Including Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities in Typical Classrooms: Practical Strategies for Teachers, 2d ed.

Downing JD. Baltimore, MD 21285-0624, Paul H Brookes Publishing Co, 2002, paperback, 284 pp, illus, ISBN: 1-55766-519-2, $39.95.

The primary purpose of this book is to provide educators, support staff, and parents with successful strategies for the inclusion of children with severe or multiple disabilities in regular classroom settings on a full-time basis. The ideas for this book depend on the underlying premise that schools and school districts are committed to and support the philosophy of educating all students together. The intent of this book is to stimulate critical thinking skills that are instrumental in any team effort to include students with severe disabilities in an educational environment. The primary author and her invited contributors present a wide array of teaching strategies and unique curricular adaptations that are designed for students of all ages and are based on inclusionary values and research. These adaptations would be used to include students with severe disabilities in regular classroom settings. Their emphasis is on ensuring appropriate supports for classrooms and teachers.

This book is divided into 11 chapters, with an extensive reference list following each chapter. Four appendixes provide resources for teaching, augmentative and alternative communication, hardware manufacturers, and videotapes on inclusion.

Chapter 1 focuses on the rationale for inclusion. Chapter 2 highlights policy changes that have occurred in general and special education since 1980 and discusses promising approaches for students with severe disabilities within the general education system. Chapter 3 delineates educational concerns within inclusive environments from preschool through high school and examines educational strategies within these environments. Chapter 4 addresses issues of inclusion for preschool children. Chapter 5 addresses issues of inclusion facing the student from kindergarten through elementary school. Chapter 6 focuses on issues concerning inclusion for students in middle school and junior high school, where more complex academic work and subject-based learning are evident.

Chapter 7 addresses the needs of the high school student who is involved in an inclusionary setting, where a degree of flexibility is introduced in order to facilitate individual growth and preference. Chapter 8 highlights the crucial role that peers play in the education of students with severe and multiple impairments in an inclusive setting. Chapter 9 discusses the role of the "team members" (ie, anyone working with the child in the educational setting, including parents, teachers, and health care professionals) and strategies to develop parity for all team members. Chapter 10 emphasizes that assessing and documenting student learning is important and needed. Finally, chapter 11 uses a question-and-answer format to acknowledge specific questions or concerns that may remain for the readers.

One limitation of the book is that the appendixes do not list any Web-based resources. This limitation, however, does not detract from the overall quality of the book. This would be an excellent reference for any educator who is working on an inclusionary team for children with severe and multiple disabilities for the first time. It also would be valuable for other service providers who are unfamiliar with school-based intervention and the "inclusive education" model.

Deborah E Thorpe, PT, PhD, PCS
The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

Dr Thorpe is Assistant Professor in the Division of Physical Therapy, Center for Human Movement Science. She conducts research on aquatic exercise and its effects on functional outcomes in people with cerebral palsy, on anticipatory motor response in people with autism, and on the effects of cognitive strategies and types of feedback on motor learning in children with and without disabilities.