This book presents an international research-based framework that has empowered parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to become critical decision makers to actively guide their child’s learning and self-advocacy. Parents can use this framework to identify their child’s vision and dreams, and to work with educators and service providers to establish specific learning goals and to implement effective interventions and programs that enable their child to achieve those goals and realise their vision for the future. The book begins by reviewing available research on evidence-based practice for children with ASD and outlining the Cycle of Learning decision-making framework for parents and professionals. Throughout the remainder of the book, case studies are presented to illustrate the ways in which different parents have successfully utilised this framework to develop effective plans for their child and to advocate for learning and education programs for both their child and other children with ASD in school and community settings. In addition, it highlights concrete examples of how parents have used the framework to empower their children with ASD to develop their self-awareness and self-determination, and to be able to self-advocate as they move through adolescence and into adult life.

Educating Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Partnering with Families for Positive Outcomes focuses on practical strategies for educating children with autism spectrum disorders in the classroom. Additional features describe how to partner with families in the implementation of many of the strategies, giving voice to parents, based on recent quantitative and qualitative research. Case studies developed from real interviews with parents and educators open each chapter, and the book focuses on what "works" and what "does not work" in their collaborative experiences.

Poverty. Lack of social support. Limited access to education. High risk for health problems. Indigenous communities face an inordinate number of hardships. But when children have special needs, these problems multiply exponentially, making existing difficulties considerably worse. School-Parent Collaborations in Indigenous Communities: Providing Services for Children with Disabilities begins with an in-depth overview of indigenous experience and psychology, and situates disabilities within the contexts of indigenous communities and education services. The pilot study at the core of the book, conducted among the Bedouins of southern Israel, shows this knowledge in action as special education personnel engage parents in interventions for their children. Going beyond facile concepts of cultural sensitivity, the model recasts professionals as cultural mediators between school and family. This practice-oriented information has the potential to improve not only the well-being of children and families, but of the greater community as well. Featured in the coverage: Unique characteristics of indigenous communities and children with disabilities. Psychological models of reactions to disability. Benefits of multidisciplinary teams. Factors affecting collaboration between indigenous parents of children with disabilities and school professionals. Core principles of indigenously attuned collaboration. An extended case study on collaboration between parents of children with disabilities and school professionals in a Bedouin community. School-Parent Collaborations in Indigenous Communities is a breakthrough resource for researchers, graduate students, and professionals working with special needs children in child and school psychology, international and comparative education, social work, cross-cultural psychology, public health, and educational psychology.

The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has inspired advocates and policy makers across the globe, injecting children's rights terminology into various public and private arenas. Children's right to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives is the acme of the Convention and its central contribution to the children's rights discourse. At the same time the participation right presents enormous challenges in its implementation. Laws, regulations and mechanisms addressing children's right to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives have been established in many jurisdictions across the globe. Yet these worldwide developments have only rarely been accompanied with empirical investigations. The effectiveness of various policies in achieving meaningful participation for children of different ages, cultures and circumstances have remained largely unproven empirically. Therefore, with the growing awareness of the importance of evidence-based policies, it becomes clear that without empirical investigations on the implementation of children's right to participation it is difficult to promote their effective inclusion in decision making. This book provides a much-needed, first broad portrayal of how child participation is implemented in practice today. Bringing together 19 chapters written by prominent authors from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and Israel, the book includes descriptions of programs that engage children and youth in decision-making processes, as well as insightful findings regarding what children, their families, and professionals think about these programs. Beyond their contribution to the empirical evidence on ways children engage in decision-making processes, the volume's chapters contribute to the theoretical development of the meaning of "participation," "citizenship," "inclusiveness," and "relational rights" in regards to children and youth. There is no matching to the book's scope both in terms of its breadth of subjects and the diversity of jurisdictions it covers. The book's chapters include experiences of child participation in special education, child protection, juvenile justice, restorative justice, family disputes, research, and policy making.

What every special education teacher needs to know to survive and thrive A Survival Guide for New Special Educators provides relevant, practical information for new special education teachers across a broad range of topic areas. Drawing on the latest research on special educator effectiveness and retention, this comprehensive, go-to resource addresses the most pressing needs of novice instructors, resource teachers, and inclusion specialists. Offers research-based, classroom-tested strategies for working with a variety of special needs students Covers everything from preparing for the new school year to behavior management, customizing curriculum, creating effective IEPs, and more Billingsley and Brownell are noted experts in special educator training and support This highly practical book is filled with checklists, forms, and tools that special educators can use every day to help ensure that all special needs students get the rich, rewarding education they deserve.

Disability Studies and the Inclusive Classroom is a core textbook that integrates knowledge and practice from the fields of disability studies and special education. The second edition has been fully revised and updated throughout to include stronger connections between race, class, sexual orientation, gender, and disability to emphasize intersecting identities and experiences; stronger emphasis on curriculum and teaching rather than on attitudes toward disability; and updates to current events, cultural references, resources, research literature, laws, and policies.

This book provides an internationally comparable set of indicators on educational provision for students with disabilities, learning difficulties and disadvantages (DDD). It highlights the number of students involved, where they are educated – special schools, special classes or regular classes – and in what phases of education – pre-primary, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education. It also includes information on the physical provision and on student/teacher ratios and discusses policy implications concerning special education. This new edition also presents for the first time trends in the data for students with DDD from 1999 to 2003. This edition presents new quantitative and qualitative data for the school year 2002-03 in the following OECD countries : Belgium (Flemish and French Communities.), the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom (England) and the United States and in the non-member economy Chile. A strong and consistent finding is the preponderance of the number of boys over girls among DDD students in a wide range of analyses. Whether done by location, cross-national or national category, age of student, or phase of education, there is a higher percentage of males, typically a 60/40 split, across most OECD countries. Students with Disabilities, Learning Difficulties and Disadvantages: Policies, Statistics and Indicators will be of particular interest to policy makers and education experts looking for an internationally comparative framework on special education.