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This article is about the challenge of communication via smartphones and tablets by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). We will give special attention to persons that struggle with verbal communication. One of our co-researchers, the fourth author, has a severe ID. She cannot read, write or use voice assisted technology in any functional manner. As a result of many years of collaboration, and the need for solutions in connection with the challenges with COVID-19, she and her family have developed ways of remote communication that can be mastered both by the person with an ID and the majority (those without similar disabilities). We call it doing and talking. Successful remote communication not only depends on technology and how to use it, but also on communication strategies that both work for the person with an ID and the majority. It is often the case that people with ID are expected to learn the skills necessary to adapt to the majority. We will show that success is just as much a question of the majority learning new skills and strategies that can make real inclusion and collaboration possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Disability, Development & Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study surveyed school professionals about their perceptions and attitudes toward using AR and VR in their work with children with disabilities. Survey data were collected from 257 participants in 45 states across the United States and from the Philippines. The findings indicated that very few practitioners used AR ( n = 26) or VR ( n = 19) in their practices, with nine participants using both AR and VR. Most of the participants who used AR or VR received training or had knowledge of how to use the technology and had technical support available. Similarly, the majority of the participants who did not use AR or VR reported a lack of training or knowledge of how to use the technology and a lack of financial resources. Participants who reported using AR were significantly younger than those who reported that they did not use AR, but there were no other significant differences between the groups.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that video-based interventions such as video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) assist students with severe/profound disabilities, such as autism and intellectual disabilities, to learn academic skills. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates whether a VP intervention on a functional academic math skill would have similar effects for adolescent students with mild/moderate learning disabilities (LD). METHODS: A single subject multiple probe across subjects design was used. Five high school students (three female and two male) ages 16–17 viewed a video on an iPad to learn to calculate how much money an item would cost if a certain percentage of the price were deducted for a sale. RESULTS: A functional relation was found between use of the intervention and acquisition of the steps necessary to complete the calculation task. Three students maintained the skills, correctly answering most word problems on a post-test a month after completing the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that VP can be effective in teaching mathematic procedures to students with disabilities. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a video-based instruction packet for teaching math-based vocational skills delivered through augmented reality (AR) to three adults with intellectual disabilities. The dependent variable was the percentage of steps performed correctly to solve each selected type of math problem. The independent variable was the video-based math intervention delivered via AR, which modeled the individual steps for solving three different multistep math problems: (1) adjusting a recipe to serve a different number of people, (2) calculating salary, and (3) calculating unit prices. Visual and statistical analyses demonstrated a functional relationship between the video-based math intervention and an increase in the percentage of steps completed correctly for each type of problem. All three participants showed significant gains immediately after receiving the intervention and maintained the learned skills following withdrawal of the intervention. Implications for practitioners and further research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of video-based mathematics instruction for seven middle school students with specific learning disability (SLD), using an augmented reality-based training package. The dependent variable was the percentage of steps students performed correctly to solve each type of mathematics problem. The independent variable was the augmented reality video-based intervention, which used video to model the individual steps for solving four types of multistep mathematics problems: (a) addition and subtraction of integers, (b) multiplication and division of integers, (c) using ratio reasoning to convert measurement units, and (d) using multiplication and division to calculate rate of change. Results indicated a functional relation between the video-based mathematics intervention and the percentage of steps completed correctly for each type of problem. All seven participants showed significant gains immediately after receiving the intervention and maintained improved problem-solving skills in at least three out of the four problem categories.

Some individuals with disabilities are unable to work independently and often require additional instruction to complete basic tasks. To prepare students with disabilities for life after school, practitioners need to help them learn the skills necessary to live a happy, productive, and fulfilling life. Two technologies showing promise for such learning are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. This chapter will discuss how AR and VR can successfully be used to teach academic, social, and vocational skills to students with disabilities, including research that has been conducted to date. Additionally, guidance is provided for teachers seeking to use AR and VR in classroom and community learning environments. The chapter will conclude with directions for further research and future applications of AR and VR with students with disabilities.

A basic understanding of math, numeracy, and related concepts are critical skills for functioning independently in society. Individuals with disabilities often struggle with basic math, which impedes their ability for independent living. Augmented reality (AR), which builds on the evidence-based principles of video modeling, is a promising teaching strategy of providing math instruction to individuals with disabilities. This article provides a practical framework (with step-by-step instructions and examples) for practitioners wishing to implement AR as a teaching strategy for secondary students with disabilities.

Social engagement is critical to the personal and social development of children. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit low levels of social engagement with peers and adults, with clearly fewer instances of eye contact, initiation, joint attention, and empathy. Given the pivotal role of social engagement, procedures that naturally evoke higher rates of social engagement may be critical. Prior research suggests that cartoons and other animated characters are more appealing to children with ASD than traditional face-to-face interactions with adults. However, this assertion lacks consistent empirical support. In this study, five elementary age students with ASD participated in a series of interactions with adults and live animation avatars. An alternating treatments design was used to evaluate participants’ social engagement comparing their interactions with avatars to those with humans. Data show all five participants were consistently more attentive to the avatar than to human interventionists. In addition, all participants and their parents indicated the procedures were socially valid (i.e., preferred, feasible, and effective).

Preparing secondary students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for a variety of potential professions is important to enhance their postsecondary employment outcomes. This article provides step-by-step guidelines for practitioners to use video modeling interventions to develop the customer service skills of students with ASD who are employed or participating in employment experiences in their communities. Video modeling is an evidence-based practice for learners with ASD that can be used as a viable workplace support.

Over the past 20 years, the education system in Guyana has significantly improved. Despite this improvement, students with disabilities in Guyana still face higher rates of poverty, lack of access to schools, and a lack of teachers who are trained in how to best meet their needs. Guyana has tried to address these problems with the drafting of legislation and policies such as the Persons With Disabilities Act of 2010 and the SEN Inclusion Policy. While progress has been made, there is still a need for additional efforts related to the education of individuals with disabilities in Guyana before their full potential is realized. This column presents a brief historical background and summary of current practices related to the identification, educational placements, and provision of educational services and supports for students with disabilities in Guyana. Additional needs and future recommendations are also included.

This study compared the effectiveness of static picture prompting to video prompting when used as precursors for teaching daily living and motor skills to three individuals with autism spectrum dis...

General and special education teachers need to have an understanding of effective practices for providing vocabulary instruction to students with and without disabilities across grade levels and content areas. Preservice teachers in this study ( N = 121) received training in evidence-based practices for vocabulary instruction via a series of three training modules. They then completed one of two practice conditions—creating a multimedia product to teach a vocabulary word or completing a non-multimedia learning task during class. The two practice conditions resulted in similar gains on the knowledge measure, but the group that created the multimedia product significantly outperformed the group that completed the non-multimedia task in a demonstration of instruction. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an iPad® as a prompting device for teaching five daily living skills to three young adults with disabilities. Identified target tasks were (a) making spaghetti, (b) cleaning the dining room, (c) making macaroni and cheese, (d) cleaning the front porch, (e) cleaning the back porch, (f) cleaning the living room, and (g) mailing a letter. A multiple probe across behaviors design demonstrated use of the iPad® was associated with immediate and significant gains in the percentage of steps completed correctly for each identified target task. All four participants were able to maintain task acquisition without the use of the iPad®.

Delivering individualized learning interventions to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is daunting for education professionals already stretched to capacity meeting needs of all of their ...

This article serves to highlight the need for policy to support the smooth transition of students with special education needs/disability from early childhood programmes to primary school education. It identifies what is and provides recommendations.

Glass, designed by Google, is a fairly new wearable and mobile technology that projects an image into a glass prism above the eye and is currently in beta testing. A touch pad on the side of Glass allows users to engage with the device through swiping gestures and voice control to perform several functions similar to mobile devices. This initial study used a multiple probe across participants design to investigate the effects of direct systematic instruction (model-lead-test [MLT]) to teach three individuals with intellectual disability (ID) to operate Glass. To date, no study has been conducted using Glass with individuals with ID. Results demonstrated a functional relation between the direct systematic instruction and student performance with Glass orientation across all participants. Additionally, participants indicated positive experiences using this wearable/mobile technology based on social validity measures collected at the end of the study. Limitations, future research, and implications for practice are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching multi-step math skills to nine adults with disabilities in an 18–21 post-high school transition program using a video prompting intervention package. The dependent variable was the percentage of steps completed correctly. The independent variable was the video prompting intervention, which involved several multi-step math calculation skills: (a) calculating a tip (15%), (b) calculating item unit prices, and (c) adjusting a recipe for more or fewer people. Results indicated a functional relationship between the video prompting interventions and prompting package and the percentage of steps completed correctly. 8 out of the 9 adults showed significant gains immediately after receiving the video prompting intervention.

This article discusses the creation of video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) interventions for teaching novel multi-step tasks to individuals with disabilities. This article reviews factors to consider when selecting skills to teach, and students for whom VM/VP may be successful, as well as the difference between VM and VP and circumstances affecting which to choose. The purpose of this article is to provide practitioners with step-by-step instruction on how to teach cooking skills using VM and VP for young adults with disabilities.

Individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities struggle to acquire and appropriately use social skills to improve the quality of their lives. These critical skills can be difficult to teach because they are context dependent and many students are not motivated to engage in instruction to learn them. The use of multi-modal technologies shows promise in the teaching a variety of skills to individuals with disabilities. iAnimate Live is a project that makes virtual environments, virtual characters (avatars), augmented reality, and animation more accessible for teachers and clinicians. These emerging technologies have the potential to provide more efficient, portable, accessible, and engaging instructional materials to teach a variety of social skills. After reviewing the relevant research on using virtual environments virtual characters (avatars) and animation for social skills instruction, this article describes current experimental applications exploring their use via the iAnimate Live project.

Background Individuals with autism often struggle to establish and maintain positive relationships with peers and adults due to communication and social difficulties. Reviews of the research literature on social skills curricula suggest these approaches may be less than effective and often fail to promote generalization of acquired skills. Advances in the availability and adaptability of live animation and digital avatars could provide interventionists a tool to maximize engagement during instruction and program for generalization. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an avatar-based social skills intervention on participants’ social initiations in a clinical setting and with same-age peers. Method The research team used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of instruction from an avatar on students' social skills. Systematic direct observation and the Social Skills Improvement System were used to evaluate the effects of an avatar delivered social skills lesson. Social validity was measured from the perspective of both participants and their parents. Results Following instruction from an avatar, participants’ percentage of independent steps completed in the skill “starting a conversation” increased to consistently above 80 %, or above typical mastery levels. Participants’ conversation skills generalized to interactions with same-age peers. Finally, parents reported small positive gains in social skills, and participants indicated the intervention was socially valid. Conclusions The findings from this study support the use of technology-aided interventions and instruction, specifically the use of live animation avatars. Future studies could extend use of this technology beyond the relatively simple, yet effective, application described here.

Background Functional neuroimaging research in autism spectrum disorder has reported patterns of decreased long-range, within-network, and interhemispheric connectivity. Research has also reported increased corticostriatal connectivity and between-network connectivity for default and attentional networks. Past studies have excluded individuals with autism and low verbal and cognitive performance (LVCP), so connectivity in individuals more significantly affected with autism has not yet been studied. This represents a critical gap in our understanding of brain function across the autism spectrum. Methods Using behavioral support procedures adapted from Nordahl, et al. (J Neurodev Disord 8:20–20, 2016), we completed non-sedated structural and functional MRI scans of 56 children ages 7–17, including LVCP children (n = 17, mean IQ = 54), children with autism and higher performance (HVCP, n = 20, mean IQ = 106), and neurotypical children (NT, n = 19, mean IQ = 111). Preparation included detailed intake questionnaires, video modeling, behavioral and anxiety reduction techniques, active noise-canceling headphones, and in-scan presentation of the Inscapes movie paradigm from Vanderwal et al. (Neuroimage 122:222–32, 2015). A high temporal resolution multiband echoplanar fMRI protocol analyzed motion-free time series data, extracted from concatenated volumes to mitigate the influence of motion artifact. All participants had > 200 volumes of motion-free fMRI scanning. Analyses were corrected for multiple comparisons. Results LVCP showed decreased within-network connectivity in default, salience, auditory, and frontoparietal networks (LVCP

The ultimate goal for school psychologists, special education practitioners, and other professionals who work with adolescents with disabilities is to help students plan and prepare to transition from school to adult life with the skills and knowledge to live happy, productive, and fulfilling lives. This article describes how school psychologists can support special education practitioners in improving transitions for students with disabilities, introduces free resources, and recommends forms of additional training. School psychologists are well positioned to support special education practitioners in facilitating the transition assessment process by providing documentation of postschool accommodation needs as students exit the school system.

Practitioners are constantly searching for evidence-based practices that are effective in teaching academic skills to students with learning disabilities (LD). Video modeling (VM) and video prompting have become popular instructional interventions for many students across a wide range of different disability classifications, including those with LD. This article provides readers with the knowledge necessary to understand VM, and includes directions and resources needed to implement an academic VM intervention for a student with LD.

Aggressive behaviors are common in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may be phenotypic indicators of different subtypes within ASD. In current research literature for non-ASD samples, aggression has been linked to several brain structures associated with emotion and behavioral control. However, few if any studies exist investigating brain volume differences in individuals with ASD who have comorbid aggression as indicated by standardized diagnostic and behavioral measures.We examined neuroimaging data from individuals rigorously diagnosed with ASD versus typically developing (TD) controls. We began with data from brain volume regions of interest (ROI) taken from previous literature on aggression including the brainstem, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We defined aggression status using the Irritability subscale of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist and used lasso logistic regression to select among these predictor variables. Brainstem volume was the only variable shown to be a predictor of aggression status.We found that smaller brainstem volumes are associated with higher odds of being in the high aggression group.Understanding brain differences in individuals with ASD who engage in aggressive behavior from those with ASD who do not can inform treatment approaches. Future research should investigate brainstem structure and function in ASD to identify possible mechanisms related to arousal and aggression.

This chapter discusses the opportunities and challenges an adolescent with disabilities may face when transitioning into adulthood. Transition services should be provided to those with disabilities in order to prepare them for different experiences outside of school. A huge component in preparing adolescents for transition is through teaching different transition skills such as self-determination skills, relationship skills, work-readiness skills, mobility skills, communication skills, daily living skills, college readiness skills, and community skills. Parents and teachers are given ideas on how to develop each of these areas. The authors describe different transition opportunities that are available to those with disabilities, including postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and community participation. The authors give different recommendations for effective transitional services and suggestions for future research.

Teacher educators are always looking for instructional strategies that are easy to create and use but are powerful for promoting learning among preservice teacher candidates. Content acquisition podcasts (CAPs) is an example of an instructional strategy that embeds evidence-based instructional design principles to package and deliver critical content in courses such as introductory and foundational special education classes. In this column, a brief overview of current problems of practice that create a need for CAPs, a review research on the use of CAPs for preservice teacher education, and an overview of the processes used to create CAPs are provided.

Although there are many activities (e.g., transition services), derived from correlational research, that occur while students are in school that increase the likelihood of positive post-school outcomes, many teachers continue to provide services shown to have little to no effect on outcomes of students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to operationally define the predictors of post-school success for educators to understand what is necessary to develop, implement, and evaluate secondary transition programs based on predictor research. Results conclude experts in the field reached consensus on an operational definition and set of essential program characteristics for each predictor of post-school success to aid practitioners in implementing these practices.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using video modeling delivered through a portable media player (Apple video iPod) as a means of teaching job-related tasks to four young adults with autism spectrum disorders. The videos were enhanced by adding written instructions. Results indicated that using the iPod was associated with immediate and substantial gains in the percentage of steps completed correctly. All of the participants demonstrated maintenance of the acquired tasks. In addition, all four of the young adults were able to use the video iPod independently. Social validity data indicated that using an iPod was a socially acceptable and appropriate way to deliver a video modeling intervention in some community employment settings

to help students plan and prepare for the rest of their lives. This planning and preparation is especially important for students with disabilities. One recent study which highlighted the importance of the transition from school to adult life is the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). The 10-year NLTS2 study of the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of youth with disabilities who received special education services found that youth with disabilities are

Teacher education programs are limited in terms of available face-to-face instructional time for preparing general education teacher candidates to work with students with exceptionalities. Given this constraint, developing innovative use of technologies may assist in meeting the demand for highly qualified teachers for such students. In this research study, enhanced podcasts (images displayed in time with audio) were produced using Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning to deliver selected uncovered course content. Two randomly assigned groups of undergraduate teacher education candidates interacted with either audio podcasts or enhanced podcasts across two experiments. Researchers measured recall and higher order application ability of students to determine which podcast method resulted in higher scores. Participants interacting with the enhanced podcasts outperformed their audio-only counterparts on three of four measures of recall and application. Implications for teacher education programming regarding how to better prepare general education teachers to meet the needs of students with disabilities by utilizing this type of technology will be described.

This study examined the relationship between high school transition preparation (school and family based) and self-determination among postsecondary students with disabilities. Seventy-six participants from 4-year universities completed a two-part online survey. The first part of the survey measured three dependent variables: psychological empowerment, hope, and locus of control. The second part measured the independent variable quality of high school transition preparation. Correlational analyses were conducted between the quality of a student’s high school transition preparation and perceived self-determination (i.e., psychological empowerment, hope, and locus of control). Although significant correlations existed among the scales used to measure self-determination, the relationships between high school preparation and the role of families and self-determination was of interest.

This chapter introduces the reader to technology that can be used for developing visual supports such as schedules and organizers and for scripting social expectations, both in daily routines and within a school community. Technology focusing on visual maps and organizers will be explained, using the Common Core standards related to the comprehension and retelling of stories, events in history, scientific concepts, and personal and expository narratives.

The majority of studies regarding co-teaching have primarily looked at what specific instructional practices and teacher characteristics are needed to make co-teaching an effective practice. In contrast, this study investigates how co-teaching affects a teacher’s particular teaching style and behavior. Of greatest interest is how a teacher’s use of instructional technology is impacted by the presence of a co-teacher. With many schools making inclusion a priority, the number of co-taught classes is increasing. In order for students to gain the most from classes that are co-taught, it is important that we first understand the factors that affect co-teachers. Once we understand these factors, it will be possible to increase the effectiveness of coteachers.