Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

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 …

Effects Of Bug-In-Ear Technology On Specific Praise Statements Given By Paraeducators To Transition-Age Students With Autism, Olga Karadimou, Sierra Lotts, Annmarie Horn

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

This investigation experimentally evaluated the effects of eCoaching with Bug-in-Ear (BIE) technology on the use of contingent specific praise in three paraeducators working in a special education transition classroom. A trained special education teacher provided performance-based feedback in real-time as paraeducators worked one-on-one with transition-age students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid intellectual disability (ID). As such, we used a multiple baseline research design to evaluate the effects of the independent variable (i.e., eCoaching). Results indicated that eCoaching using BIE technology increased the use of contingent specific praise given by paraeducators as they worked one-on-one with students. Increased rates …

The Effects Of Music On Anxious Autistic Patients, C. Homan, Emily M. Buening

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

High levels of stress and low self-esteem are common in autistic individuals, especially with young adults. Various techniques have been done to help these levels even including musical interventions. Not many people know the effects music therapy has on a patient with autism. However, music can decrease the effects of anxiety and heighten self-esteem. Music therapy gives autistic patients the ability to learn how to control outbursts through music. Music therapy can allow a patient with severe autism the ability to share their emotions, and allow them to gain self-worth.

Developing Speech-Language Pathology Students’ Grammatical Identification Skills Through Gamification, Emerson Lopez Odango, Anne M. P. Michalek, Corrin Richels, Jane Roitsch

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

Background: Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are communication experts required to analyze and interpret a variety of language components (Schuele, 2010). Language sampling is a form of communication analysis and is used with adult and pediatric populations. SLPs collect and analyze language samples in an effort to make evidence-based diagnostic and intervention decisions. When analyzing a language sample, sentences must be deconstructed along a variety of parameters. At Old Dominion University (ODU), the undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders program requires students to identify broad and specific grammatical categories during language sample analysis in preparation for clinical experiences.

This research involves the design …