Working With Families and Community Agencies to Support Students With Special Needs

Jim Ysseldyke, Ph.D., is Birkmaier Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, director of the School Psychology Program, and director of the Center for Reading Research at the University of Minnesota. Widely requested as a staff developer and conference speaker, Ysseldyke brings more than 30 years of research and teaching experience to educational professionals around the globe.As the former director of the federally funded National Center on Educational Outcomes, Ysseldyke conducted research and provided technical support that helped to boost the academic performance of students with disabilities and improve school assessment techniques nationally. Today, he continues to work to improve the education of students with disabilities.The author of more than 300 publications on special education and school psychology, Ysseldyke is best known for his textbooks on assessment, effective instruction, issues in special education, and other cutting-edge areas of education and school psychology. With A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every Teacher, Ysseldyke seeks to equip educators with practical knowledge and methods that will help them to better engage students in exploring—and meeting—all their potentials.Bob Algozzine is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina and project codirector of the U.S. Department of Education-supported Behavior and Reading Improvement Center. With 25 years of research experience and extensive firsthand knowledge of teaching students classified as seriously emotionally disturbed, Algozzine is a uniquely qualified staff developer, conference speaker, and teacher of behavior management and effective teaching courses. He is active in special education practice as a partner and collaborator with professionals in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in North Carolina and as an editor of several journals focused on special education. Algozzine has written more than 250 manuscripts on special education topics, including many books and textbooks on how to manage emotional and social behavior problems.

• About A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every TeacherAcknowledgementsAbout the AuthorsSelf-Assessment IIntroduction to Working With Families and Community Agencies to Support Students With Special Needs1.What Should Every Teacher Know About Early Childhood Intervention?Federal Laws and IncentivesDirect and Indirect ServicesHome-Based ProgramsHospital- or Center-Based ProgramsDoes Early Intervention Help?2.What Are Transition Services and When Are They Necessary?Transition into SchoolTransition During SchoolEveryday TransitionsTransition in General Education ClassroomsDropping Out of SchoolPost-School Transition3.What Living Arrangements Are Available to Adults With Special Needs?Group HomesAlternative Living UnitsFoster HomesIndependent LivingInstitutions4.What Issues Should Be Taken Into Consideration When Working With Families?How Exceptionalities Affect FamiliesEffects on Family StructureFamily ConcernsTransition to SchoolAdolescencePost-School TransitionConcerns of Families With Children Who Are GiftedWhat the Research SaysChange Over TimeTypes of Family InvolvementOvercoming Barriers to Home-School Collaboration5.How Should Schools Involve Community Agencies and Businesses?Business InvolvementSpecial Programs6.What Are the Keys to Success in the Wider Context?Individualized PlanningCommitment to Normal Life ExperiencesCompatible Physical EnvironmentCommitment to Remedial ProgrammingEncouraging Appropriate BehaviorLifelong Learning7.Working With Families and Agencies in Perspective8. What Have We Learned?Key PointsKey VocabularySelf-Assessment IIAnswer Key for Self-AssessmentsOn Your OwnResourcesBooksJournals & ArticlesOrganizationsReferencesIndex

"The authors have presented an easy-to-read resource with self-assessments that can be used to help guide staff development on understanding basic tenets of special education and how parental invovlvement can be increased."