Technical assistance may be defined as help from an outside agency designed to improve the competence of educational service delivery personnel by increasing their planning, management and organisational or programmatic skills as applied to tasks of service delivery to pupils. Such assistance may function within and between the federal, state or regional levels of governments, tertiary institutions, schools and other agencies concerned with educational service delivery. The limitations of traditional ‘ad hoc’ consultation systems are discussed and a formal model for technical asssistance delivery is proposed. It is argued that a realistic service would combine both formal and informal elements and would include problem analyses, development of inservice training curricula, the conduct of surveys and service needs, assessment, development and review of publications, design and conduct of evaluations, assistance to apply new techniques of service and other means of translating knowledge into practice.

On November 29, 1975, President Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of Public Law 94 - 142. This is the most comprehensive and complex piece of legislation for the handicapped to become federal law. Unlike other federal education laws, it is not permissive. States may or may not qualify for federal aid in carrying out the law, but regardless of the availability of funds, all states are required to provide free appropriate education to all handicapped children between the ages of 3 and 18 by September 1978, and between the ages of 3 and 21 by September 1980. Also, unlike other federal education laws, this law has no expiration date but is regarded as permanent. The law reflects not only interest but a specific commitment to all handicapped children.

Specialised methods that are geared toward individualized programs may prove ineffectual with the moderately retarded child when instruction is provided in a small group setting. The demands of attending behaviour and observing behaviour may conflict. The effects of vicarious learning may depend upon active verbalization by observers (Cullinan, 1976) the provision of verbal rules, task complexity and the gender of the observer and model (Litrownik, Franzini and Turner, 1976), the combination of modelling and verbal cues Yoder and Forehand, 1974) and the utilization of self-reinforcement and self-instruction techniques (Guralnick, 1976). Others have studied the effects of reinforcement given to one subject while a second observes (Bandura and Walters, 1963; Barnwell and Sechrest, 1965). Studies have examined the effects of vicarious reinforcement upon behavioural problems in educational settings (Becker, Engelmann and Thomas, 1971; Broden, Bruce, Mitchell, Canter and Hall, 1970; Meacham and Weisen, 1969) and upon work performance in a sheltered workshop setting (Kazdin, 1973).

The social acceptance (by nonhandicapped children) of four former pupils of a special school for physically handicapped children was examined. The pupils had previously (18 months prior to the study) been transferred to regular primary and intermediate schools as part of an integration (mainstreaming) programme. The physically handicapped children and their nonhandicapped classmates showed very similar patterns of social interaction during unsupervised playground activities, and similar levels of social acceptance (sociometric data and teachers’ ratings). Case study data indicated that all physically handicapped children had apparently made a successful adaptation to the physical, academic, and social demands of the regular school, but considerable variation was evident both in the social difficulties encountered by the children during the integration period and in their current (and future) special educational needs.

In the last 20 years there has been considerable attention given to what has become known as the Doman-Delacato technique for the treatment of learning-disabled children (Delacato, 1959, 1963, 1966; and Doman, Spitz, Sucman, Delacato, and Doman, 1960). The treatment technique is based upon a theory of neurological organization that argues that each child's ontological neurological development is the same as phylogenic development of man as a species. It is argued that after conception the neurological development of man proceeds through successive resemblances to the fish, amphibian, animal, mammal, and finally becomes that of homo sapiens. This series of resemblances is considered to be a reflection of the development of the central nervous system from the spinal cord, through the old brain to the cerebral cortex and finally to the emergence of the dominance of one cerebral hemisphere.

This research examines current systems being used to evaluate mildly I.H. adolescents in their last years of schooling. The suitability of the S.P.I.B. and the P.A.C-2 as evaluation devices in social and pre-vocational competence for students attending Victorian Special Schools was examined. Eighteen Special School S’s were administered the S.P.I.B. and evaluated on P.A.C-2. The sample showed to have similar competencies with the standardization samples of both the S.P.I.B. and the P.A.C-2. A positive correlation was found between Victorian S’s particular P.A.C-2 and S.P.I.B. ability areas. The P.A.C-2 has also shown that it has a realistic relationship between evaluation and further training.

The use of operant techniques in the teaching of language and speech skills has developed to the extent that rehabilitation of pathological speech conditions such as asphasia and stuttering has been repeatedly demonstrated (Sloane and MacAulay, 1968). Children labelled psychotic and autistic are also reported to have benefited from operant approaches (Lovaas, 1968; Hewett, 1965). Later work by Baer and Guess (1971), and Wheeler and Sulzer (1970) developed complex speech patterns in their subjects. The latter developed telegraphic speech into a complete sentence format and Baer and Guess developed correct use of comparative and superlative adjectives.

Pallister Young People’s Unit is an adolescent treatment and special education unit attached to Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, New South Wales.

The Unit, originally a girl’s home, changed its terms of reference in early 1977 to incorporate and develop a professionally orientated treatment and education programme so that it could more effectively meet the needs of many adolescents, both boys and girls, experiencing socio-emotional disturbance.

The Unit is housed in a rather beautiful building built in 1892 and overlooks the upper reaches of the harbour. Although not purpose built, Pallister retains the atmosphere of a family home. This aspect of the Unit the professional staff are eager to maintain because, although they see the Unit as a special service delivery, it is also a therapeutic community where young people can experience emotional growth, through community living.

Unless there is a specialist art and craft teacher in the school, this area of instruction is left to the classroom teacher. Such was the case at White Gum Valley. As my special interest is pottery, I use this medium for craft lessons. Many students from other classes expressed the desire to take pottery, so I decided to hold a weekend workshop for them.

The general aims were to consolidate expressed interest in a rewarding leisure time activity, to help develop mature attitudes, good work habits and responsibility. I also hoped to foster perseverance, care and attention to detail, to increase concentration span and to develop a critical appraisal of one’s work.