Abstract
The field of special education has primary responsibility for providing specialized services to young children with disabilities in the schools. Increasingly, it is recognized that many disabilities identified among young children may be attributable to environmental variables, such as violence, poverty, toxic materials exposure, and family dysfunction. Issues of violence hold particular relevance for special education professionals. Recent studies report that young children with disabilities are 1.7 times more likely to be victims of maltreatment than children without disabilities. For children with disabilities living with the effects of violence, the infrastructure of special education as it is now developing may be the most promising approach to individual and systems intervention. Comprehensive community-based initiatives are replacing fragmented practices. The new collaborations can multiply the results of intervention or support programs beyond those attainable through any single approach.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartelt, D. (1994). The macroecology of educational outcomes.National Center on Education in the Inner Cities Review, 3(1), 2–3.
Goldman, B. A. (1994).Toxic waste and race revisited. Washington, DC Center for Policy Alternatives.
Groves, B., Zuckerman, B., Marans, S., & Cohen, D. (1993). Silent victims: Children who witness violence.Journal of the American Medical Association, 269, 262–264.
Hill, R. (1994, August 25). Center takes a new tack on learning.Washington Post, D-1, D-8.
Kaplan-Sanoff, M., Parker, S., & Zuckerman, B. (1991). Poverty and early childhood development: What do we know, and what should we do?Infants and Young Children, 4(1), 68–76.
National Education Goals Panel. (1993).The national education goals report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
NIDRR: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. (1994, July).Focus group on the new universe of disability. Conducted in Washington, DC.
Osofsky, J. (1994). Introduction. In J. Osofsky & E. Fenichel (Eds.),Caring for infants and toddlers in violent environments: Hurt, healing, and hope (pp. 3–6). Arlington, VA: Zero to Three/National Center for Clinical Infant Programs.
Westat, Incorporated. (1994).The maltreatment of children with disabilities. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.
Yancy, W. L., & Saporito, S. J. (1994). Ecological embeddedness of educational processes.National Center on Education in the Inner Cities Review, 3(1), 4–5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect policies of the U.S. Department of Education.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Houle, G.R. Violence and the changing universe of disabilities. Early Childhood Educ J 23, 197–200 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02353335
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02353335