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Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may benefit from specific instruction on ways to prepare for and participate in their own Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. In this article, we describe the application of a research-based self-directed IEP process that can be used by educators to effectively foster participation by students with EBD in their IEP meetings. Research support, a detailed overview, and guidelines on how educators can implement this research-based practice at the middle school level are included. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of implementing research- or evidence-based practices in the daily instructional programming of students with EBD in middle school.

Within the US there are over 300 postsecondary education (PSE) programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). College students enrolled in PSE programs for students with IDD often require support in using assistive technology (AT) to complete living, learning, and working tasks. To date, there is no systematic review or meta-analysis that examines interventions within these programs that integrate AT to teach these skills. We systematically reviewed 43 intervention studies that targeted 235 students' use of AT to complete living, learning, and working tasks. The average age of students was 21.5 yrs (R = 18.7 to 27.5). Most studies used mobile devices and applications to target living (44.2%), learning (37.2%), and working (18.6%) skills. Forty-two of 43 studies used visual cues and systematic prompting and/or systematic instruction. On average, interventions were 10 sessions. Eighty-seven percent of studies reported treatment fidelity, 94% reported interobserver agreement, and 67% reported social validity. Most studies used correct number of responses or task analysis steps completed as the dependent variable. The meta-analytic results indicated interventions were overall effective at improving student outcomes. An analysis of moderators revealed a significant difference for study quality but no significant difference for disability type, study duration, and area targeted.

The authors in this study used a pre-posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment or control group to assess the use of an electronic editing cognitive strategy. The participants were 16 college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities enrolled in a 2-year postsecondary program at a Midwestern institute of higher education. Students who were taught the strategy received eight 50-minute lessons once a week for eight weeks. Each strategy lesson was driven by the strategy mnemonic and incorporated an explicit instruction format with modeling, guided practice with feedback, and independent practice. Strategy instruction included students using desktop PCs and Microsoft Word to identify and correct editing errors in electronic passages. Posttests revealed a significant difference in favor of the treatment group for total editing errors corrected and specific error types corrected for spelling, punctuation, and substance. No significant difference was found for overall appearance and capitalization errors. Two weeks following posttest, a maintenance probe revealed that students in the treatment group corrected a significantly higher number of editing errors than those in the control group.

Self-advocacy skills enable active student involvement in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning process. However, some students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) lack appropriate self-advocacy skills and may require specific instruction in how to prepare for and participate in their own IEP. Special educators may have limited knowledge and skills to foster the self-advocacy skills of students with EBD. Therefore, this article focuses on a research-based strategy, the Self-Advocacy Strategy (SAS), that can be used by educators to effectively promote students' self-advocacy skills. Research support and a detailed overview and guidelines on how educators can implement the SAS in their classrooms are included.

We examined the efficacy of a combined electronic essay writing and editing mnemonic driven strategy with 24 college students in a two-year postsecondary program for students with developmental disabilities. We used a pre-posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment/control groups. During 26 sessions each consisting of 50 min., students in the treatment group received essay writing and editing mnemonic-driven instruction that included explicit instruction and graphic organizers. Students used PCs and Microsoft Word to analyze essay-test questions, complete pre-writing planning, construct essay responses, and edit their work. Univariate analysis of posttests revealed a significant positive difference for the treatment group in using the essay writing and editing strategy steps, and in constructing essay responses. Following the end of the intervention, students responded to an essay prompt. The treatment group significantly outperformed the control group in applying strategy steps and produced better quality essays for ideas/organization, length, and spelling errors.

Behavior-specific praise is a research-based classroom management strategy that promotes appropriate student behaviors. Praise specificity, however, may not be the only characteristic of praise that enhances efficacy. The current study examined teacher's natural use of specific, contingent, and varied praise to understand additional qualities of praise. Praise statements of inservice special education (n = 12), inservice general education (n = 13), and dual special education/general education preservice (n = 17) teachers were observed in natural elementary school settings. Statistical results did not indicate differences between teacher groups and praise characteristics; however, descriptive results demonstrate all teacher groups delivered low rates of general and specific praise. Percentages of praise contingency (average range = 59%-91.2%) suggest teachers did not deliver sufficient praise statements contingent on student behavior. Furthermore, percentages of praise variety (average range = 44.5%-57.7%) show use of repetitive praise statements that may reduce efficacy on student behaviors. These findings and other implications are discussed in the context of future praise research.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have difficulties with self-management skills such as scheduling daily tasks for educational, vocational, and leisure purposes. In this study, we used a multiple probe across participant design to evaluate the effects of constant time delay in teaching young adults with IDD the necessary steps to schedule events and set reminders using the Calendar application (app). Three students with IDD in a postsecondary education setting participated in this study and acquired the steps required for programming events and their reminders in the Calendar app. In addition, two participants independently attended the scheduled events without additional reminders from adults. Limitations, future research, and practical implications are discussed.

This study examined the efficacy of an electronic essay-writing strategy to improve the expository writing skills of 20 young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities enrolled in a program at an institute of higher education in the midwest. A pretest and posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment or control group was used to investigate the mnemonic-driven electronic writing strategy. The writing strategy supported students' construction of essay responses using a computer. Students used the strategy and a computer word program to examine an electronically presented essay test question, plan through the construction of an electronic outline, and create and revise an electronic essay response. Pretest and posttest essay responses were evaluated through proximal and distal rubrics. Results revealed a significant positive effect for the treatment group when compared to the control group for overall essay quality including use of ideas and content, and word choice.

In this study we examined the relationship of students' 21st century skills with their academic and behavioral outcomes. We investigated K-12 teachers' (n = 150) judgment of students' (n = 3,108) use of 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, affect, and cognition behaviors) via a Likert-type rating scale. We compared teachers' ratings with students' academic and behavioral outcomes in a southeastern school district. We used Hierarchical Linear Modeling with length of teacher acquaintance with the student as the nesting variable. Teacher ratings for students' low instances of persistence behaviors and high instances of externalizing affect behaviors were predictive of a higher probability of student office discipline referrals. We found a positive correlation for teachers' ratings of students' cognition behaviors and their reading, mathematics, and science outcomes. Teachers' student length of acquaintance was significant for academic outcomes. Results indicated a predictive relationship with teachers' judgment of students' 21st century skills and student outcomes.

The term "self-regulation" (SR) refers to a set of specific cognitive skills necessary for students to independently manage, monitor, and assess their own academic learning and behavior. Students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often lack these skills. This article provides educators with step-by-step procedures and information on three research- or evidence-based SR strategies they can implement in their classrooms: self-regulated strategy development, self-monitoring, and strategy instruction.

We examined the effects of a computer-based strategy to develop self-advocacy skills for 15 middle school students with mild and moderate disabilities. A pre- and posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment and wait-list control groups was employed to investigate changes in student participation and level of self-determination. The strategy addressed essential self-advocacy skills including knowledge of self and communication. Results showed significant differences in favor of the treatment group concerning student participation, as measured by student responses to the Self-Advocacy Self-Report. Generalization data indicated positive results for student participation, as measured by student use of SHARE behaviors, a set of social skills necessary for effective communication, in informal meetings with special education teachers. Implications for practice, limitations, and future research are discussed.

An emerging body of research suggests that incorporating randomization schemes in single-case research designs strengthens study internal validity and data evaluation. The purpose of this study was to test the utility and feasibility of a randomized alternating-treatment design in an investigation that compared the combined effects of vocabulary instruction and the paraphrasing strategies on expository comprehension of six students with reading difficulties. We analyzed the data using three types of randomization tests as well as visual analysis. The visual analysis and randomization tests confirmed the additional benefit of vocabulary instruction on expository comprehension for one student. However, the effects were not replicated across the other five students. We found that proper randomization schemes can improve both internal validity and data analysis strategies of the alternating-treatment design.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often lack skills in order to navigate in the communities. Given the availability of the mobile devices and their potential use as assistive technologies for learners with IDD, we investigated the effects of constant time delay (CTD) on acquisition of the steps required to plan routes using Google Maps mobile app for young adults with IDD. Using a multiple probe across participants design, we taught three young adults with IDD enrolled in a postsecondary education program to plan routes using Google Maps on the mobile devices. Results showed that two participants learned all steps to use Google Maps. They were also successful in reaching the destinations independently following the routes they had planned. The other participant required additional sessions and instructional modifications to master the steps and needed adult assistance during her navigation probes.

Direct behavior ratings have been identified as a practical and feasible alternative to direct observation of behavior for monitoring behavioral progress. Despite the evidence of usability, there have been calls for further examination of direct behavior ratings using different behaviors and scales. To this end, we examined the ratings of schoolwide behavioral expectations by teachers and outside observers, as well as direct observation of academic engagement by outside observers in upper elementary school language arts classrooms. Across sessions, correlations between raters (range r = 0.82-0.91) and between measures (range r = 0.64-0.98) were moderate to high; significant differences between raters existed when rating students identified with negative behavior (n = 12) as opposed to positive behavior (n = 12). Findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and practice, limitations of the study, and the necessity for further research and development.

For years, the assumption has been that stereotypical behaviors functioned only to provide sensory or automatic reinforcement. However, these behaviors also may serve social functions. Given the unsettled debate, functional behavior assessment and functional analysis can be used to identify the exact function of stereotypical behavior and design an intervention matched to that function. In these two studies, we conducted functional behavior assessments on two high school students exhibiting stereotypical behaviors. Although the students behaviors were topographically and functionally different, function-based interventions appeared effective in reducing these behaviors for both students. Key findings and limitations are discussed for each study, and a general discussion across studies is provided.

In this study we examined the relationship of students' 21st century skills with their academic and behavioral outcomes. We investigated K‐12 teachers' (n = 150) judgment of students' (n = 3,108) use of 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, affect, and cognition behaviors) via a Likert‐type rating scale. We compared teachers' ratings with students' academic and behavioral outcomes in a southeastern school district. We used Hierarchical Linear Modeling with length of teacher acquaintance with the student as the nesting variable. Teacher ratings for students' low instances of persistence behaviors and high instances of externalizing affect behaviors were predictive of a higher probability of student office discipline referrals. We found a positive correlation for teachers' ratings of students' cognition behaviors and their reading, mathematics, and science outcomes. Teachers' student length of acquaintance was significant for academic outcomes. Results indicated a predictive relationship with teachers' judgment of students' 21st century skills and student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often lack the skills to navigate in the communities. Given the availability of the mobile devices and their potential use as assistive technologies for learners with IDD, we investigated the effects of constant time delay (CTD) on acquisition of the steps required to plan routes using Google Maps mobile app for young adults with IDD. Using a multiple probe across participants design, we taught three young adults with IDD enrolled in a postsecondary education program to plan routes using Google Maps on the mobile devices. Results showed that two participants learned all steps to use Google Maps. They were also successful in reaching the destinations independently following the routes they had planned. The other participant required additional sessions and instructional modifications to master the steps and needed adult assistance during her navigation probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]