This brief covers issues related to the assessment of dual sensory loss in students with significant cognitive disabilities, including the impact of suspected dual sensory loss on communication and learning and recommendations for assessment.

Inclusion of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities is a complex topic in special education. This study, conducted in a typical junior high school setting, examined the use of peer tutors to support three students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in a general education teen living classroom. Using a…

Despite an emphasis in the field on triadic approaches to the delivery of early intervention (EI), remarkably little is known about the shared experiences of caregivers (CGs) and providers during home visits. Within the context of developing, refining, and evaluating the "Embedded Practices and Intervention With Caregivers" (EPIC)…

This article considers some aspects of the 'what, why and how' of individualising reflective assessments. It is an attempt to understand what works well in a special needs setting but it can also be applied within a mainstream context. The article comprises evidence, in the form of practitioner observations, during the author's work with eight…

'Profound and multiple learning disabilities' ('PMLD') is a term used in the UK to refer to children with extensive impairments to cognitive development. The majority of children with PMLD are taught in special schools where specialist interventions are deployed to help PMLD children progress through the preverbal stages of development. Despite…

The main purpose of this study was to explore the mental health and subjective well-being of staff working with adolescents with severe and profound multiple learning difficulties. The participants were 19 teachers and 25 teaching assistants working in an inner London, local authority, specialist day provision. A demographic questionnaire, the…

The purpose of this research study was to determine how Community Based Instruction (CBI) affects the social skills of middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities. Community Based Instruction is instruction that takes place outside of the school campus and provides students with real life experiences that can help them become more…

Attaining reliable estimates of observational measures can be challenging in school and classroom settings, as behavior can be influenced by multiple contextual factors. Generalizability (G) studies can enable researchers to estimate the reliability of observational data, and decision (D) studies can inform how many observation sessions are…

Supporting children and young people's mental health and well-being is central to UK Government policy, with statistics suggesting post-16 students and those with learning difficulties are vulnerable. This case study explored how practitioners at a special school for students with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties promote…

Background: Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) meet other children with PIMD in day care centres or schools. This study explores the peer-directed behaviours of children with PIMD, the peer interaction-influencing behaviour of the direct support workers and the children's positioning. Method: Group activities for…

This brief report describes a large-group application of the Communication Partner Instruction (CPI) training model as a means of improving the interactive skills of stakeholders who communicate with individuals with severe intellectual disabilities presenting complex communication and physical profiles. Findings support CPI for large stakeholder…

This scoping review addresses peer-reviewed research on musical interaction with children and young people with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD). Twenty-five articles published between the years 2000 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was used to summarise and evaluate different features,…

This study aims to test how an intervention based on virtual reality (VR) may enhance visuospatial skills amongst people with disability. A quasi-experimental intra-group study was therefore conducted. Participants were 20 people with severe disability (65% males; 34.35 years, on average, and 84.95% of disability rate according to the Andalusian…

There is a need to teach the pivotal skill of mathematical problem solving to students with severe disabilities, moving beyond basic skills like computation to higher level thinking skills. Problem solving is emphasized as a Standard for Mathematical Practice in the Common Core State Standards across grade levels. This article describes a…

The purpose of this study was to determine how a family communication partner (usually the mother IS primarily responsible for communication with a youth with a communication disability) could be trained to use an iPad and communication software for increasing appropriate communication and decreasing inappropriate behavior of youth with…