Susan Hamre-Nietupski

Middle and High School Students' Perceptions on Being Friends with Peers with Severe Disabilities

A survey on friendships with peers with severe disabilities of 1,137 middle and high school students was conducted across three states. Students indicated that they should try to make friends with peers with severe disabilities and that friendships are most likely to develop when students with disabilities are educated in general education classes, for all or part of the school day. Students perceived themselves, special education teachers, and youth organizations as primarily responsible for facilitating these friendships, and that effective strategies involve learning situations in which students work together, teachers present information on disabilities, and teachers and parents arrange social events for all students.

Guidelines for Making Simulation an Effective Adjunct to in Vivo Community Instruction

A recent controversy has arisen over the relative merits of simulated versus in vivo community instruction. The view presented here is that in cases where in vivo instruction alone is unfeasible, practitioners should employ both training formats in a concurrent fashion. Accordingly, five guidelines for making simulated instruction a more effective adjunct to community instruction are presented and discussed. Future research needs in this area also are suggested.

Leisure Skills Instruction in a Community Residential Setting with Young Adults Who are Deaf/Blind Severely Handicapped

This paper discusses general considerations for selecting recreation/leisure skill targets for deaf/blind severely handicapped individuals along with specific leisure task/materials adaptations. A pilot study is also presented illustrating such considerations and adaptations in teaching deaf/blind young adults to operate a tape player.

Review of Task Analytic Leisure Skill Training Efforts: Practitioner Implications and Future Research Needs.

The authors review recreation/leisure training programs that have been conducted with moderately/severely handicapped individuals. Emphasis is placed on data based task analytic, instructional efforts and recent curriculum volumes/position papers. Implications for practitioners are provided, as well as future research needs in the recreation/leisure skill domain.

A Decision-Making Process for Using Microswitches

This article describes a decision-making process for the appropriate use of microswitches in educational programs serving students with severe handicaps and physical disabilities. Guidelines for the following steps of the decision-making process are provided: (a) determining an educationally valid activity; (b) deciding if the activity should be taught directly; (c) deciding if use of a microswitch is an appropriate adaptation; (d) developing and implementing an individualized instructional program, including determining appropriate positions, motor behaviors, types of microswitches, and instructional procedures; and (e) evaluating the effectiveness of a microswitch for accomplishing an educational objective. Examples of individual student programs are used to illustrate the application of these guidelines.

Integral Involvement of Severely Handicapped Students within Regular Public Schools

The authors contend that least restrictive environment involves more than merely placing severely handicapped students in regular schools. In addition to regular school placement, systematic efforts to promote positive interactions between severely handicapped students and their nonhandicapped peers must be made. An array of formal and informal methods for promoting integration, directed toward both school staff and students, are provided to assist teachers of the severely handicapped in systematically integrating their students into the regular school milieu.

Teaching Auxiliary Communication Skills to Severely Handicapped Students

The use of auxiliary communication systems with the severely handicapped is receiving increased attention. This article examines several considerations for instructional personnel who must decide when to initiate auxiliary communication programs, what system to teach, what vocabulary items to begin with, and what special factors must be decided. The authors describe manual systems, communication aids, and communicative codes, and give guidelines for choosing among them for specific students. They recommend considering an auxiliary system for any child who has not produced intelligible utterances by age 5 to 8 and who has not made adequate progress in a verbal communication training program. They also advocate simultaneous teaching of comprehension and production skills.

Parent/Professional Partnerships in Advocacy: Developing Integrated Options within Resistive Systems.

The lack of integrated educational options in many communities suggests the need for continued advocacy efforts with local school districts. The case is made here that parents and professionals working in concert can form a more effective advocacy partnership, particularly when districts present resistance to integrated options. Strategies for obtaining integrated options through advocacy partnerships are suggested, with examples provided. The strategies are drawn from direct experience as well as from recommendations in the professional literature.

Implementing a Community-Based Educational Model for Moderately/Severely Handicapped Students: Common Problems and Suggested Solutions

This article examines six common barriers to the establishment of a community-based educational model for moderately and severely handicapped students: (1) limited staff, (2) transportation, (3) scheduling, (4) cost, (5) negative reaction to curriculum emphasis change, and (6) applicability to multiply handicapped students. For each common problem, several solutions are recommended. These solutions were drawn from Iowas attempt to implement a community-based educational model in its programs for moderately and severely handicapped students.

A Review of Recreation/Leisure Skills Research with Moderately, Severely and Profoundly Mentally Handicapped Individuals

The authors review data-based recreation/leisure skills research efforts conducted with moderately, severely and profoundly mentally handicapped individuals. Extant literature was divided into four subareas: (1) studies which attempted to determine antecedents that promote involvement with play materials; (2) studies which examined antecedent and consequent intervention strategies; (3) task analytic recreation/leisure skill training efforts; and (4) studies which examined recreation/leisure skill maintenance and/or generalization. Practitioner implications as well as future research needs are discussed.