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The article studies the growth and development of professional special education organization in the U.S. The formation of the International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children was brought by teachers and other devoted to specific fields of special education. The acceptance of the Council as participating educational organization came rather slowly, for in the first few years of its existence.

This article discusses the role of preschool teacher in treating children who have psychological problems. It is noted that teacher's knowledge of child growth and development is important to educational and therapeutic handling of children. However, the role of the teacher has not been portrayed as one of equality or dynamic participation. Today, most of the programs utilize the preschool as therapeutic tool which include the teacher and his activities as a central and dynamic entity. Throughout the history, there are four main approaches to the treatment of disturbed children.

The article discusses the developments in the understanding of child development and its implications for exceptional children. It is emphasized that no one discipline has provided interest in the major causes and implications for an exceptional child. But recent development are now taking place in the field of developmental biology and clinical application. For the past decade, there have been no exciting development in the field of genetics. However, new discoveries revealed significant evidence on the nature and causes of abnormalities and hereditary chromosomes or genes. As a result, it has been established that a man has 46 chromosomes and a down syndrome has 47 chromosomes. The factors which influence the growth and development of an exceptional child are also mentioned in the article.

The article discusses the need of special education towards growth and development for every group of exceptional youth, whether physically handicapped, mentally handicapped, emotionally disturbed, or intellectually gifted. The special education could compensate the lack of appropriate early education. The continuing program of well-planned special education from early childhood is the only basis for successful adult living.

The article reports on developments related to the education of exceptional children in the U.S. In December 1965, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conducted its first special national conference entitled "The Effective Use of Federal Legislation in the Education of Exceptional Children," in Chicago. More than 300 special educators and general administrators attended the event and spent three days securing information from U.S. Office of Education and Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare staff, listening to national speakers, and engaging in workshops designed to effect implementation of federal legislation and to point out existing gaps in the present structure of federal legislation. At the CEC convention in Toronto, the U.S. Senate staff and the Office of Education staff considered the involvement of CEC members in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

The sex label is viewed as having a pervasive influence on the education of handicapped children. The identification of exceptional children as either male or female results in arbitrary practice, discriminatory judgments, and intervention decisions which limit opportunities for personal and vocational development and are in violation of federal legislation. Specific attention is drawn to biases contained within special class curricula which reinforce traditional roles, to vocational training practices which program children for economic discrimination by encouraging selection of traditional occupational roles, and to special class placement processes which result in the selection of a greater number of boys than girls in all significant areas of exceptionality. The implications for major activities within special education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the diversified trends that represents important advances in the psycho-socio-educational aspects of providing for the gifted and talented children. The authors cited the following trends; Greater concern with curriculum content based upon the conceptual level of the gifted, expansion of the previously narrow interpretation of giftedness through the efforts to measure special abilities and creativity, increased susceptibility of some forms of acceleration as administrative procedures; development and expansion of college and university programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels for teachers specifically trained to work with the gifted, and special programs for the retraining of teachers in science and mathematics and sponsorship of comprehensive experimentation by the U.S. Office of Education and such organizations as Ford and Carnegie Foundations as well as intensification of research activities among local schools and doctoral students.

An appraisal of accountability from a special education perspective is presented. Attention is first given to types of accountability, and then, measurement problems are addressed, including measurement, objectives, and special education; norms; limitations of standardized tests for accountability and special education; and criterion referenced measures. Recommendations for proper use of standardized tests with exceptional children are also offered. Next, statistical problems in special education accountability are taken up. These include problems with multivariate and parametric methods, regression effects, and difference scores and the measurement of change. Other aspects focused on were special education accountability at the secondary level, accountability and current understanding of special education teacher characteristics and behavior, the potentially subversive effects which accountability may have on hard to assess objectives and theory development, and problems of attributing cause and effect in accountability. Finally, a position on directions for special education accountability is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews several legislation addressing the funding of special education in the U.S. Its main purpose is to review approaches of funding for special education, the limitations of these methods and the responsibilities involved. The author argues that a dilemma has existed, namely adequacy and equity. Funds are insufficient and are distributed unequally, according to sentiments from court actions. She reviews the state's fiscal support procedure according to: 1) unit financing 2) weighted formula system 3) percentage reimbursement 4) personnel reimbursement 5) straight sum reimbursement and 6) excess cost formula.

This study was the first national study of the local administrator of special education programs in the public schools of the United States. A two phased questionnaire resulted in responses from 1,066 administrators who met the established criteria. Areas of investigation were: personal characteristics, experience, the value of various college courses and methods of instruction, certification, organizational memberships and participation, conditions of employment, role in program administration and supervision, organizational characteristics, programing elements, and selected opinions concerning current problems and issues in the administration and education of exceptional children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significance of the Model Centers Program for the early childhood education of handicapped children in the U.S. The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S. Office of Education wrote guidelines, while grant recipients wrote and submitted program proposals. Interest in the program is high however, federal funds were only able to finance 24 model centers. The major purpose of the program is to create a variety of models that demonstrate comprehensive quality services for young handicapped children and their families. Innovative developments within model centers are evident. The Project Centers Branch, a division of the Bureau, is responsible in the management of ongoing projects and the processing of proposals for new centers.

One possible reason for the failure to demonstrate the efficacy of self contained classes for the EMR lies in the failure of such classes to balance the emphasis on motivational and cognitive variables. Several motivational variables have been isolated experimentally and the research findings have been interpreted to suggest that children who have experienced excessive amounts of failure dramatically differ from children with little history of failure on these variables. Three specific motivational variables are discussed and the related research evidence presented. The variables are (a) expectancy for failure, (b) outer-directedness, and (c) positive and negative reaction tendencies. Implications are drawn and suggestions made regarding ways of dealing with these behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the organizational and administrative structure of special education. The administrative and organization structure provides the framework for the implementations of public policy regarding the exceptional children education. The policies are formulated in accordance with the societal values and aims. The school agency must have administrative unit with clearly defined line and staff responsibility for an effective implementation of educational programs and services essential to the education of special children.

There is some research to suggest a departure from the classic psychocurricular approach which uses only success in the special classes for the mentally retarded. Various patterns of success and failure were used on a population of 45 mentally retarded subjects aged 10 to 13. The results of this research indicate that there is no significant difference in performance between the students who had continuous failure and those who had continuous success experiences. However, when the subjects were exposed to a combination of success and moderate failure, their performance levels were significantly higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antecedents of the current interest in early intervention are traced, with particular attention to the applicability of early intervention for exceptional children. The rationale presented draws inferential support from animal studies concerned with the effects of early experiences, descriptive studies contrasting development in children reared in different social environments, and major conceptual analyses of the importance of early stimulation for development. Empirical support is drawn from current and previous work demonstrating the results associated with early environmental enrichment. Guidelines are suggested for future research and action programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the general information on the Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act of 1968 in the U.S. The law was designed to provide comprehensive education programs for handicapped children. The programs were focused on the poorest localities in the country. Most of the sponsoring agencies of the programs have provided consultant and other resources to each other. In addition, they expressed their interest in serving mixed handicaps. In the comprehensive education programs, a handicapped child was identified and treated at the earliest possible time.

The article provides updates on progress and developments in the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). As of May 31, 1968, the CEC has now 37,365 members enrolled in its chapters, federations, and branches. There were over 8,335 student members who are currently enrolled in CEC. The council now has also 38 federations, 555 local chapters and 9 divisions in both the U.S. and Canada. The author of this article also outlines the publications and services offered by the council, as well as the highlights of the "CEC Leadership Conference."

The article focuses on the interests of the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped to improve coordination of programs for handicapped children in the U.S. It has developed a strategy for providing active interaction within the Office of Education, and for enhancing the concept of schools as a focal point for coordination of services. The Bureau has as its elemental objective the desire to assist every child in order to his ultimate potentials. It is also concerned with the enhancement of its educational programs and facilities.

The article focuses on the involvement of the Office of Education in the support of educational research related to handicapped children and youth in the U.S. There is a continuous support to the breadth of program and the flexibility of funding. It has transformed its role from one of passive reaction to the professional community to one of active leadership in the promotion and growth of special education. The Research Division has also finished reviewing the final reports of the projects supported by the agency.

The article focuses on the program planning and evaluation functions of the Office of Program Planning and Evaluation of the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S. It aims to provide effective educational programming and services to all children with disabilities. The Office believes that the realization of this objective is through partnership among the federal agencies, state and local educational authorities, professional organizations, higher education institutions and through parent interest groups.

Although the concept of clinical teaching is a persistently recurring educational theme today, reflecting the heritage of special education, it is bidden in the pattern of teacher education programs. In order to prepare the clinician educator for membership in a multidisciplinary and interagency team, it is necessary for the academia community to innovate an approach to teacher education curricula design and to modify academic administrative structure. Basic assumptions and requirements for implementation of a clinical teacher training program are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspects of the multiple disability of mental retardation and blindness are reviewed. Discussion includes assessment, prevalence estimates, some typical behavioral characteristics, theoretical interpretations of their behavior, treatment considerations, and implications for future research and program development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of the clinician educator, capable of providing diagnosis and remediation of the variety of learning difficulties presented by exceptional children, is proposed in an integrated teacher education curriculum for special education. The gap between accumulated knowledge regarding exceptionality and existing teacher education curricula is discussed, along with problems posed by shortages of personnel and increasing concern over the qualitative aspects of special education. Courses in the integrated sequence are described, and limitations noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six blind children who had spent varying periods of time in institutions for the mentally defective were ‘uncommitted’ and placed in a residential school for the blind where they were given intensive care and special attention. Advances in IQ and progress in behavior and educational achievement are described. Brief histories of the children are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests some of the unfinished business of special education. Attention is called to the unresponsive manner in which advice of our leadership has been utilized. The long range concerns for professional standards, continuing education, legislation, class designation and groupings, and diagnostic teaching are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the increasing emphasis on special class placement of educable mentally retarded children and special preparation for teachers. This is in view of the increasing evidence that special classes have been something of a disappointment in terms of accelerating the academic progress of these children, it is proposed that a necessary area of study is a careful analysis of the extent to which special classes actually differ from regular classes in regard to teacher techniques, materials, and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports developments on the organizational activities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The 42nd Annual Meeting of the CEC held last March 31, 1964 until April 4, 1964 has registered more than three thousand convention attendees. The CEC delegate assembly members has adopted policies regarding the composition and purpose of the various committees of the Council. The applications of the Division for Children With Communication Disorders and the Division on Mental Retardation had been accepted by the Council's Board of Governors. The names of the deceased special educators who had great contributions in the field special education are presented. Harley Z. Wooden, an educator, has received the first Wallin Award by the CEC. The CEC delegate assembly has elected new members to the Council's Board of Governors.

The article focuses on the establishment of the special education's movement to further improve its efforts in providing better services for exceptional children. The early program is intended to provide assistance to the deaf, the blind and the mentally retarded people. They are defined as a network of residential programs focused on the care and education of the handicapped. These programs have expanded to include the necessary services of psychologists, therapists and guidance workers. In teaching special education, it is important for teachers to be creative, courageous, imaginative and sensitive to their needs.

The article discusses the applicability of individualized programmed instruction in the education of deaf children. Several psycholinguists have based their theories of language learning on the principle of operant conditioning. Under operant conditioning, learning takes place through trial and error and conditioning is dependent upon practice in which reinforcement is employed. In seeking to establish a specific repertory of oral or written verbal responses, the teachers of the deaf must consider the process of response differentiation. Programmed teaching with the use of auto-instructional materials addresses the need of the teachers to provide individualistic kind of teaching essential to insure verbal over-learning by a child.

The article focuses on the impact of individual differences on language learning. There are several factors which affect learning adjustment which are native to deafness. Intrinsic factors include hearing loss, mental capacities and function, physical defects and personality. Extrinsic factors include socio-economic level, parental attitudes, age of diagnosis and initiation of parental counseling and restrictions in experience. However, the extent to which the variables affect language has not been measured.

The article focuses on the comparison of the performance of the normal and subnormal students on structured categorization tasks. An experimental test of categorization ability had been constructed that consisted of a series of 27 cards. A particular test card was made for each category. The samples used for the test were two groups of boys attending public schools. The number of correct responses attained by the normal group was greater than the number of correct responses attained by the subnormal group. The result of such test may be construed to support the traditional assumption that patterns of thinking in subnormal children are simpler than those showed by the normal ones.

The article presents a vocational rehabilitation program for exceptional children through special education in the U.S. Significantly, the program is structured that each pupil may progress at his own rate of development without comparison to the theoretical norms or other pupils in his group. The author discusses the various levels of development which includes: (1) the preprimary level; (2) primary level activities; (3) intermediate level activities; (4) junior high school levels; and (5) high school levels. Furthermore, vocational rehabilitation has become actively interested in the older mentally retarded youth. The author features the Texas Plan, the vocational rehabilitation program initiated by the Texas Education Agency. The program has helped the educational agencies identify larger numbers of potential clients, long before they become of employable age.

The article focuses on the conceptual problems in research on educational provisions for disturbed children in the U.S. The author implies that the need to make educational provisions available for greater and greater numbers of disturbed children is the most recent area of widespread concern in special education. The effect of increased specialization in education may be related to the effectiveness and willingness with which teachers approach children with special problems. According to a researcher a bold, inventive program for work with troubled children would contribute more to successful treatment than many traditional research attempts.

The article provides information on the 41st annual Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) convention on April 16 to 20, 1963 in the U. S. CEC President Frances P. Conor was tasked to prepare for the program with the theme "Perspectives in Theory and Practice". There were 6 general sessions for the convention with different speakers. The topics for discussion were focused on strengthening the purposes and program of the Council. Interested parties to attend for the convention may pre-register to CEC headquarters with actual registration on the day of the convention. College students were also invited to attend with special registration fee. Guest and participants of the convention will be housed at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel.

The article discusses different approaches in teaching pre-language deaf children in the U.S. The deficiencies of a deaf child in oral skills are likely to prevent him or her from enjoying the type of relationship with others that a normally hearing child possesses. All teachers of the deaf have long tried to develop language in their pupils by building it on illustrations and immediate experiences. The problem that teachers encountered includes developing preschool programs to motivate the child's interest and accelerate his learning.

The article presents information on the education of the socially inadapted school children in the large city schools. The children who are most in need of help and reinforcement by the school are the ones who are most apt to reject school or to be rejected by the school. A study by the National Education Association (NEA) indicated that teachers in big school districts and in big schools reported more trouble with pupils than teachers in small districts and in small schools. NEA also showed evidence that the school staff may be too inclined to relieve itself of the inadapted or delinquent pupil by an early ejection or dismissal.

The article evaluates the psychoeducational processes in classes for emotionally handicapped children. The authors reviewed and analyzed a sample of program description from schools in the U.S. that are currently giving classes for emotionally handicapped children, and gathered the data from existing reports into a beginning taxonomy of the procedures and considerations involved in conducting classes for emotionally handicapped children. In this article, the researchers found that there is a need for some elderly classification of the various psychoeducational processes.

The article discusses the responsibility of the state in developing good public education program for exceptional children in the U.S. The author believes that the development of education is filled with many ideas despite many challenges. There have been a steadfast belief in public education, growing number of universities and colleges, educational objectives and high professional standards. As part of the state function to establish educational institutions, three factors has been considered in developing special education program which include special legislation enacted in every state defining the responsibilities of local districts for exceptional children, the rapid growth of special education programs that needs status and the development of balance program for all children who need special services.

The article discusses the two types of mental retardation and their need for different curricula and classroom management. Intellectual subnormality represents a statistical deviation from the psychometric norm for the test employed at the time; while, clinical mental deficiency is a behavior syndrome or clinical symptom-complex established from multiple diverse data and is associated with correspondingly subnormal academic achievement. The admittance of intellectually subnormal children to classroom instruction and its continuance is influenced solely by their academic aptitudes and progress. It has been shown that intellectually subnormal can best be cared for in a slow in a slow learning class at the junior high school or senior high school level.

The article discusses functions and roles of modern state department in providing special education services for exceptional children and youth in the U. S. The state department supervises the instructional techniques and practices necessary to fill in the gaps and insufficiencies in the undergraduate training teachers. A role which focuses on teacher-training function to support educational programs foe exceptional children. The state supervision having the dual nature of regulatory-supervisory task and the consultative functions must build a staff-relationship function for the improvement of instruction.

The article discusses the problems of confronting parents of children with handicaps. The parents will be able to secure medical care, education, and other specialized services required by the child's condition. The parents must be the specialists from the child's standpoint, in the development of a secure, friendly, and supportive environment for personality development in the young handicapped child. Sharing of responsibility and achieving togetherness in goals and methods by both parents are essential in meeting a primary need to obtain scientific information about the child's disability.

The article introduces several periodical articles and pamphlets published in the November 01, 1958 issue of the journal "Exceptional Children." "Education of the Deaf Behind the Iron Curtain: Czechoslovakia, U.S.S.R., Poland, and Yugoslavia," by Lilian Grosvenor Jones, "The Psychological and Educational Needs of Cerebral Palsied Children," by Agatha H. Bowley, "The Physical Side of Cerebral Palsy in Schools," by Eirene Collins, "Major Problems in the Instruction of the Deaf," by Evelyn M. Stahlem and "A Personal Adjustment Training (PAT); Profile," by William A. Fraenkel.

The article analyzes the approaches used in treating the emotionally disturbed child with special education. In 1955, the screening and treatment of the emotionally disturbed child was an haphazard affair. J. W. Birch has found that there is a reason to believe that the screening and treatment methods being used were inadequate as programs for treatment and detection of emotional adjustment. Furthermore, the reasons for the inadequateness of the treatment method used were the uncertainty of the treatment and the fact that not all children who needs treatment can be given treatment, lack of good screening method, and the lack of public acceptance of the emotionally disturbed child.

The article provides the views of three special educators on the proposed statement of policy by the American Association of Instructors of the Blind (AAIB) presented during the association's convention in Worthington, Ohio on June 24-28, 1956. T. Ernest Newland from the University of Illinois Institute for Research on Exceptional Children argued that the policy lacked delineation of proposed qualifications for teachers. However, he praised the association for emphasizing on technological research in the policy. On the other hand, M. Robert Barnett, executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind, saluted AAIB for coming up with a policy that would be helpful in carrying out his own agency's chartered responsibilities. William M. Cruickshank, director of Education for Exceptional Children at Syracuse University, cited some aspects of the policy statement which he think are contrary to current understanding of special education. He added that the association must look first at certain confusing factors of the policy in order to avoid confusion.

The article focuses on the physical status of children who have orthopedic limitations and are enrolled in special classes in the U.S. The psychological examination of each child in the group selected for intensive clinical study was conducted by psychologists of the Bureau of Educational Research of Child Guidance. The Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale for Adolescents and Adults Form 1 and 10 cards of the Thematic Apperception Test were administered to each child for the purpose of obtaining objective measures of intelligence and general personal-social adjustment.

The article focuses on the initial or early prevention that safeguards health for more children. Early detection is important in preventing the onset or development of a handicapping condition. A sound and practical procedure for detection and medical treatment through regular testing of all school age children was outlined in the case of the deaf and hard of hearing. In a community program of mental hygiene, preventive measures which seem to have some effect in reducing incidence of such conditions are used.

The article focuses on the risk of rejection for some exceptional children in a culture which places heavy emphasis on cosmetics and conformity. The author presents the attitudes and opinions of 84 youth workers, enrolled in a summer session course on the exceptional child, concerning eight categories of deviate children. The author also implies that rank order correlations were run between the four attitudes and opinions of the 84 respondents in an effort to note the extent of rank differences between what they most and least preferred to teach and what they believed they knew the most and least about.