Since the beginning of higher education, universities have remained largely closed off spaces for disabled students. This paper examines how, and why, it has largely been in the last fifty years that these students have slowly been able to enter universities as the sector has made incremental improvements to enable the entry of students from…

This study investigates the effect of offering multiple means of representing content, one aspect of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Students across the full range of the dis/ability spectrum all too often struggle to achieve course success. UDL-based course design promises to help students with disabilities (whether disclosed or not) as well…

The purpose of educational assessments is to provide an academic check-up and to give educators and parents meaningful information on what students know and can do, and how well they are progressing toward college and career readiness. Assessments strive to show how well students perform on clearly defined standards and skills that are being…

This presentation shares preliminary results from a literature scoping review to identify how the concept of Universal Design (UD) has been applied to district and large-scale academic assessments in the U.S. Guiding research questions were: (1) How has the concept of UD been described and applied to K-12 large-scale academic assessments? And (2)…

In February 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget recommended suspending the state-mandated physical fitness test (FitnessGram®) for three years due to concerns over bullying and test discrimination against students who identify as gender non-binary and students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to gain an…

Background: An employer's attitude is essential in the workplace. It is often associated with hiring behaviors, in addition to their required awareness and knowledge of providing reasonable assistive technology (AT) and workplace accommodations (WA) for persons with disabilities (PwDs). Objective: The study aimed to draw out knowledge and feedback…

This DataNote describes the characteristics of, services received by, and employment outcomes of adults with an intellectual disability (ID) who exited from the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program during fiscal years (FY) 2014 through 2023, in the 50 US states and the District of Columbia (DC). The brief compares the findings of adults with ID…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum and learning activities may help students learn social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies needed to support independence and community living, as well as 21st-century career development skills. Including robotics and coding curriculum in elementary classrooms can offer all…

Separate school placements persist for students with extensive support needs (ESN) despite longstanding federal mandates for all students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment. This study extends research on separate school placement for students with ESN to explore the potential impact of locale and charter school…

Students with learning disabilities tend to enroll in two-year community colleges more than they do four-year universities, have lower graduation and retention rates as compared to their non-disabled peers, and experience greater academic, social, and personal difficulties when pursuing a college degree. Yet, despite the higher number of students…

This issue, "On Counting What Matters: Finding Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Population Health Data," presents an overview of health surveillance research for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. Although public health now conducts surveillance of people with…

Implementation science examines the process of how programs are put into action to produce outcomes and represents an emerging approach for analyzing the utilization of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in school settings. When EBPs are implemented effectively, they result in positive student outcomes. The "Self-Determined Learning Model of…

Background: People with intellectual developmental disorders have significant health disparities and a lack of proper attention to their health needs. They have been underrepresented in scientific research, and very few studies have been carried out using a representative randomized sample. The aim of this study was to describe the methods used in…

Background: Participation is a central aspect of quality of life, and it is indicative of high-quality outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities. However, participation is difficult to achieve for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Aim: To describe staff members' perceptions of what participation means for adults…

Students with disabilities have many obstacles to overcome and challenges to address as they go through the educational system. Besides challenges with academics, behavior, and social situations, these students also need to be able to transition throughout their educational careers from different grade levels to post-school outcomes. Transition…