This dissertation presents the results from a mixed methods study designed to understand what beliefs urban middle school general education teachers hold when it comes to supporting students with disabilities (SWDs) in an inclusion classroom including classrooms that implement the integrated co-teaching (ICT) model. The quantitative portion of…

This study addresses the need for policy change based on best practices in post-secondary education for students with disabilities. The implementation of federal policies must be reviewed to increase retention and student success for students with disabilities. This research analysis is grounded in social and Disability Diversity DisConnect models…

The prevention and treatment of mental health concerns are consistently named among autistic adults' highest clinical and research priorities. While several theories have been proposed to explain the high prevalence of depression and anxiety in autistic populations, virtually no longitudinal research has evaluated causal mechanisms. The first…

High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) are a deceptively simple concept in the field of education. On the one hand it is amazing to have a list of key practices that all teachers should learn and be able to implement when teaching students of all backgrounds and ability levels, including those with disabilities. On the other, teaching is rarely simple,…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how United States K-12 special education teachers as classroom leaders describe their readiness responses (technology acceptance, utilization, and perceived ability) to teach special education students via online learning during a crisis that limits face-to-face learning, such as the…

Maintaining healthy cognitive functioning and delaying cognitive decline in cognitively intact and cognitively impaired adults are major research initiatives for addressing dementia disease burden. Music interventions are promising, non-pharmaceutical treatment options for preserving cognitive function and psychological health in older adults with…

Longitudinal research is crucial to fully assess the putative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with an intellectual disability in special school settings--ideally drawing on data pre-pandemic to be able to evaluate later impact. Data on challenging behaviour and adaptive skills were collected annually for 348 students in one special…

Background: Intellectual disability organisations in the Netherlands are seeking to improve clients' quality of care by implementing methods that reduce involuntary care. This study described insights gained from sharing tacit and experiential implementation knowledge in Communities of Practice (CoP). Method: In a participatory research, managers,…

Classrooms are often noisy environments, which can result in unfavorable learning conditions for students. However, research has insufficiently addressed how noisy classrooms affect autistic students. This preliminary study examined differences in, and the impact of, background noise on reading performance for elementary-aged autistic and…

Many countries grapple with the tension between commitment to inclusive education reform and the closure of special schools. This tension is particularly problematic for countries, like Australia, that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is clear that closing special schools is pivotal to…

Purpose: Children with speech sound disorder (SSD) are at known risk for literacy deficits. The purpose of this study was to review the available literature for intervention approaches that simultaneously target the development of literacy and speech sound production skills in children with SSD. Method: In this review, we examined the available…

As schools become more inclusive, and with existing teacher shortages, teacher dispositions play a significant role in enhancing the education of students with disabilities (SWDs) in inclusive settings. University programs play an important role in preparing pre-service special education teachers not only with the knowledge and skills needed to…

The purposes of the present study were a) to evaluate the construct validity of a questionnaire measuring parental physical activity (PA) orientation, and b) to examine the association between constructs of parental PA orientation and parental explicit PA modelling in parents of young children with disabilities. One hundred and thirty-five…

Purpose: The current study examined the predictive role of gestures and gesture-speech combinations on later spoken language outcomes in minimally verbal (MV) autistic children enrolled in a blended naturalistic developmental/behavioral intervention (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation [JASPER] + Enhanced Milieu Teaching…

More than 90% of IDEA funding is allocated to Part B, Grants to States (Section 611), which contains funding and policy provisions related to special education for children ages 3 to 21. The influence of federal Part B, Grants to States funding on state and local funding decisions is twofold: 1) it links eligibility for IDEA grants to compliance…