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The purpose of this article is to respond to the perspectives of Agran and colleagues concerning barriers to general education placement for students with significant support needs from an "on the ground" lens of participation in mediations and due process hearings, as well as conversations with parental inclusion advocates throughout the country. We focus on rights, wrongs, and remedies regarding three key issues: (a) strengthening professional development, (b) conducting and disseminating research on inclusive practices, and (c) reforming policy for stronger implementation and accountability.

We invite you to read this Exchange focusing on the need to have more coherence and consistency in terminology/descriptions and in anticipated outcomes related to self-determination funding. We also invite you to contribute to a national dialogue to seek the coherence and consistency for which the article advocates. You can join the online discussion by visiting the Beach Center website ( www.beachcenter.org ) and looking on the home page for a link to the discussion board or you may link to the discussion board through TASH.org . Please join in!

The purpose of the study was 2-fold: (a) to explore the perceptions of individuals with cognitive disabilities and/ or autism regarding barriers and solutions they have experienced related to problem behavior, and (b) to elicit suggestions on areas viewed as most helpful in increasing quality of life while reducing or eliminating problem behavior. A qualitative method of inquiry using focus groups and individual interviews was used. Several themes emerged from the focus groups, including the difficulties participants experienced with communication; participants' need for personal decision making and privacy; and the importance of recreation, employment, selection of living situations, and relationships with friends and family members. The article indicates the importance of listening carefully to individuals with disabilities as a first step in improving the quality of their lives.

AbstractNoting the absence of sound theoretical underpinnings for family quality of life (FQoL) research and work, the authors note that, to guide FQoL practice, research findings must be schematically organized so as to enable practitioners to implement empirical findings effectively. One way to meet this goal is to introduce a theoretical model that clearly displays and describes the relationships among variables that explain FQoL. Thus, the authors propose a theory of FQoL designed to explain how various concepts—systems, performance, individuals, and family units—influence variations in FQoL. In defining each of the concepts, they describe the theory's application within the context of a family vignette, illustrating how professionals might apply theoretical propositions to their practice. In their application, they stress that the application of the FQoL theory they presented is not an end but rather a developmental stage that leads to further refinement of the FQoL theory. The application and development of this theory is a reciprocal process among researchers, practitioners, and families. Further, their FQoL theoretical model can serve to enable practitioners to examine which family, ecological, and programmatic variables are amenable to change to positively impact FQoL. Given this, they assert that FQoL is not a static concept but, instead, ebbs and flows during the course of raising a child with a disability. They call for further collaborative work among workers to continually improve the FQoL theory and to successfully implement it in practice.