Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Working With Families Of Young Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Through Tele-Intervention, Amanda M. Rudge Phd, Betsy Moog Brooks Edd, Arlene Stredler-Brown Phd

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Tele-intervention services have been utilized for many years to serve families of young children, in addition to or in lieu of traditional in-person intervention services. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic cultivated urgent dependence on access to effective services via a distance connection. As such, the need for information, guidance, and resources related to tele-intervention as a primary service model has increased. This article serves as the introduction to a monographic series aiming to describe practices, circumstances, and perceptions surrounding tele-intervention services for families of children aged birth to five who are deaf or hard of hearing. Topics include: (a) a brief …

Emotional And Behavioral Disorders: Current Definitions, Terminology, And Prevalence, Edward A. Polloway, Rosel H. Schewel, James M. Kauffman, Antonia Charles, Tom E.C. Smith, James R. Patton, Lihua Yang

LC Journal of Special Education

This study provides an analysis of state guidelines with respect to terminology and definitions in emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) as well as demographic trends. The data were analyzed from the web-based state guidelines for terminology and definitions for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and then from mining data from the most recent reports of the United States Department of Education on IDEA (USDOE, 2015, 2016). Significant findings included current information on state-based terminology, state definitions, and school prevalence. Implications are made with special attention to these factors as identified above as they relate to educational programs …

Graphic Models And Instructional Tools For Students With Special Needs (Revised), Edward A. Polloway, Jacqueline Lubin

LC Journal of Special Education

This document is intended for educators with interest in students with special needs. It provides various graphical models and instructional tools that relate to teaching reading, writing, math, and social studies and science to students with disabilities. The paper is divided into four sections: reading, writing, math, social studies and science. In each section, multiple examples of models are provided. The information provided can be used for general knowledge, as part of course content in special education classes and/or as reference material. The authors acknowledge the work of Allison Meade and Wendy Bailey-Joseph in developing an earlier edition of this …

Demographic Trends In Educational Programs For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Edward A. Polloway, Rosel H. Schewel, James M. Kauffman, Tom E.C. Smith, Antonia Charles

LC Journal of Special Education

This study analyzes demographic data in the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The data are from the most recent reports of the United States Department of Education on IDEA (USDOE, 2015, 2016). Findings focus on school prevalence, ethnicity, placement in educational environments, and school exit patterns. Implications focus in particular on attention to these respective demographic areas identified above as they relate to educational programs.

Dir Floortime Therapy, Rebecca C. Matheson

LC Journal of Special Education

DIR Floortime Therapy is a social pragmatic approach used to help children with autism develop stronger verbal and social skills. Dr. Stanley Greenspan determined there were six milestones all children must master in order to develop appropriate language and social skills. DIR Floortime Therapy engages with the child through play in order to create a naturalistic environment that helps children achieve these milestones. While the approach is not evidence based, several studies have been conducted using DIR Floortime Therapy to strengthen language and social skills in young children with autism. The majority of these studies found a greater increase in …

The Impact Of Early Childhood Education On The Phonological Awareness Development Of Young Children, Antonia M. Charles

LC Journal of Special Education

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of curriculum and pre-school programming of an early learning center on the phonemic and phonological performance of students. This research firstly examined whether there was a significant increase in students’ phonological awareness performance after instruction. It secondly compared the performance of students identified as coming from a low income household to those who were not identified as coming from a low income households. Finally, it examined the performance of students with disabilities to their counterparts without disabilities.

The Portrayal Of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities Within The Media: A Critique Of Six Films Produced Across Sixteen Years, Becca Irvine

LC Journal of Special Education

This paper will explore six films that involve individuals with developmental disabilities and gain a better grasp on the portrayal as determined through the attached tables. The films that were critiqued include Adam, Radio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Forrest Gump, Tru Confessions, and The Ringer. These films span a total of 16 years and involve main characters and supporting characters with developmental disabilities, some played by actors who are typically developing and others played by actors with disabilities. Through careful observations, the films were reviewed for a variety of means, including social communication and interaction, behaviors, and presence in early …

Etiology Of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd): Familial Perceptions Versus Empirically Validated Data, Jacqueline Lubin

LC Journal of Special Education

Presently, there is desynchronization between what parents and family member perceive as causal factors and what research has proven to be possible indicators. This is of great concern because parents choose interventions based on what they perceive to be the cause of ASD (Dardennes et al., 2011). The implication of this is that parents may unintentionally opt for interventions which may be unsuitable for their child. This research paper will seek to highlight and discuss the factors that parents, family and professionals in the field perceive as causes of ASD and the factors that research have identified as triggers (or …

Embracing Resiliency: Practical Strategies To Minimize Teacher Burnout And Elevate Retention, Melissa D. Reed, Heather Caswell, Monica Wong-Ratcliff

The Advocate

Abstract

Teacher shortage constitutes a crisis in the U.S. and the education system at-large. In light of the crisis of teacher shortage and the severity of turnover rate, the purpose of this paper is to join in the dialogue to further the conversation regarding how believing or reinforcing stereotypes can contribute to burnout and unrealistic expectations teachers face in education. Suggestions for pre-service and in-service teachers to acquire a more realistic and resilient lens for themselves as educators and the profession is presented. The following themes will be explored: collaboration, embracing vulnerability, empowerment and agency, support and mentoring, and self-care …

Sibling-Mediated Interventions For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Jacqueline Lubin

LC Journal of Special Education

Siblings spend a significant proportion of the day with siblings with autism than do their typically developing peers. Therefore, sibling-mediated interventions should be a major part of the repertoire of interventions used to aid children with autism develop social skills. Bass and Mulick (2007) explained that using siblings as social intervention agents have several benefits, including constant practice opportunities in the natural setting, parental support and the increased probability of generalization of social skills learned. Therefore, this paper will examine validated sibling-mediated interventions and discuss their effectiveness in enhancing social competence in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Homework Problems And Remedies, Antonia M. Charles

LC Journal of Special Education

This literature review provides a summary of some of the homework problems experienced by students with learning difficulties documented in previous research. It also seeks to outline some practical suggestions which can be utilized to remediate the homework problems experienced by this group of students. Finally, this review examines the role of teachers in assisting this group of students become successful in this regard.

Phonemic Awareness: An Important Piece Of The Reading Puzzle, Brandi Booker

LC Journal of Special Education

The purpose of this paper is to provide research findings on phonemic awareness. The major topics to be discussed are assessment, strategies, and effectiveness. This paper will conclude with a discussion on the major topics and its importance for special education.

Promoting Self-Determination In Iep Meetings, Hyunjoo Lee, Hsiang-Yi Wu

LC Journal of Special Education

Promoting self-determination has been linked to the IEP process, given the focus on decision making and goal setting within such meetings. A student with a disability can take an active role in his/her meeting by leading the meeting, describing his or her information to others, self- advocating about hopes and accommodation, making choices as it pertains to future goals and transition services, and solving possible problems. The IEP meeting can be a powerful place for students with disabilities to learn and practice decision-making and other skills leading to enhanced self-determination. The purpose of this literature review is to identify the …

Promoting The Self-Determination Of Students With Severe Cognitive Disabilities, Sookyung Shin, Vera Lynne Stroup-Rentier

LC Journal of Special Education

This literature review explores five published articles focused on the promotion of self- determination of students with severe cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this literature review is to better understand the details of the interventions designed to support students with the most severe cognitive disabilities. Within this framework, data was collected to examine participants, settings, implementers, and results. All five studies reported positive outcomes for all students in the promotion of self-determination.

Choice Making And Individuals With Significant Disabilities, Jacob Wolf, Kristin Joannou

LC Journal of Special Education

This literature review addresses issues and trends pertaining to choice making for individuals with significant disabilities. The benefits and development of choice making will be addressed, followed by a summary of several barriers to choice making. The review concludes with a synthesis of strategies and interventions for increasing effective choice-making opportunities, including choice-making formats, teaching choice making, and building choice making into daily contexts.

Parent Autonomy Support For Children With Low Achievement And Disabilities, Caya Chiu, Shana Haines

LC Journal of Special Education

Only a limited amount of research focuses on building skills leading to enhanced self- determination for children with disabilities within the home environment (Abery & Stancliffe, 1996; Shogren & Turnbull, 2006), even though families play a critical role in developing the self-determination of their children (Abery & Zajac, 1996; Palmer et al., 2012). According to Shogren and Turnbull (2006), this lack of attention on developing the self-determination of children with disabilities at home, within families, “may detrimentally limit the field’s ability to support children, and families, in developing the capacity for, or for promoting, self- determination” (p. 341). Some research, …

Communicative Competence And Self-Determination, Sonya Spolsky, Gina Debarthe

LC Journal of Special Education

Self-determination describes people acting as the primary causal agents in their lives through their own volition (Wehmeyer, 1998; Wehmeyer, 2005). Volition means making choices with intention and consciousness. Self-determination consists of four essential characteristics related to volition: Autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self realization (Wehmeyer et al., 2007). Acting autonomously, in a manner to achieve specified goals, problem solving to meet those goals and being aware of the possible outcomes describe some of the activities related to volition and the characteristic of self determination (Light & Gullens, 2000; Wehmeyer et al., 2007). Self-determined people influence their own lives. People with …

Introduction To Special Topic Issue On Self-Determination, Michael L. Wehmeyer

LC Journal of Special Education

Over the past two decades, promoting the self-determination of students with disabilities has become a best practice in secondary education and transition services (Wehmeyer, Abery, Mithaug, & Stancliffe, 2003; Wehmeyer, Agran, Hughes, Martin, Mithaug, & Palmer, 2007). Self-determination refers to self- (vs. other-) caused action—to people acting volitionally, based on their own will. Volition is the capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention. Self- determined behavior is volitional, self-caused or self-initiated action.

Self-Injury And Behavior Supports For People With Intellectual Disability, Lihua Yang

LC Journal of Special Education

The purpose of this paper is to seek strategies that can be effective to support behaviors of individuals with ID. The major topics will be addressed include the characteristics of people with ID, concerns and causes of SIB, and interventions used to address this behavior. The paper then concludes with a discussion of choosing different strategies for individuals with ID to accommodate individuals’ needs.

Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies For Individuals With Learning Disabilities: A Research Synthesis, Gordon B. Worcester Ii

LC Journal of Special Education

This paper will explore and synthesize the body of current research on effective reading comprehension instruction and strategies. Beginning with a survey of several variables that affect working memory and executive processes, this paper will discuss how the mind’s ability to interpret text and derive meaning is a critical component for reading comprehension. The article will also explore how the elements of the working memory affect student with learning disabilities (LD). Furthermore, the working memory’s executive process is essential for the “simultaneous process of extracting and construction meaning” from text (Garcia-Madruga et al., 2013, p. 155). In addition, this paper …