We use student-level data on elementary special education identification from Washington state to explore student identification rates in the months immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and over 2 subsequent years. Special education identification rates dropped dramatically in March 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 school year…

We analyze student-level data on elementary special education identification in Washington state to explore how identification rates changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that special education identification rates dropped dramatically in March 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 school year and remained below historical norms throughout…

Home literacy environment (HLE) refers to children's exposure to and engagement in reading-related activities in the home. Although HLE is known to be related to successful early reading achievement in general, less is known about this relation for students with learning disabilities (LDs). We investigated the relation between HLE and reading…

This study examined the psychometric properties of two common frameworks for scoring retell data (i.e., clause- and idea unit-based methods) among 86 third- through fifth-grade students with dyslexia. At the beginning and end of the school year, students read two grade-level R-CBM probes (one orally and one silently) and engaged in a retell…

Word reading disabilities (WRD) represent the most common disability in reading; however, questions remain regarding how to design instruction that results in significant, long-lasting effects on word reading outcomes for individuals who experience considerable difficulties that persist within and beyond primary grades. Two related studies…

Previous research investigating spelling interventions for students with learning disabilities (LD) are synthesized. A comprehensive search of the professional literature between 1990 and 2020 yielded a total of 19 elementary studies and 20 secondary intervention studies that delivered spelling interventions to students with LD and measured…

While most students receiving special education services in school are educated with the same general curriculum (i.e., instructional materials) as their peers without disabilities, students with extensive support needs and significant cognitive disabilities may qualify to receive instruction with alternate curricular materials aligned with…

Background and Aims: Students with intellectual disability benefit from high-quality instruction in reading and mathematics. Methods: This Theoretical Paper outlines the need for effective, evidence-based instructional practices for this population and the potential for observation research to inform such advancements. We report our systematic…

Children with elevated traits of ADHD are known to underachieve academically. Based on the state regulation deficit model of ADHD, increased motor activity may have a functional role and improve academic performance by raising the arousal level. In this context, a useful tool could be the bouncy band: a strong elastic band that can be attached to…

The inclusion of children with disabilities within general physical education contexts poses challenges in maximizing their learning potential. The purpose of this case study was to investigate physical activity levels and correct motor skill trials of a child with a developmental delay in relation to her typically developing peers and the extent…

Curriculum-based measures (CBMs), which allow educators to monitor progress over time and make instructional decisions based on student performance, represent a fixture of general approaches to reading and data-based instructional frameworks. However, evidence supporting the use of CBM for students with intellectual disabilities is limited. This…

The plastination technique produces non-toxic human tissues, ensuring their safe handling in educational settings. This investigation aimed to understand if visually impaired students profit from the use of plastinated anatomical specimens in learning the anatomy of the nervous system. For this purpose, their learning performance was compared to…

This case study of an inclusive classroom examined neurotypical (NT) children's perspectives on their relationships with their classmates with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data were collected through observations and interviews. Findings showed that social relationships between NT children and their classmates with ASD in integrated classrooms…

Graphomotor and handwriting disabilities (GD and HD, respectively) could significantly reduce children's quality of life. Effective remediation depends on proper diagnosis; however, current approaches to diagnosis and assessment of GD and HD have several limitations and knowledge gaps, e.g. they are subjective, they do not facilitate…

This study examines the use of braille contractions in a corpus of spelling tests from braille-reading children in grades 1-4, with particular attention to braille contractions that create mismatches with morphological structure. Braille is a tactile writing system that enables people who are blind or visually impaired to read and write. In…