research helpful to community instruction for students with autism. Research issues in setting variables (including heterogeneous/homogeneous groupings and instructional environments) are addressed as well as the use of the discrete trial format (including prompts, responses, and consequences). (CL)

Six adults with severe disabilities were taught to purchase coffee in a community restaurant using a 46-step task analysis, a prompt hierarchy of least to greatest prompts, and social reinforcement. Ss demonstrated competencies equal to non-handicapped customers and maintained these skills at a two- to five-month follow-up. (Author/CL)