Interactions among program, placement, and services in educational planning for students with disabilities.

Although IDEA and its corresponding federal regulations provide an underlying philosophy and procedures to help design education for students with disabilities, the law remains open to widely varying interpretations. One aspect of IDEA, namely, the relationship among the program, placement, and services for a student with disabilities when planning an appropriate education is discussed here. An analysis of how these three interrelated components can be applied in different sequences highlights drawbacks to some sequence variations. A conceptualization of how program, placement, and services can be approached in an interactive manner, rather than a strict linear one, is offered within a framework that is consistent with IDEA, its corresponding regulations, and educational logic.

Quality of life as context for planning and evaluation of services for people with disabilities.

Quality of life has become a dominant theme in planning and evaluating services for people with disabilities. This article reviews definitions of quality of life, explores the concept from the perspective of the optimal theory of personal well-being, and surveys the research on the concept and its implications for planning and evaluating services. This article explores the subjective nature of life quality, particularly for people with disabilities, and relates the concept to both cultural norms and universal human values and needs. Each person experiences life, and disability, in unique ways. Practitioners need to consider quality-of-life issues as a context in planning and evaluating quality services.

"I've counted Jon": transformational experiences of teachers educating students with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of general education teachers who have had a student with severe disabilities in their class. Interviews of 19 general education teachers, kindergarten through Grade 9, as well as questionnaires completed by 18 teachers, were analyzed using categorical coding procedures to identify themes related to the teachers' experiences. Results showed that despite teachers' initial negative reactions to the placement of a child with severe disabilities in their classrooms, 17 teachers described transforming experiences of a more positive nature and related many benefits to the students with disabilities, their classmates, and the teachers themselves. Respondents also characterized what support services they found helpful and not helpful.