As changes in legislation impact the education of students with significant cognitive disabilities, teachers must determine how to provide access to the general education curriculum. This is a particular challenge because of the intense needs of these students. Research was needed to examine the materials and instructional strategies utilized to…

Secondary public education for students with severe disabilities offers some of the last opportunities for improved social/behavioral skills, activities of daily living, and cognitive/academic instruction. The problem is that thorough descriptions of self-contained classroom ecology and teachers' use of evidence-based strategies are limited.…

Modified schema-based instruction (MSBI) is a strategy to teach mathematical word problem solving to students with moderate and severe disabilities (MSD). In this comprehensive review, we explore the current state of research on MSBI to determine whether MSBI is an evidence-based practice (EBP) for students with MSD. We reviewed 12 studies, of…

A high-quality education in the social studies is recommended by the National Council for the Social Studies to promote civic competence and democratic participation for school system graduates. Currently, limited empirical information exists to inform social studies instruction for students with significant intellectual disability (SID),…

Behavior-specific praise has been deemed an effective, evidence-based positive behavioral intervention and support practice for use among high school students with severe intellectual disabilities. However, teachers are not adequately trained to use such practices with fidelity. One way to address this shortcoming is by implementing a performance…

This study measured the effect of an evidence-based science curriculum delivered in both English and Spanish using the preview-view-review (PVR) strategy, on the science vocabulary and content knowledge acquired by students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities who were learning English. The intervention was compared to the same…

Federal law requires all students, including those with significant intellectual disability, to make progress toward grade-level general education standards. The alignment between standards, curriculum, and instruction is vital for ensuring equitable opportunities to learn. Commercially available curricula attempt to support teachers and students…

Objectives: Upper limb motor dysfunction often occurs in individuals with intellectual disabilities, affecting their daily self-care abilities and employability. Therefore, enhancing their upper limb motor function could improve the quality of life. This study investigated the impact of Frisbee game course on the upper limb motor function of…

An in-depth literature review was conducted to identify the skills, behaviors, expectations, and experiences (SBEEs) associated with employment, further education, and independent living for students with significant cognitive disabilities following high school. Analysis of 53 quantitative and qualitative studies identified 103 specific SBEEs…

This study investigated the relation between grade level, support needs, and use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and the participation of secondary age students with intellectual disability in school-sponsored extracurricular activities. Participants were special education teachers with at least one student with an intellectual…

There has been a slight increase in the number of studies focused on the strategies used to introduce content-based instruction to students with moderate/severe disability. However, interventions for students with significant intellectual disability (ID) are lacking adapted materials to make instruction available in all major academic areas…

Individuals with intellectual disabilities are underemployed when compared to their non-disabled peers. This employment gap has major implications for teachers working with students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. The federal government has mandated that educators work to increase beneficial post-school outcomes, including…

Price comparison is a functional mathematics skill involving purchasing, use of money, and budgeting, with the goal of selecting the best deal based on a person's financial resources (Browder, Spooner, & Trela, 2011). The operational definition of "price comparison" is to compare the magnitudes of the price numbers and then select…

Advances in and the decreased cost of technology has resulted in a significant increase in educational programming that incorporates technology into the school curriculum. Specifically, the use of iPads has become quite common to support students social, communication, and academic outcomes in recent years; however, many students with moderate to…

This study sought to understand what the narratives of young people with severe intellectual disabilities revealed about their envisioned future, articulated as desired post-school outcomes. Drawing upon a case study involving in-depth interviews of families and adolescents with intellectual disability attending secondary school in the southern…