Evaluating the impact of schooling on families of severely handicapped children

Evaluating educational programs for severely handicapped children today presents a number of challenges. These programs have characteristics and features that make them quite unlike “regular” school programs for nonhandicapped children or even those for mildly handicapped children. Moreover, evaluators typically look to aspects of child progress or child gains in determining program success, but schooling for severely impaired children also has some profound implications for parents and families. Thus, this paper will focus on evaluating the impact of schooling on families of severely handicapped children. The article begins by considering the special attributes of severely handicapped children and their school programs. I will then address the impact of these programs, categorized by: (1) the impact of child-focused programs on severely handicapped children themselves; (2) the impact of child-focused programs on families; and (3) the impact of family-focused programs.