Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities

There is a lack of research and program development in the area of sexuality education for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The prevalence of ASD is on the rise, and research demonstrates that individuals with ASD desire romantic and sexual relationships. It is important that programming targeting sexuality education for individuals with ASD be developed and implemented to better support the unique learning needs associated with ASD. Sexuality education helps promote positive development of one's sexual health, gender awareness, self-advocacy, and self-efficacy. Sexuality education also helps prevent undesirable or unsafe sexual experiences or behaviors and is an important component of every individual's development, well-being, and quality of life. This paper outlines why further development and use of sexuality education materials specific to those with ASD is necessary and summarizes the current literature regarding sexuality education for this population. Lastly, recommendations are provided for the development and/or expansion of current curricula as well as methods of delivery with an exploration of emerging curricula efforts in the field.

To better understand the existing research for teaching workplace social skills to individuals with severe disabilities, we conducted a systematic review of the literature across five databases between the years 1975 and 2020. This review examined study characteristics, intervention efficacy, and methodological soundness. We identified a total of 26 studies across 78 participants with severe disabilities. There were 18 intervention components used and a total of five studies found to have strong positive effects on the dependent variables. Only one study was of methodological soundness. Our findings suggest there is limited evidence to support effective interventions for teaching workplace social skills to individuals with severe disabilities.

Although adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are reported to experience high rates of bullying victimization, rates vary based on adolescent versus parent-report. The current study conducted interviews to explore whether adolescents with IDD perceive and describe school-based bullying victimization experiences differently from their parents and to identify potential factors for such differences. Adolescents with IDD reported more direct forms of bullying victimization, whereas parents were aware of both direct and indirect forms of bullying. Adolescents with IDD struggled to describe their bullying victimization experiences, often providing an inconsistent narrative with few details. Parents indicated that adolescents with IDD do not always report or recognize experiences of bullying victimization. Implications for future research and special education practice are discussed.

Given the growing proportion of students receiving special education services who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), there is a critical need to understand the experiences of Latinx immigrant parents of children with disabilities. This qualitative study sought to understand the perspectives of nine Latinx immigrant parents of children with developmental disabilities regarding their child's individualized education program (IEP). We conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed the data using a general inductive approach and constant comparison analysis. Seven themes emerged: (a) parents' insecurity of knowledge, (b) difficult terminology, (c) confusion with the IEP process, (d) discrimination or misconceptions, (e) language barriers, (f) need of parent advocacy, and (g) staff lack of knowledge. We discuss implications for future research and practice.

Engagement in strong play skills is important as an outcome by itself, but also as means to achieve other valued outcomes in early childhood development. Yet, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate challenges in this area of development. To address these challenges, intervention is needed. This study evaluated the effects of implementation of an antecedent-based teaching strategy, the system of least prompts (SLP), to teach pretend play skills to preschoolers diagnosed with ASD in an inclusive preschool program. This study utilized single case research design to identify the effects of intervention on pretend play skills. Data presented in this study demonstrated independent engagement in generalized pretend play skills during free choice. Results suggest that this intervention was an effective teaching strategy for young children with ASD, demonstrating effects for all participants.

In the current study, we taught three middle school peers without disabilities to implement a commercially available literacy program with students with extensive support needs (ESN). Our teaching package included behavior skills training, ongoing feedback, and visual supports. We employed a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the efficacy of the training package. Data indicated it was effective in improving the peers' performance. Further, the majority of participants reported favorable perceptions of the peer implemented package.

Word problem solving skills include complex skills. Teaching word problem solving skills to students with disabilities is more difficult compared to their peers with typical development. Therefore, effective interventions need to be determined in order to teach these skills to students with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to analyze the single-case experimental design studies that used schema-based instruction and modified schema-based instruction in the mathematical word problem-solving skills of students with disabilities. The methodological quality of studies was evaluated using the What Works Clearinghouse Single-Case Design Standards and quality of methodological rigor using quality indicators recommended by Horner et al. A total of 11 studies and 39 students with disabilities met the inclusion criteria. Nonoverlap of All Pairs (NAP) was used to report intervention effects. The weighted aggregated NAP was 97% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = [84.7%, 100%]) for schema-based instruction and 99% (95% CI = [83.8%, 100%]) for modified schema-based instruction. Schema-based instruction is an evidence-based practice and modified schema-based instruction is an emergent evidence-based practice for mathematical word problem-solving skills of students with disabilities.

Currently most special education teachers, including those who teach students with significant disabilities, are evaluated using observation systems designed for general educators. Because the roles and effective teaching practices of special educators differ from general educators, we propose that a more appropriate observation tool is necessary, especially for those who teach students with significant disabilities. In this paper we describe the development and use of the Teacher Rating and Assessment Instrument for Teachers of Students with Significant Disabilities (TRAIT-SD) as an observation instrument. We argue that there is a need for such an instrument and present the results of an initial study that was conducted to allow us to assess the internal reliability and inter-rater reliability of the instrument as well as to develop a summary report on the performance of 30 teachers of students with significant disabilities. Additionally, content validity of the instrument was assumed based on input provided by experts in special education for students with significant disabilities prior to the study. Data collection during the study demonstrated the teaching performance of participants and found adequate internal reliability. Acceptable inter-rater reliability was found when the instrument was used simultaneously by special education professionals, but there was weak agreement between special education professionals and general education principals despite providing brief training for the principals. This suggests that greater knowledge based on more extensive training will be necessary to achieve reliable observations of teachers of students with severe disabilities using the TRAIT-SD.