Education Commons^™

Students With Orthopedic Impairments' Perspectives Toward Integrated Physical Education, Katherine E. Holland

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Students with disabilities are educated in general physical education classes with their same aged peers more now than ever before (Governmental Accountability Office [GAO], 2010), yet little is known about how those with orthopedic impairments experience these integrated classes. Additionally, while a plethora of strategies are described as promoting ‘inclusion’, very few ‘inclusive’ strategies have been problematized. This dissertation followed a two-study format. The first study explored the lived experiences of students with orthopedic impairments in integrated physical education classes, and the second study examined how students with orthopedic impairments experienced strategies identified in the literature to support ‘inclusion’. An …

Physical Education And Extracurricular Activity Participation Of Autistic, Neurodivergent, Disabled Trans Adults, Steven Kelly Holland

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Disabled trans students may be multiply marginalized and/or have reduced access to otherwise affirming gender identity- or disability-related spaces in educational contexts because of their intersectional identities. At present, a limited understanding of disabled trans students school experiences are known. This dissertation was constructed using a two-manuscript format. The purpose of the first study was to investigate the physical education experiences of disabled trans adults. The study was conducted from an interpretivist paradigm and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the lived experiences of disabled trans adults. Six adults (aged 18-30), who identified as: autistic, neurodivergent, disabled, trans, non-binary, …

Lessons Learned: What The Covid-19 Global Pandemic Has Taught Us About Teaching, Technology And Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jane Roitsch, Robert L. Moore, Annemarie Horn

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose. This paper examines the impact of the abrupt transition from attending school face-to-face to participating in online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as reported by a parent of a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Design/methodology/approach. A phone interview was conducted with the parent of a child with ASD. The semi-structured interview focused on how the child’s family was impacted when classes shifted to virtual from face-to-face learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings. Four themes emerged from the interview. Three of these included adjustments to changes in 1) routines and roles, 2) …

A Survey Of Registered Behavior Technicians: Initial And Ongoing Training And Support, Gabriela Mcwhorter Zapatero

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit from early intervention, specifically applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA is often implemented by paraprofessionals who are known as registered behavior technicians (RBTs). For many years, educators have known the value of corrective feedback in relation to skill acquisition. In this case, emphasis was placed on the proclivities of the staff in regard to feedback. This mixed methodology study examined the various strategies currently utilized to instruct RBTs, as well as their preferences for initial and continued training. Results indicated the majority of RBTs who responded to the online survey were being trained …

Check-In/Check-Out To Increase Academic Engagement And Classroom Behavior Among Adolescent Students In Juvenile Detention Centers, Rakan M. Alshammari

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The use of multi-tiered techniques can address many students’ needs (e.g., problem behaviors, academic disengagement) in schools and juvenile detention centers. Some students have serious problems that may lead to poor academic performance and prevent them from being successful in school and in life. Check-in, check-out (CICO) is an effective second-tier intervention to address problem behaviors evidenced by these students. The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the effectiveness of using the CICO intervention on the four dependent variables (i.e., problem behaviors, appropriate behaviors, academic engagement, academic disengagement) among four incarcerated students. An A-B-A-B reversal design was used …

A Case Study On The Application And Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports For Students With Emotional Disabilities In Alternative Education, Kira Candelieri Marcari

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Alternative educational settings are serving students with emotional disabilities (ED) at an increasing rate; however, there a paucity of research examining the effectiveness of these programs. A review of the existing literature targeting students with problematic behaviors, supports the use of a positive, preventative, proactive, and systematic approaches such as the three-tiered, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) framework. Although findings suggest that the PBIS framework is associated with favorable outcomes for students with ED in both traditional and nontraditional settings, few studies have explicitly examined whether PBIS can be effectively modified to fit the needs of students with ED …

Online Behaviors Of Teenagers On The Autism Spectrum, Amelia Anderson, Abigail Phillips

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Internet can be a source of connection and support for teenagers on the autism spectrum. This study explores how teenagers on the autism spectrum who identify as library users spend time online by addressing the following research questions: How do teens on the autism spectrum participate in the online environment? And, how do teens on the autism spectrum make sense of social media? Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed from nine participants, recruited through online discussion forums. Implications suggest a potential role for educators and librarians to offer opportunities and support in creating and building online connections.

Internet-Of-Things Devices In Support Of The Development Of Echoic Skills Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Krzysztof J. Rechowicz, John B. Stull, Michelle M. Hascall, Saikou Y. Diallo, Kevin J. O'Brien

VMASC Publications

A significant therapeutic challenge for people with disabilities is the development of verbal and echoic skills. Digital voice assistants (DVAs), such as Amazon’s Alexa, provide networked intelligence to billions of Internet-of-Things devices and have the potential to offer opportunities to people, such as those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to advance these necessary skills. Voice interfaces can enable children with ASD to practice such skills at home; however, it remains unclear whether DVAs can be as proficient as therapists in recognizing utterances by a developing speaker. We developed an Alexa-based skill called ASPECT to measure how well the DVA …

Literature Review: Progressive Time Delay As An Instructional Method For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mindy Medrana, Natalia Allen

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

We conducted a review of the literature on articles published between 1990 and 2020 that measured the effects of progressive time delay (PTD) on skill acquisition in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In all, 11 experimental research articles, each of which employed a single-case methodology, were deemed appropriate for our review according to inclusionary criteria. We analyzed studies according to methodological details, including participant information, dependent variables, skill acquisition, generalization, and follow-up measures. Findings from our review support the efficacy of PTD as an instructional procedure used to teach students with ASD. That is, all of the reviewed empirical …

Using Eye Tracking To Explore Visual Attention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anne M.P. Michalek, Jonna Bobzien, Victor A. Lugo, Chung Hao Chen, Ann Bruhn, Michail Giannakos

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Video social stories are used to facilitate understanding of social situations for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study explored the use of eye tracking technology to understand how adolescents with and without ASD visually attend to video social story content and whether visual attention is related to content comprehension. Six adolescents, with and without ASD, viewed a video social story of visiting a dental office. Eye gaze metrics, including fixation duration and count, and visit duration were collected to measure visual attention, and a knowledge assessment was administered for comprehension. Results indicated adolescents with ASD fixated and maintained …

Lessons From The Past And Challenges For The Future: Inclusive Education For Students With Unique Needs, William Evans, Robert A. Gable, Amany Habib

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The school-age population of students is becoming increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse. There is mounting recognition that English Learners (EL) represent a unique group of students who have special educational and linguistic needs. This article considered the needs of learners with diverse special needs such as (a) learning and behavior challenges and (b) English Learners identified as students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). We highlighted some potential lessons to be learned from past-to-present efforts to serve students with behavior problems. Selected evidence-based practices were featured that are applicable to learners with special needs, thereby supporting the development …

The Effects Of Teacher-Delivered E-Coaching On Paraeducators And Students, Annemarie L. Horn, Marcia L. Rock, Andy M. Markelz (Ed.)

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Paraeducators play a vital role in providing special education services to students with disabilities, yet they often enter the classroom with inadequate training. Using a multiplebaseline across participants research design, we evaluated the effects of job-embedded bug-in-ear (BIE) coaching delivered to paraeducators on their use of behavior specific praise (BSP) while working 1:1 with transition-age students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results showed all paraeducators used optimal rates of BSP during the intervention condition while receiving immediate feedback from the special education teacher (i.e., eCoach). High rates of BSP were sustained over time, and changes in expressive social and communicative …