Extended diaper wearing may limit access to inclusive opportunities including general education settings, summer camps, community-based programming, and job opportunities. Toilet training may be delayed due to more pressing concerns, such as challenging behavior. Individualized education plans should include toilet training children with…

The problem that was the focus of this study is that many parents, both children who are typically developing and those who have special needs, are unsure of the benefits of inclusive preschool classrooms. This study is important because it enhanced understanding of how parents make informed decisions about what is educationally best for their…

Play-based learning is an integral component of the early childhood classroom; however, little research has been conducted around how children with and without disabilities engage in play within an inclusive preschool setting during center time. The present investigation utilizes the Play Observation Scale and Test of Playfulness to descriptively…

Community-based instruction (CBI) is often used to teach a myriad of skills across school, home, and community settings for students with disabilities (Fernandez et al., 2018). Despite the effectiveness of CBI interventions for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), research in this area remains limited since the last…

Purpose: Opportunities to actively engage in literacy instruction should be accessible to all students in the classroom. Shared book reading provides a literacy-based context in which teachers may adapt their communication to allow students with a range of abilities to participate. The current study examines teacher communication during shared…

Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a lifelong condition that when impacting educational performance is identified and serviced through U.S. schools as outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A few examples of educational categories that refer to DLD are (a) speech or language impairment (S/LI) and (b) specific…

More than half of the students with visual impairment (VI) have an additional developmental disability (DD) in the United States. Young children with VI and DD are at risk for language delay and these children need planned learning experiences to increase their language skills. Teachers of students with VI (TVI) have received training and special…

Effective professional development is critical for improving implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education. The present systematic review sought to gather evidence exploring the effects and key components of in-service special education teacher training in EBPs. This review identifies six essential components of training…

Stay-Play-Talk (SPT) is a peer-mediated intervention used to increase social interactions between preschoolers with developmental disabilities and typically developing (TD) peers. This intervention has been found to be successful in increasing play and reciprocal conversation amongst children with and without disabilities. The following describes…

A qualitative multiple case-study was conducted to explore the perceptions of special educators on access and application of evidence-based-practices (EBPs) to enhance play skills of students with developmental disabilities in early childhood classrooms. The problem addressed by the study relates to the gap between research and practice. A wide…

Paraeducators are ideal candidates for delivering communication interventions to children with developmental disabilities and delays (DD) because they spend a significant amount of time with these children. However, professional development is often inadequate and limited research supports best practices. Additionally, paraeducators work with…

Family involvement is an essential component of the special education process for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In addition to the legal requirement that parents should be equal partners in the decision-making of the student's individualized education program (IEP) program (IDEA, 2004), a bulk of empirical research…

The Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based (DIR) model, also known as DIR®/Floortime™, is a comprehensive approach for individuals with developmental disabilities and other disorders of relating and communicating, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Limited qualitative research exists regarding the use of the…

This study aimed to investigate teachers' assistive technology (AT) practice in teaching children with developmental disabilities (DD) in early intervention (EI) settings in Jordan. A random sample of 125 early intervention teachers participated in the study by completing the study scale; 20 teachers were later interviewed. The results indicated…

Through play and physical activities (PAs), children have many opportunities to develop gross motor skills that require the use of large muscles for movement and control. Young children use gross motor skills as they engage in daily tasks such as sitting upright, maintaining control and balance while seated, walking down the hallway, moving…