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Research has established that implementing evidence-based practices with a high procedural fidelity is integral in promoting positive outcomes for students with moderate-to-severe disabilities and more significant support needs. However, special education teachers who teach students with moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities often lack training in adopting and implementing evidence-based practices. This study used a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design to investigate the effects of job-embedded, individualized coaching on a special education teacher's implementation fidelity of systematic instruction for students with disabilities within natural teaching routines. Immediate and maintained increases in the implementation fidelity were found across all systematic instruction components, demonstrating the effectiveness of the individualized coaching intervention. Additionally, a brief social validity assessment at the completion of the study suggested that the coaching procedures were highly acceptable and useful for enhancing the implementation of an evidence-based practice in a natural setting.

Early childhood special education teachers require training and support in implementing function-based intervention for challenging behavior. Yet, teacher professional development practices are not universally effective, and teachers may benefit from differentiated supports. The purpose of this study was to pilot and evaluate a multilevel approach to teacher professional development for function-based intervention. The multilevel approach included behavioral skills training, practice-based coaching, and teacher self-monitoring and was evaluated using a multiple baseline across participants single-case research design. Results demonstrated that while all teachers benefited from the professional development, teachers required different levels of support within the multilevel approach. These findings support a growing body of work suggesting that teachers may require varying levels of support to implement evidence-based practices.

The practice of including students with disabilities in art education has existed longer than efforts to increase access to general academic instruction. However, most teacher education programs do not offer sufficient coursework or field experiences in training pre-service art teachers to teach students with disabilities. To examine how pre-service art teachers are trained to provide inclusive art instruction, semi-structured interviews were conducted with art education faculty and instructors across six institutions in the Midwest of United States and interview data were systematically analyzed at three levels, including within case, cross case, and conversation. Results indicate that while all programs offer a required course related to special education, exposure to students with disabilities in field experiences is limited and collaboration between art teachers and special education teachers or paraprofessionals is not emphasized. Recommendations for strengthening teacher education programs in teaching art to students with disabilities are offered based on study findings.

Technology has been widely used to teach reading skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the quality of research backing up this practice has not yet been fully investigated. The purpose of this review was to examine the quality of research on technology-aided reading interventions for students with ASD and summarize study characteristics of research studies with meeting the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards. A total of 31 studies using group design (n = 4) or single-case design (n = 27) were systematically aggregated, and 16 studies (52%) met the WWC design standards. Study features related to participants, intervention, technology usage, and outcome variables were synthesized for these 16 studies. Results indicated that two types of technology (i.e., computer, iPad) were used to deliver reading instruction through software programs or support interventionist-directed reading instruction. Finally, implications for research and practice are discussed.

Young children with intensive behavioral needs are often served by paraprofessionals, who are typically among the least trained and least supported staff in the school. While professional development opportunities to address challenging behavior are generally limited for special education teachers, such professional growth opportunities are often completely unavailable for paraprofessionals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a program in which teachers served as coaches for paraprofessionals. Using a multiple-baseline design across paraprofessional-and-child dyads, we evaluated the effects of the teachers-as-coaches program on paraprofessional implementation fidelity and child engagement in challenging behavior and appropriate communication. The results showed that with teacher coaching, paraprofessionals increased their behavior intervention implementation fidelity to 100%. During the maintenance probes, two of the paraprofessionals implemented the intervention with 100% fidelity, and the third paraprofessional implemented the intervention with higher fidelity than baseline. Results also showed corresponding decreases in child challenging behavior and increases in appropriate communication. Implications for research and practice in supporting paraprofessionals are discussed.

This single-case meta-analysis is the first to provide a quantitative synthesis of the published literature on mathematics word problem-solving intervention studies for English learners with learning disabilities and mathematics difficulties. A total of ten single-subject studies were included for analysis. The current study investigated the magnitude of the effect of mathematics interventions targeting the improvement of students' mathematics word problem-solving performance, and analyzed variables that moderated this effect. Results indicate a moderate overall effect size of 0.81 (95% CI [0.71, 0.90]) on word problem-solving performance for English learners with learning disabilities and mathematics difficulties. Moderator variables such as the implementer of the interventions, instructional focus, and word problem-solving content significantly moderated the mathematics intervention effects.

Dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which can be indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), has been posited to contribute to core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the relationship between ASD and HRV remains uncertain. We assessed tonic and phasic HRV of 21 children with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children and examined (1) group differences in HRV and (2) associations between HRV and ASD symptomatology. Children with ASD showed significantly lower tonic HRV, but similar phasic HRV compared to TD children. Additionally, reduced tonic HRV was associated with atypical attentional responsivity in ASD. Our findings suggest ANS dysregulation is present in ASD and may contribute to atypical attentional responses to sensory stimulation.

Challenging behavior is a significant barrier in accessing the general education curriculum for students with developmental disabilities. This necessitates the identification of evidence-based practices for addressing challenging behavior in inclusive settings. The purpose of our meta-analysis is to (a) quantify the magnitude of effect of interventions targeting the reduction of challenging behavior in students with developmental disabilities in inclusive educational settings and (b) determine if participant and intervention characteristics moderate intervention effects. A systematic search of academic databases was conducted to identify studies, which were evaluated for methodological rigor and analyzed for effects using Tau-U. Results indicate a strong overall effect of 0.94 (95% CI [0.87, 1]) and moderating variables associated with behavior topography, interventionist, and intervention components were identified.

Functional communication training (FCT) is one of the most common treatments for challenging behavior and is considered an empirically supported practice for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, no previous systematic review has evaluated the quality of FCT for adults with ASD, and the empirical support for this practice among adults is unknown. The purpose of the current review was to synthesize the extant research, including a quality appraisal of the literature on the use of FCT to treat challenging behavior for adults with ASD. We identified 20 studies that evaluated the efficacy of FCT in reducing challenging behavior for adults with ASD. The quality of each article was evaluated based on the What Works Clearinghouse design and evidence standards. Following the quality and evidence evaluations, eight studies, including eight experiments, were found to have "moderate" or "strong evidence" of effectiveness. The current body of literature provides some evidence for the efficacy of FCT in reducing challenging behavior for adults with ASD, but additional research in this area is warranted.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a shared reading intervention on narrative story comprehension and task engagement of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single-case multiple baseline design was used, and three elementary-aged students with ASD participated in this study. The shared reading intervention included before, during, and after reading strategies (i.e., topic anticipation, dynamic reading, story retelling). Results of this study indicated that all participants demonstrated noticeable improvements in reading comprehension. Despite the longer duration of intervention sessions as compared to baseline sessions, participants showed similar or better task engagement with intervention. Improved reading outcomes were maintained at follow up for all participants. Implications for practical implementation and future research were discussed.