Education
and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
VOLUME
42 NUMBER 4 December
2007
Research to Practice in Cognitive Disabilities/Mental Retardation, Autism, and Related Disabilities
Facilitating Student Achievement with Assistive Technology
Planning a Comprehensive Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Evidence-Based Practices
Mental Retardation and the Problem of “Normality”: Self-Determination and Identity Choice
Lessons Learned Through Implementing a Positive Behavior Support Intervention at Home: A Case Study on Self-Management with a Student with Autism and His Mother
Addressing Communication Needs of Young Adults with Autism in a College-Based Inclusion Program
State of the Evidence Regarding Complimentary and Alternative Medical Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders
A Large-Scale Study of the Characteristics of Asperger Syndrome
Using Comic Strip Conversations to Increase Social Satisfaction and Decrease Loneliness in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Effect of Tutoring on Reading Achievement for Students with Cognitive Disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities, and Students Receiving Title I Services
Technologies for Self-Determination for Youth with Developmental Disabilities
Previous
Issue Next
Issue Table
of Contents
Abstracts
Research
to Practice in Cognitive Disabilities/Mental
Retardation, Autism, and Related Disabilities
Stanley H. Zucker, Cindy Perras, Howard P. Parette,
and Darlene E. Perner
Abstract: On
January 31 - February 2 2007, the Council
for Exceptional Children Division on
Developmental Disabilities (DDD) sponsored
its Tenth International Conference:
Research to Practice in Cognitive Disabilities/Mental
Retardation, Autism, and Related Disabilities. The
conference was held at the Sheraton
Keauhou in Kona, Hawaii. The
DDD Board of Directors decided to devote
this issue of Education and Training
in Developmental Disabilities to conference
papers. The conference brought
together educators from school and
college classrooms from all over the
world. The conference included
pre-conference training institutes
and strands on assistive technology,
autism/autism spectrum disorder, cognitive
disability-best practices, differentiated
instruction, multiple disabilities,
and wellness. The conference
provided many parents, teacher educators,
researchers, teachers, and other practitioners
an opportunity to gather to learn the
most current information related to
providing services for individuals
with mental retardation, autism, and
other developmental disabilities.
top
Facilitating
Student Achievement with Assistive Technology
Howard
P. Parette and George R. Peterson-Karlan
Abstract: This
article discusses an evolving understanding
of the relationship of assistive technology
(AT) to student achievement. Clarifying
the compensatory nature of AT and its
role in creating a ‘floor of
opportunity’ for students with
disabilities, the authors then emphasize
the importance of AT for access to
and productivity within both the life
skills and academic curriculum. The
distinction between AT, instructional
technology, and universal design for
learning (UDL) is clarified. Emphasis
is then placed on three distinct aspects
of the educational process for students
with developmental disabilities in
which the ‘consideration’ of
AT is involved. These include IEP development,
including placement alternatives; instructional
interventions; and student progress
monitoring. A statement is then made
regarding the outcomes of AT interventions--student
achievement in the academic and life
skills curricula as evidenced by district-
or state-wide measures of student progress.
top
Planning
a Comprehensive Program for Students
with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using
Evidence-Based Practices
Brenda Smith Myles,
Barry G. Grossman, Ruth Aspy, Shawn A.
Henry, and Amy Bixler Coffin
Abstract:
This
article outlines two compatible models
of planning and implementing programs
for students with autism spectrum disorders
(ASD). The Ziggurat Model begins the
process with an assessment of student
strengths and concerns related specifically
to ASD and identifies interventions
across five tiers that match these
strengths and concerns: (a) sensory
and biological, (b) reinforcement,
(c) structural and visual/tactile supports,
(d) task demands, and (e) skills to
teach. Content from the Ziggurat Model
is then placed with the Comprehensive
Autism Planning System (CAPS) to allow
the student’s day to be operationalized
and matched to student goals, state
standards, and related benchmarks.
This article overviews this process
and offers a brief case study as an
example.
top
Mental
Retardation and the Problem of “Normality”:
Self-Determination and Identity Choice
J.
David Smith
Abstract:
The meaning of the category
and concept of mental retardation is
explored through the words of a fictional
character, and the accounts of real people
who have been injured and stigmatized
by the label. Examples of the
extremes to which people have gone to
avoid or escape the term mental retardation
are provided. The classification
of retardation is presented as a fabrication
with no coherence in the characteristics
and needs of the people placed under
its conceptual umbrella. A call
for new terminology and, more importantly,
new thinking about this misunderstood
and nearly forgotten population of children
and adults is issued.
top
Lessons
Learned Through Implementing a Positive
Behavior Support Intervention at Home:
A Case Study on Self-Management with
a Student with Autism and His Mother
Suk-Hyang
Lee, Denise Poston, and AJ Poston
Abstract:
As positive behavior
support (PBS) interventions have received
increased attention as an effective means
to address problem behaviors of individuals
with disabilities in family contexts,
partnerships with families are crucial
for the application of PBS interventions
with families at home. Understanding
family perspectives on problem behaviors
and PBS interventions is a starting point
for building partnerships with the family,
which helps, achieve the objective of
applying PBS at home for individuals
with problem behavior. The purpose of
this article is to provide the authors’ perspectives
on concerns and lessons learned from
implementing a PBS intervention through
a case study on self-management with
a student with autism and problem behavior,
and his mother, who served as co-authors.
A brief description of the intervention
and its outcomes is also provided.
top
Addressing
Communication Needs of Young Adults with
Autism in a College-Based Inclusion Program
Carol
S. Alpern and Dianne Zager
Abstract: This
article provides a review of the literature
regarding changing communication profiles
of individuals with autism as they
reach adolescence and young adulthood. The
impact of these language patterns on
social and vocational functioning is
addressed. Guidelines for assessment,
goal development, and intervention
are presented through a transdisciplinary
college-based model. Instructional
concerns and recommendations to improve
communication skills for transition
programming are presented.
top
State
of the Evidence Regarding
Complimentary and Alternative
Medical Treatments for Autism
Spectrum Disorders
Gardner T.
Umbarger, III
Abstract:Both
the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 2001
(No Child Left Behind)
and the Individuals with
Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004
show a public policy
preference for the use
of interventions that
are supported by scientific
evidence of their efficacy.
At the same time, parents
of children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
are frustrated by the
lack of effective treatments
and often resort to complementary
and alternative medical
(CAM) treatments to treat
the symptoms of their
child’s ASD. Many
of these treatments have
little or no evidence
of efficacy. This article
reviews the current state
of many CAMs and addresses
the evidence that supports
or fails to support their
efficacy as a treatment
of ASD and their adoption
in special education
practices. It also discusses
some recommendations
for improving the state
of evidence for CAMs
used with individuals
with ASD.
top
A
Large-Scale Study of the Characteristics
of Asperger Syndrome
Brenda Smith Myles,
Hyo Jung Lee, Sheila M. Smith, Kai-Chien
Tien, Yu-Chi Chou, Terri Cooper Swanson,
and Jill Hudson
Abstract:This
article presents the results of a large-scale
study of the characteristics of 156
individuals with Asperger Syndrome
(AS) ages 12 to 18. Specifically, cognitive
(intellectual, empathizing, systemizing),
adaptive behavior, behavior, temperament,
and sensory profiles of study participants
are overviewed. These characteristics
are discussed as they relate to diagnostic
criteria and instructional planning
for adolescents with AS.
top
Using
Comic Strip Conversations to Increase
Social Satisfaction and Decrease Loneliness
in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Melinda
R. Pierson and Barbara C. Glaeser
Abstract:
Comic Strip Conversations have been
used to improve the social skills
of students on the autism spectrum. Research
on the effectiveness of this strategy
was extended to three lower elementary-aged
male students diagnosed as exhibiting
high-functioning autism. One
elementary special education teacher
and her 2 paraprofessionals used
Comic Strip Conversations for a period
of 6 weeks with 3 students who exhibited
signs of loneliness. All participants
became more involved socially and
actively began to seek friendships. The
educators working with them noted
increased friendships in the classroom
and on the playground as well as
visible signs of social satisfaction
among the participants.
top
Effect
of Tutoring on Reading Achievement
for Students with Cognitive Disabilities,
Specific Learning Disabilities, and
Students Receiving Title I Services
Jan
Osborn, Amy Freeman, Margaret Burley,
Rich Wilson, Eric Jones, and Stacey Rychener
Abstract: This empirical study
investigated the effects of tutoring
on the reading achievement of elementary
students with cognitive disabilities
and specific learning disabilities
as well as students receiving Title
I reading programs in Project MORE
(Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence).
This school-based action research
highlights volunteer tutors, early
reading instruction, reading interventions,
and one-to-one instruction. Students
were pre and posttested on both informal
and standardized measures of reading
performance. Intervention students
were matched and compared to control
students in similar school districts.
The results demonstrated significant
positive effects for the intervention.
Generally, intervention students
had month-for-month gains and outperformed
comparison students in reading over
the six month period.
top
Technologies
for Self-Determination for Youth with
Developmental Disabilities
James R. Skouge,
Mary L. Kelly, Kelly D. Roberts, David
W. Leake, and Robert A. Stodden
Abstract: This paper focuses
on “technologies for voice” that
are related to the self-determination
of youth with developmental disabilities. The
authors describe a self-determination
model that values family-focused,
community-referenced pedagogies employing “new
media” to give voice to youth
and their families. In line
with the adage that a picture is
worth a thousand words, many youth
and families find they are better
able to convey their life situations
and express their hopes and fears
using multimedia (e.g., camcorders,
voice recorders, digital cameras,
PowerPoint) to find their voices
in transition and IEP planning meetings. Systematic
strategies are described to support
teachers and other youth advocates
employing multimedia technologies
as tools of self-determination.
top
Previous
Issue Next
Issue
Table of Contents