Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings, Canadian Edition

Tom E.C. Smith is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas. He has been on the faculties of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Prior to receiving his Ed.D. from Texas Tech University, Tom taught children with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and autism at the elementary and secondary levels. President Clinton appointed him to three terms on the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. He has served as the Executive Director of the Division on Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children since 1996. Tom's current professional interests focus on legal issues and special education.

Edward A. Polloway is a Professor of Education and Human Development at Lynchburg College in Virginia, where he has taught since 1976. He also serves as Vice-President for Graduate Studies and Community Advancement. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Virginia and his undergraduate degree from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. He has served twice as president of the Division on Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children and on the board of directors of the Council for Learning Disabilities. He also served on the committee that developed the 1992 definition of mental retardation for the American Association on Mental Retardation. He is the author of 12 books and 100 articles in the field of special education, with primary interests in the areas of learning disabilities and mental retardation.

James R. Patton is an Educational Consultant and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ed.D. from the University of Virginia, and is a former high school biology teacher and elementary-level special education resource teacher. He has taught students who were gifted and some who were gifted/learning disabled. James's professional interests include transition, life skills instruction, adult issues related to individuals with special needs, behavioural intervention planning, and classroom accommodations. He has served on national boards of the Division on Developmental Disabilities, the Council for Learning Disabilities, and the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities.

Carol A. Dowdy is Professor of Special Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she has taught since receiving her Ed.D. degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She was written eight books on special education and published 34 articles on learning disabilities. Carol has served on the national board of the Council for Learning Disabilities and the Professional Advisory Board for the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and she has worked closely with the federal department of Vocational Rehabilitation to assist in its efforts to better serve adults with learning disabilities.

Laureen J. McIntyre is an Associate Professor and Director of the Special Education Certificate program (an online teacher education program) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Saskatchewan. As an American- and Canadian-certified speech-language pathologist, Laureen worked in both community and school settings prior to completing her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (specifically, Special Education) at the University of Alberta. Her research interests relate to how individuals with varied language and learning abilities are having their literacy needs met. Specific areas she explores related to this focus include: (1) how professionals' education, knowledge, and practice are impacting the language and learning abilities of individuals with exceptionalities; and (2) the development of language and literacy skills of individuals from diverse populations.