General and special education teachers report feeling inadequate in providing social skill instruction to students. Yet, researchers and government bodies (ASELA, 2015) report students receiving social skill instruction display marked improvements in: (a) motivation to learn, (b) commitment to school, (c) time devoted to schoolwork, (d) mastery of…

One successful approach for proactively reducing problem behavior is the use of a multitiered system of supports (MTSS). MTSS is usually comprised of three tiers, with an increasing intensity of support at each tier to meet student needs. Tier 1 includes preventive strategies staff implement with all students. Typically, Tier 2 behavioral…

Teaching requires attention to individual student needs by providing both adequate challenge and sufficient support to help students successfully gain academic skills (Shurr et al., 2019). The learning stages framework divides typical learning into four distinct stages: acquisition, fluency, maintenance, and generalization (Collins, 2012; Haring…

Problem-solving is a skill of fundamental importance for populations with developmental delays, and especially for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Training students with ASD to solve ill-defined problems is a challenging objective for educational and therapeutic teams. This is due to the myriad of unpredictable situations presented…

Children on the autism spectrum often experience difficulty generalizing social skills across environments and contexts, which can make developing friendships challenging in early childhood. This means that, in addition to initial social skills instruction, children with autism may need specialized supports to promote the generalization of newly…

For education to be a means of social transformation that is equitable for all, including students with disabilities, it is important for educators to understand and infuse student's multiple social identities and culture into educational planning and preparation for life. Intersectionality theory is a way to understand inequities by acknowledging…

Paraprofessionals are a crucial component of special education services and can be vital to promoting inclusive learning opportunities. Although intentions behind utilizing paraprofessional support may be good, students with disabilities may become over-reliant on paraprofessionals, thus limiting student independence in the classroom. This paper…

While the COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected families, it also accelerated the availability and use of video conferencing technology in their homes. Families will continue to experience challenges, even when children safely return to in-person instruction. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how practitioners can use behavioral…

For students with significant behavior problems, difficulties with executive function (EF) and associated self-regulation are not uncommon, and middle school is a crucial period when students are at greater risk for escalating behaviors that have long-term impacts (e.g., school dropout, incarceration; Kauffman & Landrum, 2018). Therefore, in…

Many teachers have experienced the frustration of teaching a concept and seeing students appear to grasp the concept only to discover on a test or in the next unit that they did not retain the information or skill. Although some forgetting occurs for all learners, students with high-incidence disabilities are particularly susceptible to…

Educators are often tasked with making decisions based on a body of evidence and a sound data-based decision-making process. Teachers examine data from assessments (e.g., curriculum-based measures, formal assessments, informal interviews with students' general education teachers, writing samples, and other assessment data) and find many students…

Independence is a critical skill in preparing students with disabilities for success after high school. Secondary special education teachers equip their students toward task independence across skill domains (e.g., employment, independent living), yet there is little guidance regarding a simple and systematic way to do so. MADE 2 FADE (M2F) is a…

Nationwide, students with disabilities struggle to develop foundational skills across content areas (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012, 2013). Researchers and national organizations have suggested that many students' achievement problems stem from failing to develop fluency with basic facts and skills in reading, mathematics, and…

Secondary students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) can often demonstrate skill deficits and problem behaviors in general education classes. Teachers generally understand how to implement intensive interventions, yet may not know how to address skill deficits and off-task behaviors using a function-based approach or may encounter barriers…

Teaching a skill within the highly controlled conditions of one setting and promoting the transfer of that skill to a less-structured setting may seem like an unattainable goal. Yet this is the challenge presented by many individualized education program (IEP) IEP objectives that involve generalization of a skill acquired in a resource room to be…