Setting the Standard for Inclusion in the Classroom

This paper takes a critical look at disparity between United States legislation that mandates that all students have access to the general curriculum and the proclivity for school systems to use the laws as a justification for segregating students with special needs from the mainstream. The author argues that interpretation of the New York State educational learning standards are defined too narrowly to allow access to the general curriculum for all students and encourages professionals to utilize creative and nontraditional approaches to broadening the interpretation of the standard so that students with and without disabilities are provided a platform for shared learning experiences. A table of examples highlighting potential activities to allow students across diverse learning styles to engage in activities that meet basic curriculum standards is provided. Finally, the author urges a move away from standard-based educational reform toward a model of professional reform to improve the academic and skill-based performance of all students as a means to ensure that there is, indeed, No Child Left Behind

Integrating Essential Elements of Person-Centered Transition Planning Practices Into the Development of the Individualized Education Program With All Students with Disabilities

This is the second of two white papers that were developed to look at the potential for integrating a person-centered approach into the design and implementation of transition planning with individuals with disabilities in high school across nine demonstration sites in New York State. While the first paper, Infusing a Person-Centered Approach into Transition Planning for Students with Developmental Disabilities, 2001, looked at the barriers present within and between systems of support, this paper provides a deeper view of the strategies, methods and approaches that proved to be effective in supporting and/or sustaining person-centered practices within the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Through an emphasis on the need to utilize post-school outcomes as a basis for transition planning, a real example is provided to highlight the contrast between the use of person-centered practices in the development of an IEP and the use of typical special education programming. A model that overlays person-centered practices into the existing IEP process is suggested along with several suggestions proven effective in leading to seamless transition across the school experience. The paper concludes with a review of the data across the project life (1998-2000) identifying the accomplishments and challenges experienced by project participants, as well as overall recommendations to the field

Shifting from traditional to evidence-based practices for people with severe mental illness

This publication briefly explains the philosophy upon which the Career Development Initiative (CDI) was developed. The CDI, sponsor by the New York State Office of Mental Health, works in collaboration with the Cornell University, Employment and Disability Institute to enhance the existing service delivery system in state-operated psychiatric centers providing vocational rehabilitation services

Infusing a Person Centered Approach Into Transition Planning For Students with Developmental Disabilities

This is the first of two white papers reflective of the work of nine separate demonstration sites interested in integrating person-centered practices into the design and delivery of transition services for high school youth who have developmental disabilities. The reader is provided with an overview of the project and a description of the four universal criteria that each site agreed to adhere to as they designed program approaches that were uniquely tailored to their specific demographics. After a look at the transition policy current to 2001, the paper reveals early project findings regarding the strengths and gaps for person-centered transition planning as culled from project reports. A discussion of where person-centered planning “fits” within the transition process is placed in the context of three primary core components that should be reflected in all transition service programs and a model for infusing person-centered planning is offered. Finally, recommendations for implementing or furthering these practices are introduced along with the contact information for each of the participating demonstration sites

Inmate to Citizen: Using Person-Centered Practices to Facilitate the Successful Re-entry of Inmates with Special Needs into Community Membership Roles – Module III

Making Community Connections. Module 3 deepens the learning participants acquired in the previous core trainings by advancing the concepts of community beyond the typical surface approach to making community connections. Participants learn and apply methods of Asset-Based Community Development to the drafting of a preliminary transition plan that integrates the development of a positive profile with the identification of potential community roles that are the respected and valued contributions of citizens. Strategies for teaching participants how to identify critical planning partners to expand the network for effective transition services completes this module in the series

The Power of Person-Centered Planning

The purpose of this article is to awaken the reader to the possibilities which exist when working on Person-Centered Planning and the individual with intellectual disabilities, specifically, Down syndrome. Although Person-Centered Planning has been in existence for more than two decades, it is viewed in a new way through the experiences documented in this article by individuals, and the use of a new format which includes photography, the computer, and a guide for what questions to ask and how to ask them. The central question of what caregivers can do once the Person-Centered Plan is enacted is posed as well. The Person-Centered Plan is seen as not disability-specific, but a capacity building process in which the personnel involved are key to linking the individual to the community in order for dreams and personal goals to be realized

Establishing a New Standard for Inclusion in the Classroom

This paper challenges the generally accepted norm that special education is a place in which to put students rather than a process for supporting inclusion into the general education curriculum. The process of determining the Least Restricted Environment (LRE) for a student may actually serve to restrict students who have disabilities from participating in classes alongside their non-disabled peers. The paper offers an alternative model for developing lesson plans that can include students of varied learning abilities and identifies qualities that can and must be present in order to create an inclusive classroom

Implications of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program for Young Adults

On December 17, 1999, President Clinton signed the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (P.L. 106-170) into law establishing in section 101(a) the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket to Work Program) as well as several other provisions to support the movement of beneficiaries with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) into employment. The Ticket to Work Program was established to expand the universe of providers available to beneficiaries with disabilities as they are afforded the opportunity to choose from whom they access their needed employment services and supports. The Ticket to Work Program also increased provider incentives to serve these individuals. The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers this new program with the support of Maximus, Inc, the entity contracted with by the SSA to serve as the program manager. The SSA is currently contracting with agencies to serve as Employment Networks (EN). These ENs perform an array of duties under the law, including providing employment services, vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, and other support services to assist individuals with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment. Under this program, the SSA is directed to provide to beneficiaries with disabilities who meet certain eligibility criteria a Ticket they may use to obtain employment services, VR services and/or other support services from an EN of their choice. “A Ticket under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is a document that provides evidence of SSA’s agreement to pay an EN or a State VR agency for providing employment services, VR services and/or other support services to a Ticket recipient who requests such services.” (SSA 2001, p. 12) The Ticket to Work Program will be phased in nationally over a three-year period beginning in January, 2002, with beneficiaries in 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin. The remaining states will be included by January, 2004

Learning from Other Communities

This paper reflects a synopsis of the work in person/family-centered planning representative of its implementation across a variety of disability service systems, including prisons, schools, community-based service agencies and institutional settings. The authors who have contributed to this paper have direct experience in the field working with individuals who have disability labels of severe and persistent mental illness, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and learning disabilities. It is their hope that this paper will serve to guide the emerging best practice in the design and delivery of person-centered service delivery systems

Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of β-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation

Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD