Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Nonparticipatory Stiffness In The Male Perioral Complex, Shin-Ying Chu, Steven M. Barlow, Jaehoon Lee

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose—The objective of this study was to extend previous published findings in the authors’ laboratory using a new automated technology to quantitatively characterize nonparticipatory perioral stiffness in healthy male adults.

Method—Quantitative measures of perioral stiffness were sampled during a nonparticipatory task using a computer-controlled linear motor servo programmed to impose a series of tensile displacements over a span of approximately 24 mm at the oral angle in 20 healthy young male adults. Perioral electromyograms were simultaneously sampled to confirm nonparticipation or passive muscle state. Perioral stiffness, derived as a quotient from resultant force (ΔF) and oral span (ΔX), was modeled …

The Impact Of Enrollment In A Combined Reading And Learning Strategies Course On Exceptional Students' Fcat Reading Scale Scores, Coral Kathleen Hanson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has shown that because remediation and support replace required and career-defining courses, exceptional students fall behind, ill equipped to act in society as autonomous adults. No Child Left Behind requires reading proficiency, so students failing standardized tests must take remedial courses. Individualized education plans often require support courses. However, there remains an important gap in the literature regarding the usefulness of reading, standardized testing, and leadership research to solve this problem. A class combining reading and support for students with exceptionalities exists at 1 high school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the combined program …

The Relationship Between Instructional Delivery And Academic Motivation Of Included Elementary School Students With Special Needs, Daniele L. Kass

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal and local school system reports demonstrate an academic achievement gap in inclusive classrooms between students with and without disabilities, prompting attention to alternative instructional practices that support motivation and performance of included students. The purpose of this concurrent nested mixed method study was to fill a void in the literature and explore the impact of interdisciplinary thematic instruction on the motivation levels and performance outcomes of 6 included 5th-grade elementary students with special needs. A multiple case study design guided observations and interviews of 3 participants receiving interdisciplinary, theme-based instruction and 3 participants who continued to receive the traditional, …

Effectiveness Of Inclusion In An Indiana Middle School, Clinton Todd Bowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Repeated poor performance by students with special needs on the Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Progress (ISTEP) in an Indiana middle school supported the need for instructional changes. Following the implementation of a full inclusion program, a problem arose in that the program had not been evaluated and effectiveness was in question. This study, grounded in the constructivist and social reproduction theoretical frameworks, is important in explaining the effectiveness of a fully inclusive school. Whether placing middle school aged children with special needs in inclusive classrooms in the middle school setting is an effective practice is the research question guiding …

Reducing Isolation Through Regional Mentors And Learning Communities: A Way To Support Rural Learners, Nancy K. Glomb, T. Midenhall, L. Mason, Charles L. Salzberg

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Reinforcing and facilitating learning communities is a strategy that has been used to decrease attrition rates in traditional campus-based programs, and it has been hypothesized that applying principles of learning communities in distance education programs could have similar positive outcomes. To facilitate the development and maintenance of regional learning communities within the Mild/Moderate Distance Degree and Licensure Program at Utah State University, highly successful graduates of the program are employed as mentors within each broadcast locality to engineer regional opportunities for studying and socialization. Program evaluation respondents indicate that mentoring experiences were very helpful as they progressed through the courses …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Drawing Content From An Emerging Qa Community, Michael J. Millington

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Recruiting The Next Generation Of Special Education Teachers, Robert L. Morgan, M. Rees, J. Lyman

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How To Change Behavior In The Context Of An Fba-Based Intervention, Robert L. Morgan, T. Sellers, A. Keyl

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Teachers implementing behavior interventions are often more effective in eliminating problem behavior and building new skills if they start with functional behavior assessment (FBA). Using FBA, the teacher identifies the purpose, or function, of a problem behavior, then teaches a “replacement skill” that serves the same function. For example, rather than throw a tantrum to avoid a high demand assignment, a teacher teaches a seventh grader to approach an adult in the room to ask for help on particularly difficult problems. Or, instead of making noises to get attention, a teacher teaches a first grader to submit a card with …

The Usu Mild/Moderate Distance Degree And Licensure Program: Where We’Ve Been And Where We’Re Going, Nancy K. Glomb, Benjamin Lignugaris / Kraft, R. R. Menlove

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Providing access to quality special education teacher training programs for all qualified applicants is particularly pertinent in light of the national shortage of special education teachers. In addition, there are increasing numbers of students enrolling in Utah schools, and a percentage of that increased enrollment includes students with disabilities. The Mild/Moderate Distance Degree and Licensure Program at Utah State University began in 1995 to help address this shortage. Initially, the program was designed to recruit and prepare qualified mild/moderate special education teachers in one rural area of the state that includes two school districts. Over time, the program expanded to …

Quality Assurance And Program Evaluation: Terms, Models, And Applications, M. J. Leahy, V. A. Thielsen, Michael J. Millington, B. Austin, A. Fleming

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Quality assurance and program evaluation have become essential elements in continuous improvement efforts within the public rehabilitation program and community-based rehabilitation organizations. This article is a review of quality assurance and program evaluation models and approaches that appear the most promising in helping rehabilitation organizations improve the quality of services and outcomes of individuals receiving vocational rehabilitation services in the public and nonprofit practice settings. Examples of applications will be presented, and a discussion of key elements that appear to be critical in the design and utilization of these methods in rehabilitation administration will be discussed.

A Grounded Theory Approach To Defining Fragmentation And Unification In The Rehabilitation Counseling Profession, K. Tingey, Michael J. Millington, Jared C. Schultz

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Fragmentation has been identified in the rehabilitation counseling literature as the cause of a crisis, and unification is forwarded as the cure. However, these terms are not well defined. Definitions are proposed here, providing a framework for a grounded theory study of inter- and intra-organizational communications among thirteen professional organizations via their websites. Two network models emerged from the analysis. The first described a political network that advocates for the profession. The second described a service-based network that responds to customer needs. The meaning of unification and fragmentation within these two models is explored. Authors find that the profession is …

The Challenge Of Organizational Culture In Quality Assurance Implementation, Michael J. Millington, Jared C. Schultz

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How To Mismanage Behavior Intervention Plans, Robert L. Morgan

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bully Prevention In Positive Behavior Support, Scott W. Ross, R. H. Horner

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Bullying behaviors are a growing concern in U.S. schools. We present here a behavioral approach to bully prevention utilizing a schoolwide intervention. Bully prevention in positive behavior support (BP-PBS) teaches students to withhold the social rewards hypothesized to maintain bullying. A single-subject multiple baseline design across 6 students and three elementary schools was implemented in an empirical evaluation of the intervention's effectiveness. Results indicated that implementation was functionally related to decreased incidents of bullying for all 6 students observed. In addition, we observed a decrease in the social responses from victims and bystanders. Finally, school staff implemented the program with …

The Education Of Women And Girls In The United States: A Historical Perspective, Jennifer C. Madigan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Colored Overlays On Reading Achievement And Attitudes Toward Reading For Students With Scotopic Sensitive Syndrome, Hanan Ali Bagabas

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated the effects on students identified with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) or Irlen Syndrome (IS) when using colored overlays as an intervention (immediately and over time) to assess reading performance (rate, accuracy, and comprehension); to measure visual-motor integration; and to assess attitude toward reading. SSS/IS is a visual perceptual problem related to a collection of symptoms that affects an individual's performance when reading. Three participants, all males (one 3rd -grade student, one 4th -grade student, and one 5th -grade student), were identified as having SSS/IS and other learning disabilities.

The study involved five test instruments (Irlen Reading Perceptual …

Attitudes Of K-12 School Administrators Toward Speech-Language Programs In Public Schools, Carmen L. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined K-12 school administrators' attitudes toward speech language pathology services in public schools. Elementary, middle, and secondary school based administrators, employed in 63 school districts throughout Florida, were solicited to participate in the study in a letter of invitation generated by a web-based design program, Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) Community. Administrators volunteering in the study were given an assurance of confidentiality and fair treatment concerning their participation. A survey instrument, the Scale of Educators 'Attitudes toward Speech Pathology (SEASP) consisting of 10 demographic items and 34 positive and negative statements about speech and language programs in schools was …

Paraprofessionals Who Work With Elementary Grade Students With Significant Disabilities In Inclusive Settings, Regina Moreno

Dissertations and Theses

The use of paraprofessional services is an established and crucial aspect in the pursuit of a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Paraprofessionals are often the primary providers of instruction for students with severe disabilities yet are the least trained instructional personnel in schools. Identified competencies and necessary training content for paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities are nearly absent in the professional literature.

This study extended the current literature regarding paraprofessionals who serve students with disabilities in public schools by focusing specifically on those paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities in inclusive general education …

Exploring The Effects Of Online Instruction On Reading Comprehension Achievement Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Shuman Fitzgerald

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Two major pieces of legislation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (2001) mandate that students with disabilities be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment and have access to the general education curriculum. To provide access to the general education curriculum, inclusion in general education classes for students with disabilities has become the accepted practice. Many students with specific learning disabilities experience difficulties with the general education curriculum because their reading ability falls significantly below the school curriculum and textbook instructional levels (Deshler & Schumaker, 1993). The Word Identification Strategy (Lenz, Schumaker, Deshler, & …

Effects Of A Collaborative Parent-Professional Positive Behavior Support Team Training On Challenging Behaviors Of Children With Autism, Traci Elaine Ruppert

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Positive behavior support (PBS) involves applying individualized approaches to appropriate behaviors and reducing problem behaviors in a way that produces long-lasting improvements in a person's lifestyle. To date little research is available on the effects of the PBS process on challenging behavior in the home environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of collaborative parent-professional PBS team training on challenging behaviors of children with autism. Two parent-professional teams along with two focus individuals participated in this study. The parent and professional attended one, seven-hour day training. Home observations, one-hour in length, were conducted four times per …

Effects Of Explicit Subtraction Instruction On Fifth Grade Students With Learning Disabilities, Danielle Ferreira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study involved an investigation of the effects of strategy instruction integrated with the concrete-representational-abstract teaching sequence on students with learning disabilities. A multiple probe design across subjects with one replication was used in this study. Two sets of data were analyzed to determine effectiveness of the independent variable (intervention lessons). The first data set consisted of pre and posttest percentage scores and the second data set consisted of baseline, intervention, and maintenance probe scores that were collected throughout the study per the parameters of a multiple probe design. The probe scores were plotted in line graph format and analyzed …

Characteristics Of Highly Effective Teachers: A Perspective From Students With Disabilities, David J. Smith

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teacher quality is a widely discussed topic in education. States, districts, schools, parents, and other stakeholders want to know how to measure, improve, and reward teacher quality. A major factor in the rise in interest about teacher quality is clear evidence that individual teachers are able to positively affect student achievement, specifically in relationship to students' standardized test scores (No Child Left Behind Legislation). Even a cursory look at statewide student achievement data reveals that students with disabilities are achieving at lower levels in comparison to their peers without disabilities.

While several researchers have asked students to identify characteristics of …

Autism Spectrum Disorder : Characteristics Seen With Asd And Interventions Used In And Outside The Inclusion Classroom, Monica K. Dircks

Graduate Research Papers

The number of children in our country diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is sharply increasing and does not seem to be slowing down in the near future. It is becoming increasingly more common to see schools implementing inclusion classrooms. These programs range from partial inclusion, where children with special needs spend various numbers of hours in a general education classroom each day, to full-inclusion classrooms. Still others use reverse inclusion, which entails general education students coming into a more self-contained special education classroom for part of the school day.

It is critical that general education teachers learn how …

Approaches To Differentiated Instruction That Serve The Needs Of Struggling Readers, Dawn Even

Graduate Research Papers

Educators have long grappled with the dilemma of how to deal effectively with students who are not performing successfully in classrooms, in particular with students having difficulty learning to read. In elementary classrooms we group students according to their reading ability. We put low performing students together, thereby slowing down the pace of instruction; which in the long run pulls the students even further behind. We need to discover ways to meet the needs of all of our students without leaving behind or "boring" them.

An Examination Of Section 504 In Practice: Dark Days For Student Rights, Ann S. Maydosz

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a broadly worded statement that addresses discrimination in schools and other settings. Enacted at about the same time as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 has been used sparingly in elementary and secondary schools. Section 504 presents an opportunity to redress educational inequities for struggling students because it can provide support for students with disabilities and impairments not covered by IDEA. However, due to vague wording, unclear case law, and limited training for school divisions and practitioners, schools are unsure how to implement and to comply with Section …

Client Change In Multi-Model Treatment: A Comparison Of Change Trajectories In Group, Individual, And Conjoint Formats In A Counseling Center, Bryan K. Mickelson

Theses and Dissertations

Providing clinicians with a clearer understanding of how clients' recover over the entire course of therapy has important implications for referral and treatment strategies. The present study compares rates of change in 160 clients in group therapy with 6632 clients in individual therapy and 864 clients receiving both individual therapy and group therapy. Therapeutic outcomes were measured using the Outcome Questionnaire-45. Data was analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), also called Multi-Level Modeling (MLM), to produce recovery curves for clients in each group. Recovery curves showed that most change occurred in the early part of group therapy and slowed near …

Increasing Student Participation At Iep Meetings: A Case Study, Jerrilyn K. Henderson

Theses and Graduate Projects

At age 14, students in special education are expected to participate and contribute to decisions concerning their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) yet most do not understand the IEP. Nor do they understand how the IEP process works. This study is an effort to see if student participation in the IEP can be influenced by the direct teaching of the IEP process to the student before the IEP meeting. The study follows one student from the beginning of the IEP instruction through his IEP meeting and ends with his transition meeting into high school. The findings show that the student increased …

Value Conflicts In Psychotherapy: Psychology Graduates' Perspectives, Shannon Vincent Wilde

Theses and Dissertations

Although psychotherapy has been viewed historically as value-neutral, developments over the last half-century have led to the generally accepted position that values are inescapable in therapy. However, many questions remain as to how values should be managed in psychotherapy in order to protect client autonomy. These issues are of particular concern to training programs, which bear the responsibility of instructing new psychologists in ethical values management and of helping trainees manage personal values when those values are in conflict with those of their clients or with the values of the field in general. One aspect that has not previously been …

A Quantitative Study Of The Effectiveness Of Positive Behavior Support In Secondary Schools, Rebecca Lynn Raftery

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a second tier intervention on at risk students' behaviors and academic success. The study included 113 middle school and junior high students identified as being at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD). The participants were assigned to a control group (no treatment), one, two, or three semesters of the intervention. The intervention integrated components of social skills instruction, self-management techniques, and social and emotional awareness. Students' behaviors and academic success were measured using school data (i.e. GPA, Office Discipline Referrals, attendance, and …

An Exploratory Investigation Of Frequently Cited Articles From The Early Childhood Intervention Literature, 1994 To 2005, Juli Pool, Marisa Macy, Suzanne Bells Mcmanus, Jina Noh

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The authors explored frequently cited articles across four peer-reviewed journals in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE). The Social Science Citation Index was used to examine journal articles from 1994 to 2005 in: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Infants and Young Children, Journal of Early Intervention, and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Results for the most frequently cited EI/ECSE journal articles are reported.