Distance education celebrates its humanitarian mission of providing opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized individuals who do not have access to traditional campus-based higher education. Large enrolments of students necessitate an industrialized approach in planning, design, and delivery informed by a normative assumption of ableism. In…

This study explored performance on expressive and receptive graphic symbol tasks and spoken comprehension by individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as well as the relationship of performance with participants' skills and characteristics. Participants were 19 children and youth (aged 5- to 18-years-old) who used aided…

Purpose: Today, an ever-increasing number of technological advancements are becoming mainstream. As the availability of technological innovations increases, so do opportunities for evaluating any benefits of those innovations in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) research for individuals with developmental disabilities. One…

Purpose: Cochlear implants (CIs) provide significant benefits for profoundly deaf children in their language and cognitive development. However, it remains unclear whether Mandarin-speaking young children with early implantation can develop age-equivalent phonological awareness (PA) skill and working memory (WM) capacity as their normal hearing…

Purpose: Processing narrow focus (NF), the stressed word in the sentence, includes both the perceptual ability to identify the stressed word in the sentence and the pragmatic-semantic ability to comprehend the nonexplicit linguistic message. NF and its underlying meaning can be conveyed only via the auditory modality. Therefore, NF can be…

The goal of this work was to explore ways, within an existing engineering curriculum, to address the culture of disengagement by challenging the dominant engineering mindset. We conducted Collaborative Action Research to explore the implementation of Transformative Learning pedagogies in a Human-Centered Design context to understand how students…

Students who have visual impairments (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) have additional difficulties accessing educational materials as compared to their typically sighted peers. Teachers of students with visual impairments need to be prepared to teach their students assistive technology skills that are both general and…

This study delivered an intervention that included education, contact by video, an environmental assessment and reflection activity, and hands-on experiences via a university course that centred on the Go Baby Go programme. Go Baby Go involves modifying off-the-shelf, battery-operated, ride-on cars for young children with disabilities to use for…

Problem: Nurse practitioners lack knowledge and skills to effectively communicate with D/deaf individuals which potentiates risk for health disparities and gaps in care. Graduate nursing programs rarely incorporate D/deaf-focused education in their curriculums. Methods: This descriptive quality improvement project implemented the first…

Recent studies suggest that benefiting early from both a cochlear implant (CI) and exposure to cued speech (CS, support system for the perception of oral language) positively impacts deaf children's speech perception, speech intelligibility, and reading. This study aims to show how: 1/CS-based speech perception ("cue reading"), and…

The application of the Universal Design for Learning framework favors the creation of virtual educational environments for all. It requires the development of accessible content, a usable platform and the use of flexible didactics and evaluations that promote the constant motivation of students. The present study aims to design a methodology to…

Prior research suggests that physical activity aids students with children affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are more likely to exhibit high levels of inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors that result in difficulties in academic and social settings. Because of the lack of alternative treatments, the…

This predictive correlational study investigated to what extent, if at all, the constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) predicted special educators' use of assistive technology (AT) in virtual and hybrid settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was distributed to educators (n = 104) across the United…

In the present era of inclusion, special schools increasingly serve as spaces for the delivery of supplementary education and rehabilitation services for mainstreamed disabled children. A history of segregation and institutionalization weigh heavily on the sector, prompting many special educators to advocate for students' continued mainstreaming…

Student engagement in the classroom is important for academic and future success. Many students with disabilities rely on classroom supports, such as assistive technology (AT), to access the curriculum and demonstrate their understanding. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many school districts to abruptly shift to emergency remote instruction. Numerous…