Validating Kohler's Taxonomy of Transition Programming for adolescents with intellectual disability in the Chinese context.

Background: School-to-work transition programmes play a crucial role in the achievement of post-secondary outcomes for young adults with intellectual disability (ID). Although special education in China has progressed in the last two decades, systematically planned transition education and services are not usually available for Chinese school leavers.

Aims: The present study aimed to validate Kohler's Taxonomy of Transition Programming (KTTP) in the Chinese context for adolescents with ID.

Tailoring communication supports for students with multiple and severe disability using a mentor-model approach: four case studies from classrooms in special schools.

Objective: This paper describes four case studies of communication support for students with multiple and severe disability (MSD) in special school classrooms that used a mentor-model approach to the professional development of educational staff.

Methods: A range of observational and report instruments was used to measure student changes in communicative involvement and the views of teaching staff that engaged with them.

Results: Four case studies of the contextual features, student needs and specific support strategies utilized in this study in four special school classrooms highlight the challenges that are faced by teaching staff in improving and maintaining student communication outcomes, and the reasons for these challenges.

Complex contextual influences on the communicative interactions of students with multiple and severe disabilities.

The aim of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions and experiences of supports and obstacles to engaging students with multiple and severe disabilities (MSD) in communicative interactions at school. Eleven teachers of students with MSD participated in two in-depth interviews. Interview transcripts were analysed for narrative structure and content themes.

The impact of partner training on the communicative involvement of students with multiple and severe disability in special schools.

Background: The outcomes of a pilot program of staff development in communication support in the context of observed changes in student behaviour states and interactive abilities are reported. Participant reports about the impact of the program on their professional practices are included.

Method: Six teachers and six teacher aides in special (segregated) schools were provided with a short, intensive training program designed to improve their communicative interactions with students with multiple and severe disability (MSD) in their classes.

Educational approaches for maximizing arousal in children with multiple and severe disability: new directions for research and practice in early childhood contexts.

This paper provides a review of several critical issues and directions for research and practice, centred on children with multiple and severe disability, with special attention to the recent study of individual behaviour states as a measure of arousal and involvement. It notes several areas for future research and discusses educational interventions designed to improve the engagement of children, focusing on the central role of early intervention and human ecologies in supporting the achievement of positive educational outcomes for this population.