Why should we use computers in our classroms in special education? Will they benefit our children? How can we use them to advantage? This paper presents reasons for using computers as effective teaching tools with children who are having difficulty in learning.

Children who are classified as either emotionally disturbed or behavior disordered appear to stress school systems perhaps more intensely than any other handicapping condition. The behavioral characteristics of this population of students are extremely aversive to peers and adult social agents (teachers, parents) who must interact with them on a daily basis. Frequently, these children disrupt the instructional process for themselves and others, defy the teacher, and engage in forms of social behavior that are considered either inappropriate to the school setting (tantrumming, disturbing others, fighting) or are severe violations of social norms (stealing, self abuse).

Corrective feedback has long been regarded as an essential element in the teaching-learning process. There is, however, little agreement among educators as to what constitutes appropriate feedback. In reading instruction, views on error correction differ in relation to the perspective on reading adopted.

In this study, the corrective feedback of whole language teachers was examined. The responses of teachers to a set of oral reading miscues were compared to recommended practices for whole language practitioners and to ideal feedback behaviour based on a review of the literature on effective teaching. This information was then used as a basis for examining both the strengths and limitations of whole language instruction for children who experience difficulty in learning to read.

Children with behaviour disorders have long been regarded as the most difficult group of children with special needs to integrate into the regular classroom. Despite the difficulty Government policy continues to advocate integration for all children with special needs. The present study examines the placement of children with behaviour disorders in regular schools one and two years after an initial study on their integration was undertaken. The results indicate that many of these children are no longer at the surveyed school. The results would suggest that the regular classroom/school may not be the optimal learning environment for all children with behaviour disorders.

The roles and responsibilities of special educators in both special and regular school settings are changing rapidly. More than two decades ago the move towards more inclusive practices disrupted the traditional, niche separatism of special educators to the extent that they are now an integral part of the regular school teaching staff. Today the broad agenda to facilitate access and participation for all students in education, not just students with disabilities, influences the roles and responsibilities of special educators. This article briefly identifies some of the generic pulses that are moving the special education profession from a focus on low incidence disabilities towards a more comprehensive approach to inclusion, school responsiveness and individualised learning pathways. From the foundation of inclusive practice, this article will describe how a qualitative study was used to understand the changing roles and responsibilities of special educators. A case-study analysis of 17 schools formed the basis of the investigation. Principals, lead teachers in special education and special education teachers were asked to identify trends and priorities in special education and also to identify rewards and challenges in their jobs. Further cross-referencing with teacher and special educator standards, a focus group, a stakeholder group and research in the field increased the opportunity for academics and special educators to critically reflect on the emerging demands placed on special educators and the attributes that are needed to be professionally effective.

The highly regular orthographies (spelling systems) of many nations expedite literacy development, and their children experience a rapid transition from early literacy (learning to read and write) to sophisticated literacy (reading and writing to learn). In contrast, English orthographic complexity impedes literacy development, particularly for weak readers (Galletly & Knight, in press a, b). This article proposes a model of differential disadvantage of Anglophone weak readers due to cognitive processing weakness and the high cognitive load of learning to read and write English. The disadvantage is differential, first with Anglophone weak readers disadvantaged compared to weak readers in nations with regular orthographies, and second, with subgroups of Anglophone weak readers being more disadvantaged, depending on their levels of language skills and cognitive processing efficiency. Anglophone weak readers with pre-existing language disorder experience the highest levels of differential disadvantage. Weak cognitive processing and automisation in the face of continuing high cognitive load seems a basis for them frequently showing comorbidities, with features of multiple disorder categories (Catts, Adlof, Hogan, & Ellis Weismer, 2005), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), auditory processing disorder, motor weakness, and social and behavioural impairment. The model is a useful framework for considering the instructional needs of weak readers. Areas where research is needed for building ways forward in optimising literacy development is discussed.

The number of students with a disability and other special needs has recently increased in Australia and much of this increase has occurred in regular classrooms. This trend, along with legislative changes for school support of students with a disability, focuses attention on school and teacher variables associated with outcomes for students with a disability. This article reviews the characteristics of Australian teachers of young students with special needs who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. For the 650 teachers with a child with special needs in their class who took part in the 2006 wave of the study, there were significant differences across inclusive and segregated settings in some of the teachers' demographic features as well as their reported relationships with students with special needs.

Although support for the integration of students with disabilities has increased in the past 20 years in Australia, it has not been clear to what extent this support has resulted in less restrictive educational placements for these students. This paper reports the results of an analysis of trends in the placement of students with disabilities in Australian schools. The paper also discusses the influence on this educational placement by sex, age and number of disabilities of school students, and their State of residence. This discussion follows the analysis of portions of a national data set compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that related to people with disabilities.

Extant research addressing implicit factors related to intervention decisions made by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited and findings have been inconsistent. In the present study, 74 parents of preschoolers with ASD were surveyed regarding intervention use. The possible relationships between implicit parent factors (education level, age, causal beliefs about ASD, complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] use, and family income) and child factors (time since diagnosis, and perceived severity of ASD), and the number and type of interventions used were examined. Consistent with previous research, only a small number of significant relationships were found, including that family income, parent use of CAM, mother’s education, parent belief in an unknown aetiology of ASD, and time since child’s diagnosis were all related to the number of interventions used. Some specific findings of previous research were not replicated in the present study (e.g., neither beliefs in environmental aetiology of ASD nor parent education levels were related to the use of specific CAM interventions), indicating that factors affecting decision-making may not be consistent across samples. Nevertheless, future research including an expanded range of possible implicit factors with more diverse samples may provide a more accurate predictive model of parent decision-making.

Film and video play an important part in shaping our attitudes and increasing our understanding of children with special needs. Media of quality are now widely available in Australia, and the article discusses how this may be obtained by teachers. In this first of a series of occasional articles, media which introduces the field of special education are briefly reviewed in an annotated bibliography.

This study provides an in-depth examination of the understanding and implementation of cognitive–behavioural approaches (CBA) by Australian teachers of students with both autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Semistructured interviews were completed with 13 New South Wales teachers and several themes emerged. Interviewed teachers appeared to have limited knowledge about CBA; their description of the application of CBA and their reported practices included few features specific and unique to CBA. They primarily perceived CBA as a tool for behaviour management; addressing emotion was a theme but addressing cognition was not a salient feature of their practice. Most teachers seemed unaware of the potential of CBA in fostering generalisation or maintenance, and important student characteristics appeared to be seldom considered in teacher planning of their CBA programs. Directions for enhancing teacher knowledge and supporting their practice of CBA are suggested.

Australian mainstream school teachers report a severe shortage of accessible autism-focused resources, strategies, and professional development (PD). This 2-part mixed methods study investigated the effect of using a web-based model of practice (MoP) for PD. The MoP contains evidence-based, autism-specific educational practices and resources designed for mainstream teachers of students on the autism spectrum. The aim was to examine teacher responses to using the MoP and the impact of the mode of delivery. In Part 1, 3 PD delivery conditions for using the MoP were trialled (8 weeks): face-to-face support, online support, or web-based access to detailed resources only. Support was provided by expert autism educators. Teachers (N = 15) reported that the MoP was an accessible, comprehensive, and practical support for educational decision-making, and that support encouraged implementation of the MoP practices. Part 2 trialled a hybrid PD model in 6 regional schools. Limited face-to-face and online support plus access to the MoP was trialled. Interview data indicated that a hybrid model can be an effective method of providing immediate support for teachers.

This paper is the second of two which report the results of a three stage study of educational services to students with mild intellectual disability in two NSW Department of School Education regions. The three phases of the study involved a teacher questionnaire, a teacher interview and classroom observations. This paper reports results in the areas of curriculum and programming, teaching strategies and materials, and classroom management techniques within the special class setting. The study found that 85% of teachers would like a specific curriculum for students with mild intellectual disability and a similar percentage saw a need for greater inservicing and feedback on their programming. While teachers reported the use of a variety of teaching techniques including small group instruction, classroom observations showed that individual or whole class instruction was commonly used with no evidence of data-based instruction, cognitive, metacognitive or problem solving strategies. Some teachers found that classroom management took a considerable amount of their time while others, including those observed, had strong classroom control. Recommendations based on the findings in each of the three areas are also reported and discussed.

The social acceptance (by nonhandicapped children) of four former pupils of a special school for physically handicapped children was examined. The pupils had previously (18 months prior to the study) been transferred to regular primary and intermediate schools as part of an integration (mainstreaming) programme. The physically handicapped children and their nonhandicapped classmates showed very similar patterns of social interaction during unsupervised playground activities, and similar levels of social acceptance (sociometric data and teachers’ ratings). Case study data indicated that all physically handicapped children had apparently made a successful adaptation to the physical, academic, and social demands of the regular school, but considerable variation was evident both in the social difficulties encountered by the children during the integration period and in their current (and future) special educational needs.

The late 1970’s have, in Queensland, seen an increasing number of exceptional children being integrated into regular school settings. In some cases attempts at integration have failed miserably. The present survey was conducted in the first half of 1979. It is an attempt to collect information in order to improve the integration of physically handicapped children into alternative school placements, in particular regular classroom settings. The information collected through the survey forms a basis of a sequence of integration procedures for physically handicapped children. The strategies contained in the sequence, while focusing on the physically handicapped, could be appropriate for other children with special needs.

In this paper, my objective is to discuss how both macro and micro level influences have operated in Singapore to achieve over a remarkably short period of time a much improved national provision for special educational needs and training for special needs teachers in both special schools and regular schools.

In the 25 years since Singapore gained independence, this newly industrialising nation without natural resources, has placed a priority on training and developing a well-educated, skilled work force. In order to avoid human wastage there has been an emphasis on establishing a quality education system available to all who are willing to learn, and in which recognition has largely been related to academic achievement.

In a 1999 paper Gersten and Chard proposed that number sense might be to mathematics what phonemic awareness is to reading. They explained the role of phonemic awareness in reading acquisition and its influence on reading research and argued that an understanding of the concept of number sense could be equally influential in the field of mathematics, in particular for the population of students at risk of developing mathematical disabilities (MD). The present paper examines the analogy in the light of existing literature in the area of number sense and concludes that while it may have some merit from a research point of view there are some inherent risks in the promotion of the analogy prior to the research community providing a definition of number sense and sufficient evidence that it is a prerequisite for mathematics success.