This study explored special education teachers' experiences in using interactive technology to teach reading comprehension to students with Autism through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The research question that guided this study was: How do special education teachers perceive the usefulness of interactive technology in reading…

Background and Aims: Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) characteristically struggle with language and communication throughout the life course, but there is limited research on the development of communication before 24 months. The purpose of this study is to describe the early communication of infants and toddlers with FXS using the…

Autistic young people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties, across their lifespan. Understanding the neuropsychological mechanisms which underlie these difficulties is vital in developing personalised supports and interventions. Cognitive inflexibility is one…

Paraeducators often support students with the most intensive academic, life, and behavioral needs, which includes students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD; e.g., autism spectrum disorder; ASD), yet they typically enter the classroom with inadequate preparation to perform their roles effectively. Using a…

There is a consensus that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) fall short of the recommended 60-minute daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and some experience motor delays and abnormalities. Yet ASD interventions focusing on addressing these challenges are insufficient in the existing literature. Research evidence…

Youths' experiences in seeking and accessing help for mental health problems can have pervasive and lasting effects on personal and interpersonal functioning. In particular, youth who experience validating experiences presumably persevere in seeking help and generally have positive treatment outcomes, whereas youth who experience invalidation are…

Timely data on service use and needs across the lifespan are essential to developing an effective and efficient service delivery system that is responsive to developmental issues. This study uses data from one of the largest statewide surveys conducted between 2017 and 2018 to compare service use and unmet needs among individuals on the autism…

Purpose: Understanding students' home literacy environments can help speech-language pathologists, teachers, and other educators partner with families to promote language and literacy learning. This study focused on gaining insight into the views of parents of elementary-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who had complex…

This study explores the perceptions of academic and labor market adaptation among graduates with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in comparison to neurotypical counterparts. Contrary to the expected significant differences attributed to the unique challenges associated with ASD, the findings did not indicate major disparities in…

This dissertation consists of three empirical studies that explore the educational experiences and trajectories of English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities. The first study uses longitudinal data from four large California school districts to examine the characteristics of long-term ELs (LTELs) and former ELs--those reclassified as…

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders should have access to interventions to help them understand and support their child. This literature review examines the existing evidence for group-based parent training interventions that support parents of children with autism. From the literature, core intervention processes and outcomes are…

The prevalence of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing worldwide. There is a lack of services to support adolescents and adults with ASD in different areas including social-communication intervention. To fill these research gaps in the literature, the three studies in this dissertation extended the literature on…

Objectives: Despite suggestions of strengths and abilities of autistic people, it has been an underexplored area in autism research, the primary focus of which has been on examining differences and atypicalities as deficits rather than strengths. Understanding the self-reported impediments via first-person accounts of autistic adults for…

Very little qualitative research has been carried out about the experiences of educators who deliver mathematics evidence-based teaching programmes to autistic students. Using a semi-structured format, we interviewed ten educators who had been delivering the Teaching Early Numeracy to Children with Developmental Disabilities (TEN-DD) programme for…

The aim of this study is to determine the problems experienced by physical education teachers working with individuals with autism in the field of work and during the working process, with their own experiences and expressions. Knowing that the answers to be given by entering the inner world of the individual with a phenomenological method are…