Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Occupational Therapy's Role In Supporting Individuals With Down Syndrome Through An Employment Program, Jenny Rossopoulos, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This poster presents the implementation of an existing employment program, EmployAble to a new group of individuals with Down syndrome. The presentation outlines the methods, program design, and curriculum. Additionally, this capstone project aims to explore the support mechanisms for individuals with disabilities in the workplace and the education of employers regarding inclusive employment practices.

Classroom Reintegration For Children And Adolescents With Traumatic Brain Injuries, Alli Perkins, Mary Greer, Keith Mcwilliams

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of the poster presentation is to increase the present knowledge regarding the process of school-based reintegration for children and adolescents who have experienced a traumatic brain injury. As children and young adults spend an average of 32 hours per week in the school environment, parents, educators, and rehabilitation professionals are ideally positioned to collaborate with one another to facilitate the reintegration process and enable students to return to their primary occupations of educational participation, social participation, play, and leisure. The presentation includes information from the development and implementation of a program for parents, families, and educators of those …

The Transition To Adulthood For High School Students With Special Needs, Athena Hays, Mary Jan Greer, Jinna Danser

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

The reason for many special needs students not engaging in occupations after high school is because many guardians have not had to navigate this type of transition before and are not provided enough education on what these opportunities include before their students graduate. Many students with special needs do not optimize their engagement in the community because guardians are not being provided with education on post-graduate opportunities.

The purpose of my Doctoral Capstone Project is to develop an educational transition service program for special needs students as well as guardians and teachers of these students preparing for high school graduation …

Effects Of Emotional And Behavioral Disorders And Executive Dysfunction On Literacy Achievement: Through The Lens Of Secondary-Level Education, Natalie Deutsch

Student Research Poster Presentations 2024

The study examined the effects of emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) and executive dysfunction on literacy achievement in secondary-level education. The research questions focused on behavior interventions for at-risk students with behavioral disorders, the association between E/BD signs and reading deficits, incorporating executive functioning skills into reading instruction, and the positive and negative effects of self-contained classrooms on students with EBD. The study found that accommodating the specific needs of students with E/BD and executive dysfunction led to a statistically significant increase in mean test scores. The methods involved tiered intervention programs within the Units of Study curriculum, executive functioning …

Unlocking Understanding About Giftedness, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The goal of undergraduate teacher preparation programs is to prepare future teachers to work with all learners. Gifted and talented learners are likely found in every classroom regardless of where they reside, however, according to Rinn et al. (2022), Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nebraska do not require undergraduate teacher candidates to take university coursework on gifted education. The goal of this presentation is to provide a general overview of gifted education specific to Kansas. This presentation aims to address myths and misconceptions about gifted education and gifted learners, characteristics of gifted learners, a basic overview of a general identification …

Improving Performance And Participation Of Elementary School Students Through A Coteaching Model, Carson Roberts, Angela Labrie Blackwell, Anna Fung

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This project explored the use of a coteaching program with a general education teacher and OTD student at an elementary school. The poster provides an overview of the methods used, an overview of the coteaching program that was implemented, and the significance and implications of this project. The purpose of this coteaching program was to develop a coteaching program in which occupational therapists and general education teachers work together in classrooms to improve performance and participation of students with and without disabilities.

Occupational Therapy's Role In Mealtime Participation In Schools, Jaidee Mae Reyes, Karen Park

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

A mixed-methods research design was utilized to explore the role of occupational therapy in mealtime participation in school-based settings. Interviews and surveys were completed to understand occupational therapy practicers' perceptions, attitudes, and experiences with providing services related to mealtime. The themes that emerged from the study including (a) occupational therapy practitioners experience inhibiting and supporting contextual factors that affect their involvement in mealtime, (b) admin and occupational therapy culture and the interpretation of educational relevance can differ between each school, and (c) occupational therapy practitioners go through a decision-making process when deciding to address mealtime.

An Occupational Therapy Guide To Regulation And Resilience In The Classroom, Catherine Newton, Jazminne Orozco-Arteaga

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

An occupational therapy educational program that focuses on increasing teachers' knowledge surrounding childhood trauma as well as promoting regulation and resilience in the classroom.

Employment And Career Planning Opportunities For Young Adults With Disabilities: Advocating For Occupational Therapy, Ashley Jenkins, Keisa Boykin

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Problem: There is greater involvement of OT in transition planning services to provide a unique, client-centered perspective to enable greater engagement in meaningful employment opportunities

Purpose: The purpose of this capstone project is to advocate for the role of OT in employment-based training programs for young adults with disabilities following their transition out of high school.

Calm Sr: Classroom Activities For Learning And Managing Self-Regulation, Corina Arroyo, Angela Labrie Blackwell, Mallorie Garcia

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

CALM SR is a program developed for 3-4-year-olds to increase successful participation in desired occupations due to improved self-regulation skills. This program is designed for implementation in a preschool setting over the course of 9 weeks. This program incorporates activities that target sill acquisition across multiple domains. Activities are supplemented by literature, visual displays, modeling, and facilitation of the self-regulation process.

Occupational Therapist Perception And Utilization Of Occupation-Based Evaluation And Assessment With Children And Youth With Asd., Zalome Restrepo, Pam Kasyan-Howe, Kristin Domville, Kristina Hartsook

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Children with ASD participate less in ADLs & IADLs than typically developing children(Travers et al.,2022). The problem is a gap between the known occupation-based assessments and utilization of the assessments by occupational therapists treating children and youth with ASD (Manee et al., 2020; Luna, 2019). This gap results in decreased activity participation diversity for the child and decreased ability for the occupational therapists to evidence effectiveness of occupation-based services (Manee et al., 2020; Luna, 2019). The purpose of this quantitative type of capstone project is to analyze occupational therapists who treat children and youth with ASD to determine the utilization …

Creating A Gifted-Friendly Classroom, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The goal of undergraduate teacher preparation programs is to equip future teachers to work with all learners. Gifted and talented learners are likely found in every classroom regardless of where they reside. According to Rinn et al. (2022), Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nebraska do not require undergraduate teacher candidates to take university coursework on gifted education. The goal of this presentation is to provide a general overview of gifted education specific to Kansas. This presentation aims to address myths and misconceptions about gifted education and gifted learners, characteristics of gifted learners, a basic overview of a general identification process, …

Student With Twice-Exceptionalities Iep Meeting Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

General education teachers should remember that all students are general education students, first. We need to be prepared to work with students of all abilities in our classrooms. As general education teachers, we have an active role on a child’s IEP team and an active role during the IEP meeting. This assignment asked preservice teachers to develop a script of what they would say at an IEP meeting of one character from four different novels that would be considered a child with twice-exceptionalities.

Registered Apprenticeship Programs And Teacher Residencies: Building Shared Understandings Between Workforce Development And Education, Prepared To Teach, Bank Street College

Prepared to Teach

This brief is the first in a series exploring principles that Prepared To Teach has surfaced as helpful for designing Registered Apprenticeship Programs for teacher residencies to promote and support high-quality teacher preparation systems. Sign up for our monthly newsletter for future releases.

Inservice Middle School Teachers' Understanding Of Views Of Nature Of Science (Vnos), Merika Charupoom, Emily Carter, Yasmeen Hernandez

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

What is a misconception? A view or opinion that is incorrect based on faulty thinking or understanding. Misconceptions may originate from personal experience, imprecise language, lack of examples and non-examples in concept formation, media representation of phenomena, errors in logic, and textbooks. Often occurs from the inconsistency in science curriculums among instittuions and education systems.

Effects of Misconceptions: Gap in knowledge/understanding that is taught from teacher to student; Decrease in the academic success of students.

Nevada is ranked 49th in educational attainment, 42nd in school quality, 46th in best school systems in America.

One way to help us understand whether …

Inclusive Employment Opportunities For Adults With Down Syndrome, Valerie Schlieder, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Adults with Down syndrome (DS) face several barriers to inclusive and community-based employment opportunities, including the DS phenotype, volition, and disability stigma. The purpose of this project was to create a strengths-based occupational therapy (OT) group program to address these barriers. Using information from the needs assessment as well as the Ecology of Human Performance model, the Model of Human Occupation, and the Social Model of Disability, the EmployAble program was created. EmployAble took place twice a week for five weeks and included six adults with DS, ages 19-32. The group focused on employment readiness skills such as interpersonal skills, …

Sensory Preference And Learning Preference In Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Dyslexia, Jennifer Gomez, Hope Mccarroll, Lisa Griggs-Stapleton

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Is there a connection between a child’s sensory preferences and their learning preference? Sensory processing disorders are a heavily researched topic in current literature and many children with sensory differences present with learning disabilities, but research is lacking concerning any connection between sensory processing and learning. This research study examines children’s sensory preferences and learning preferences and denotes trends between these two variables. 15 participants were recruited from the Accommodated Learning Academy in Grapevine, Texas, a private school for students 1st-12th grade with learning delays. The sample of 15 participants consisted of 12 females and 3 males, aged 11-15 years …

Early Intervention Occupational Therapy Program Development Abroad, Hattie Fleming, Karen Park

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This program aimed to address the disparity in access to early intervention (EI) occupational therapy (OT) services which exists in certain communities abroad. This project worked with The Inspiration Center (TIC) in Belize, a community identified through needs assessment as having limited access to OT services, to expand current programming to include EI OT services, to increase understanding of the role of OT, to advocate for the OT profession within Belize, and to increase access to EI services for families with children with disability and/or developmental delay within the country. An emphasis was placed on caregiver coaching and culturally responsive …

Individuals With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities And Meaningful Employment, Bethanie Hernandez, Angela Labrie Blackwell, Evan Edward Dean

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Individuals with disabilities tend to face poverty at a higher rate compared to those without disabilities (Kelley, 2016). Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) benefit from a variety of supports to work in their communities. Not providing services to address these needs can cause increased unemployment rates and dependence on others. Currently, there is a lack of attention by OTP on supporting individuals with IDD (14-26 years) when acquiring meaningful employment. Increasing OTP’s awareness about the relationship between self-determination and employment can promote more services. Self-Determination is about acting or causing things to happen in your life as you …

The Role Of Medical Language In Patient Care: Designing An Educational Session On The Use Of Non-Stigmatizing Language, Daniel Dooling

EMET Projects

No abstract provided.

Improving Classroom Climate And Engagement At The Secondary Special Education Level Through The Implementation Of Classroom Management Strategies, Pauline Mickavicz

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

A lack of professional development, the complexity of interventions, and limited data to reflect upon have implemented successful classroom management strategies challenging for special educators. These barriers negatively impact classroom climate and achievement in special education rooms. Educators should receive support to execute classroom management strategies confidently to decrease problem behavior and increase student engagement. Best practice classroom management strategies should be narrowed down to hone in on interventions and simplify the complexity of the delivery. Data collection will play an integral role in the reflection process and provide insight into how classroom management can be examined at the high …

The Benefits And Challenges Of Rural Special Education Teachers: Improving Teacher Retention In Rural Districts, Olga Karadimou

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

Per the U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.), a rural area is “any population, housing, or territory NOT in an urban area.” Specifically, a rural area is defined as the area of 5 to 25 miles from an urban area (Geverdt, 2015). Nationally, rural school districts represent nearly 20% of the student population in the United States, but limited attention is given to the unique needs of these areas by national policymakers (Johnson et al., 2018). Rural schools face multifaceted challenges that often impede educational opportunities and post-school outcomes of students, including those who receive special education services (Erickson et al., 2012; …

Increasing Oral Reading Fluency Rate Of Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities Through Cooperative Learning, Kristin Stuffick

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

This study highlights the importance of focusing on student motivation and engagement to encourage an optimistic school and future education viewpoint. Student interest can be maintained by promoting student choice in their reading materials to align with individual interests and increase comprehension retention. The long-term implications of reading difficulties can affect individuals after middle school by lessening their chances of earning a high school diploma, leading to decreased annual income and increased reliance on government assistance throughout their lifetime.

Review Of I Talk Like A River By Jordan Scott, Katie E. Gosman

Library Intern Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Universal Design For Learning’S Successful Implementation: What Can Administrators Do?, Monica Grillo

Graduate Research Posters

Administrators have a unique position to influence teacher attitudes by creating an inclusive school culture and providing instructional leadership. Implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a critical issue for public schools in our country. UDL is an inclusive framework based on the science of learning. It supports and removes barriers to learning for all students while maintaining high expectations. Federal education policies have called for inclusive instruction based on UDL principles. Nevertheless, our educators and administrators are not sure they believe in it and do not know what exactly it is or how to implement it with fidelity. Previous …

Occupational Therapist Role In Post-Secondary Education Transition Program: Emphasis On Self-Advocacy Skills, Nikki Voorhees, Becki Cohill, Susan Macdermott

Fall 2020 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

It is becoming increasingly important for individuals to obtain post-secondary education in order to gain employment (Alverson et al., 2019; Chandroo et al., 2018). This increased importance to attend post-secondary education makes it imperative for students who are graduating from high school to be fully prepared for the transition to post-secondary education (Rothman et al., 2008). The transition from high school to post-secondary education is difficult for any individual. However, it is even more difficult for students with learning differences, as they tend to have problems in the areas of social skills, communication, problem solving, self-advocacy, and executive functioning (Alverson …

Immersion For Change: A Cultural Discovery Project To Lessen Educator Bias By Increasing Perspective, Kari Payne

Poster Presentations

This cultural project focused on increasing cultural competency and lessening implicit bias for both myself and the agency I work for. The process highlighted how important relationships and ongoing connection are when blending the needs of the New Mainer Population with those serving the children in the community.

Inclusion/Services And Family Engagement: Leadership Opportunities, Nicole Drown

Poster Presentations

Project was created to provide: data driven materials to Maine's Child Development Services; resources and supports to families; and exploration into Applied Behavioral Analysis for Behavioral Intervention Support learning.

Examining Restraint, Isolation, And Seclusion: The Process, The Literature, And The Data Of A Research-Based Lend Leadership Project, Desiree Peña

Poster Presentations

The University of Maine’s Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) embarked on a study, funded by the Maine Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council, to analyze the effect of increased support and training may have in reducing restraints, isolation, and seclusions at a private agency with residential and educational programs in various cities in Maine.

• Across all of its sites, this private agency has been utilizing Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), a comprehensive crisis management program, designed by researchers at Cornell University. A team from Cornell is currently providing additional training in TCI implementation to agency staff at a specific site. …

Eces Supporting Children In Their Classrooms Who Have Exceptionalities, Shannon Beckford

Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership (HBECL) Capstone Research Posters

“Providing education to those with special needs has increasingly become an issue of moral necessity over the last few decades" (Karska & Boyle, 2014, p. 228). There has been an increase in the number of children requiring additional support within classroom settings. Educators are often exposed to children with various sets of needs within their classrooms. Therefore, educators need to have a certain level of knowledge and understanding with regard to the various types of exceptionalities amongst children. This qualitative study investigated and analyzed concepts surrounding early childhood educators (ECEs) supporting children with exceptionalities. Data was collected through the process …