peer reviewed articles about special education

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JAASEP - Research Based Journal in Special Education

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All members of The National Association of Special Education Teachers , through an agreement with the American Academy of Special Education Professionals , will now have free access to an online peer reviewed research journal in special education, the Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals ( JAASEP ).

The Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals ( JAASEP ) is an online peer-reviewed journal committed to advancing the professional development of special education professionals through research, policy, and practice.  JAASEP is a multi-faceted electronic journal that seeks new contributions based on original work of practitioners and researchers with specific focus on or implications for the field of special education.

The content of  JAASEP  is likely to be of interest to college or university faculty, school administrators, educational evaluators, psychologists, special education teachers, psychiatrists, medical doctors, directors of special education services, directors of early intervention agencies, infant-toddler service coordinators, transition service coordinators, speech and language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, educational lawyers, and all other practitioners and professionals in the field of special education.

We hope that you take the time to read the professional literature provided. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please contact us at: [email protected]

JAASEP WINTER 2024 - CLICK HERE

JAASEP Editorial Board of Reviewers

An Overview of the Challenges and Resources Special Education Professionals Reported During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

Ai kamei, kathryn lubniewski, stacy lauderdale littin, carol mcarthur-amedeo, mary haspel, & wendy harriott, an exploration of pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward including students with autism spectrum disorder (asd) in general education, mary. a. houser, tara s. guerriero, & trevor o’brien, supporting student engagement through the use of various discussion formats in a graduate teacher education course, marla j. lohmann, & kathleen a. boothe, ramping up 504 professional development for all types of educators: going beyond section 504 being a special education responsibility, shawna p. ortogero,  vera glushenko, joan umiokalani jensen, victoria timmerman, & tierney o. barcarse, parent perspectives of transition planning for english learners with disabilities, yi-chen wu, martha thurlow & david johnson, when parents of children with severe autism become their teachers: unique cases from the covid-19 pandemic, sydney bueno, uzeyir ogurlu, lisa bardon, & nikki logan, a rural community's role and process to secure work experiences for youth with disabilities, building communities of practice: initial perceptions of an interdisciplinary preparation program for special education teachers and social workers, robbie j. marsh, heather, baltodano-van ness, & monica brown, parent perceptions of interactions with professionals that improve individualized education program development, kristopher hawk yeager, malarie e. deardorff, belkis choiseul-praslin, wendy r. mitchell, courtney tennell, & brooki beasley, a comparison of teaching efficacy between paraprofessionals and special education teachers working with special education students, cristhian c. altamirano, & dake zhang .

Author Guidelines for Submission to JAASEP

Copyright and Reprint Rights of JAASEP

Download this Issue of JAASEP - Download Page

Jaasep fall 2023 - click here, table of contents, teacher’s perspectives of integrated therapy service deliveries:  a case study, vidya pingale and tina s. fletcher, leadership matters: elementary self-contained autism special education teachers’ perceptions of administrator support, kasey dye and rachel walker, infusing high leverage practices into culturally relevant education to support culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities, toni franklin and maria peterson ahmad, a brief report on teacher mask wearing and learning in children with asd, makayla heisler, jennifer gillis mattson, and rachel n. s. cavalari, art therapy and autism: a picture of the literature, caroline guardino, rebekah wallis, arien peppers harrison, and morgan green, teacher perceptions regarding the effects of online learning during the pandemic with regards to the progression or regression of students’ reading levels, rachel palumbo, ready for the world increasing effective post-secondary readiness for students in special education based on educator and practitioner points-of-view, deshanna reed and dr. cruz casiano, to buy or not to buy: understanding how special educators make decisions as consumers of intervention materials for children with disabilities, dr. lesley sylvan, erica goldstein and dina hafez, essential dispositions for inclusive educators: an examination of national standards and guiding principles, joanne m. van boxtel and megan chaney, comparing preservice and inservice teachers’ perceptions and actual knowledge of phonics, cheryl wold, andria l. moon, alan l. neville, and tim houge, download fall 2023 issue of jaasep - download page, jaasep spring/summer 2023 - click here, delphi technique: parents identify protective factors to address problem behaviors in adolescents with and without disabilities, monica r. brown, public k-12 education response to serving special education students during covid: a content analysis, cheryl l. burleigh, andrea m. wilson, and erik bean, experiences of special education teachers in new york state during covid-19 remote instruction, kimberly f. colvin, tammy g. ellis-robinson, and taja r. young, inclusive education and rural middle school general education teacher preparedness, joseph a. hogan, designing appropriate small group intensive instruction within an mtss for students with low incidence disabilities, timothy e. morse, spelling interventions for elementary and secondary students with learning disabilities: a systematic review, reagan murnan, conversation analysis of shared reading with students who have significant support needs, nancy quick, penelope hatch, & karen erickson, teachers’ perceptions of school behavior support systems: a case study, laura n. sarchet, teachers’ instructional language with children with mild and severe language difficulties in self-contained special education classrooms, wenjing zheng, download spring/summer 2023 issue of jaasep - download page, jaasep winter 2023 - click here, the effectiveness of oculomotor rehabilitation on impaired reading skills: a case study approach, jamie l. chichy, julie w. ankrum, and rebecca wincek-bateson, preliminary evaluation of a community-based parent mentor program: empowering families to navigate special education, heidi r. cornell, & jennifer stone, creating trauma-informed spaces for youth in residential programs, aimee j. hackney, nina r. graham, kristine jolivette & sara sanders, retaining special educators with autism expertise in schools, laura j. hall & beth allison pavez, life skill programs: an exploratory survey of school based programming in the public high school setting, kathleen hegarty follis, christina helfrich & allison f. sullivan, facilitating student engagement using optimal trunk support for children with postural dysfunction, thilagha jagaiah & sandra saavedra, the impact of a special education course on pre-service teachers’ knowledge and perspectives about inclusion and inclusive practices, muhammed a. karal, neslihan unluol-unal, & sema tan, strategies and challenges to teaching students with special needs during a pandemic, sarana eyire roberts & yeunjoo lee, experiences of parents and practitioners working with middle school students with asd during the covid-19 school shutdown, kristie asaro-saddler, heather kurto, lisa chelkowski & hedayat ghazali, the numbers don’t lie – or do they small sample size hides lived reality of representation of native american students in special education, cheryl wold, alan neville & pamela monaghan-geernaert, software enabling school improvement through analysis, sharon e. rouse, rose jones & jonnie cleveland, download winter 2023 issue of jaasep - download page, jaasep fall 2022 - click here, a case study of compounding views of paraprofessional roles and relationships in preschool classrooms: implications for practice and policy, tiara saufley brown and tina stanton-chapman, video modeling to support physical activity in children with    autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review, joann p. judge, kristen n. morgan, and angela clifton, practicing teachers’ use of online tools for iep goal writing and instructional support, michael dunn and mary rice, special education in rural mexico: two schools in jalisco, alejandra favela and phyllis petteys, pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward including students with asd in general education, mary a. houser, tara s. guerriero, david l. bolton, and esther smidt, a competency-based education case study: a mathematics intervention for a five-year-old with autism spectrum disorder (asd), meirav tzohar-rozen, yael kimhi, and dalia cohen, lessons from the trenches: special education service delivery and instruction amidst the covid-19 health crisis in california schools, nicole nicholson, choosing a career path: moving beyond the challenges of autism spectrum disorder, vicky g. spencer, and s. lynn cesard, preview-view-review: increasing academic access for students with severe disabilities who are english learners, dolores williamson, tracy spies, kyle higgins, and shannon sparks, beating the odds: how six post-secondary learners overcame common challenges of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, martha l. wise, barbara l. wise, and sarah jones, jaasep spring/summer 2022 - click here, examining general education and special education teacher preparedness for co-teaching students with disabilities, cindy causey, lina soares, catherine s. howerter, and peggy shannon-baker, “i’m not prepared”: experiences of professionals working with students with disabilities and co-occurring mental health disorders, megan fujita, grace l. francis, and jodi duke, i-care: a scaffolded instructional approach to teach teachers and staff self-care practices within juvenile justice facilities, sara sanders, skip kumm, brandis m. ansley, and kristine jolivette, increasing pre-service special education teacher skills on performance feedback, tosha l. owens, melissa e. hudson, and karen s. voytecki, using video self-monitoring to improve teacher implementation of evidence-based practices for students with autism spectrum disorder, selena j. layden, annemarie l. horn, and kera e. hayden, understanding how individuals overcome their dyslexia: struggles, turning points in life, and advice, nai cheng kuo, karin m. fisher, jennifer jones, sara hillis, i-chien chen, and keonna stanley, special educators’ perceptions of high-leverage practices, cynthia ann farley and rhonda s. black, paraeducators: an important member of educational team for students with disabilities, sarah n. douglas, ryan p. bowles, and rebecca kammes, ph.d., individualized rating scales of engagement during group exercise activities for children with multiple and severe disabilities: a process description and case series, eydie kendall, karren streagle, and tania helbert, transforming the narrative identity of a student with extensive support needs using multiliteracies, sudha krishnan, jaasep winter 2022 - click here, structured play groups for children with autism spectrum disorder: a critical review, david adams, scott mcnamara, melissa bittner, jill pawlowski & kelly hangauer, assessing the implementation of differentiated instruction using technology within pre-service teacher education programs, annah l. hill, & mariha k. shields, collaborative inclusive programs: influences of administrators and teacher leaders, jane m. leatherman, enhancing conversational skills among college students with intellectual disabilities within naturalistic settings, jason robinson, tracy gershwin, michelle athanasiou, & dina london, self-determination strategies for students with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, yan wei, katrina a. hovey, lydia gerzel-short, rhonda d. miller, jerae kelly, & yun-ju hsiao, mapping review of individuals who are bilingual with autism spectrum disorders, valeria yllades, lauren pierson, lisa bowman-perrott, & claudia dunn, elementary principals’ views on the policies and practices of paraeducators in special education, sarah n. douglas, ryan p. bowles, & rebecca kammes, child find activities between public school personnel: engagement, barriers, and experiences, julie m. lane, & david r. jones, perceptions of the efficacy of classroom management techniques, philip r. mehler, investigating the journal impact factor of special education journals indexed in the social sciences science edition from web of science, funda örnek, ruben miranda, & metin orbay, a uthor guidelines for submission to jaasep, jaasep fall 2021 - click here, educational leaders’ perspectives on their preparation, practice, and professional development in multi-tiered systems of support, jodi drury, michael p. krezmien, kristine a. camacho, and alicia gonzales, where is the paraeducator content in introductory special education textbooks, sarah n. douglas, denise j. uitto, sophia d’agostino, classroom membership: what does that mean exactly, dr. katie heath, teaching middle school students with disabilities to solve multi-step equations using the hands-on equations system, thomas c. hendrickson, & annemarie horn , the impact of a community-university partnership program on special education teacher training in autism spectrum disorder, emily r. shamash & alyson m. martin, the practices of teachers in the development of post-secondary skills in students with learning disabilities, sara taylor, using social stories to decrease negative behaviors in students with autism and other disabilities, vivian c. williams, using technology-based interventions to improve the social-communication skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (asd), nicole anthony & cynthia wooten, association of intellectual risk taking with science achievement of gifted students and comparison of their intellectual risk taking in different grades and gender, mustafa serdar köksal, esra açikgül firat & gamze akkaya, applying empathy curriculum to enhance the role of the paraprofessional for students with multiple disabilities, christopher russel & soribel genao, teaching children with sma 1 to expressively communicate using augmentative and alternative communication systems: extending functional communication teaching using a model of verbal behavior, cheryl ostryn, what school psychologists should know about multiple sclerosis, ashley n. phillips & denise e. maricle, increasing independent toileting in children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities: a systematic review, vicky g. spencer & meghan ello, jaasep spring/summer 2021 - click here, short-term fun or long-term outcomes the effects of authentic pedagogy on the dispositional development of college students learning about the educational needs of children with disabilities, laura bassette, ph.d., bcba-d, ruth jefferson, ed.d., matthew stuve, ph.d. & anthony mangino, m.a., parental perceptions of the transition to adulthood for their children with disabilities, megan gross, b.s., annamayil manohar, b.s., & katherine k. rose, ph.d., “everything now falls on me”: parent perspectives on services lost and challenges during virtual learning for youth with disabilities, elizabeth g. s. munsell, ms, otr/l, ariel e. schwartz, phd, otr/l, elizabeth k. schmidt, phd, otr/l & jennifer chen, phd, otr/l, the efficacy of rhyme instruction in early childhood special education, lisa a. pufpaff, ph.d., legal issues and parent rights for culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities, valeria yllades, claudia dunn & jennifer b. ganz, what the medical doctor knows: medical-educational partnerships for success, michelle curtin, do, faap & christine raches, psyd, hspp, bcba, imh-e, students as causal agents: engagement in course selection, ms. cathy haarstad, ms, dr. evan borisinkoff, ph.d., & ms. rhonda weathers, ms, an examination of the correlation between administrator teacher support and teacher self-efficacy level, shiradon h. kirk, ed.d, aarek w. farmer, ed.d & charles vires, jr., ph.d, enhancing self-determination for students with complex communication needs using the self-determined learning model of instruction, sheida k. raley, m.ed., karrie a. shogren, ph.d. & kathryn m. burke, ph.d., individual education plans and teams: principals' roles and responsibilities, emily n. rutherford, edd. & rachel brown, phd, jaasep winter 2021 - click here, fluency matters: an outline to students becoming fluent readers using research based practices in under an hour: a quasi-experimental research study, nicole vozza, quality of life for individuals with disabilities during the covid-19 pandemic  , shannon l. sparks & sang nam, the influence of teaching assignment on burnout in special education teachers, shannon b. romano, olivia r. hester, lauren h. rollins, & randall e. schumacker, retaining special education graduate students in times of transition, karen m. potter, randa g. keeley & breanna l. sherrow, is practice in a mixed-reality environment better than role play for promoting implementation fidelity of the constant time delay procedure for special education undergraduates, melissa e. hudson, from the golden rule to the platinum rule: strategies for advancing toward cultural proficiency for special educators, rebecca d. daigneault & evan d. borisinkoff, answering wh-questions with the support of graphic organizers: effects on 8th graders with autism spectrum disorder, karin r. kliemann, miriam c. boesch & endia j. lindo, investigating the journal impact factor of special education journals indexed in the social sciences science edition from web of science , funda örnek, ruben miranda & metin orbay, experiences of a student with learning disability in science: supporting students to enhance learning, allison l. mcgrath & marie tejero hughes, the role of effective communication in co-teaching to increase student achievement, kayla y. fells, jaasep fall 2020 - click here, what parents tell their post-secondary students with intellectual and developmental disabilities about money, joanne caniglia, yvonne michali, michelle meadows, & davison mupinga, the perceived effectiveness of using mindfulness as a strategy for special educators in coping with the stress of their work environment  , lisa ciraldo, the influence of introductory coursework on preservice teachers’ sense of self-efficacy towards teaching in an inclusive classroom, moriah smothers, tori colson, nina yssel, & linda taylor, insights gained from special education pre-service teachers interviewing paraprofessionals, rob schulze, experiences of special educators in creating opportunities for students to practice self-determination, kaitlyn m. millen, lori y. peterson, jason robinson, & timothy m. luff, examining the effectiveness of fidgets on attention of elementary students with adhd, leslie a. mathews, kimberly j. osmani, & james e. martin, autism spectrum disorder: a cross-cultural variability in personal identity, dr. aftab khan & dr. michel ferrari, the development of aissend: an observation tool to assess inclusive practices  , randa g. keeley, rebecca alvarado-alcantar, & david w. keeley, exploring factors related to burnout among special education teachers in specialized schools, dr. oksana huk & dr. brian cesario, services for young children with disabilities in romania in the post-communist era, luminita hartle, amanda quesenberry, & sharon doubet, progress in education for students with intellectual disabilities in saudi arabia: evaluating status, khalid h. alshamri, jaasep spring/summer 2020 - click here, effects of mass trials versus distributed trials during a shared story reading for students with moderate to severe disabilities, mona nasir-tucktuck, joshua n. baker, cori more, k. ryan wennerlind, and stephanie devine, a pilot study of a self-determination curriculum on secondary students  , brent a. askvig, melissa naslund, evan d. borisinkoff, and rebecca daigneault, student voices: a qualitative self-awareness study of college students with disabilities, chen-ya juan, penny l. cantley, james martin, and brad mays, effects of physical activity on executive function of children with adhd, jeffery l. hart and david phillips, inclusive book club: perspectives of undergraduate participants, shawnna helf, and debra leach, constructivism, zone of proximal development and target in a multi-dimensional classroom, bradley johnson, ph.d., playgrounds for “all” children, sharon e. rouse, rose b. jones and david w. walker, challenges to collaboration, inclusion and best practices within the special education community, cecilia scott-croff, use of visual performance feedback to increase teacher use of behavior-specific praise among high school students with severe disabilities, michelle l. simmons, robin h. lock, janna brendle, and laurie a. sharp, empowering refugee families of students with disabilities, sadia warsi, and karen fitzgerald, individual education plan considerations for online learning: accommodations, carolyn l. berenson, jaasep winter 2020 - click here, transition programs for individuals with disabilities: a post-secondary college experience leading to greater independence in life and work, karen h. feathers and deborah e. schadler, use of shaping to overcome the fear of entering a restroom: a case study of a preschooler with autism, suja m. george, and tamara soemali, the effects of cra/csa explicit instruction for students with and without disabilities taught in an inclusive setting, vanessa hinton, anna gibbs, and toni franklin, cultural issues: treating & diagnosing adhd, noe ramos, and john lowdermilk, the impact of social communication on employment success for adolescents with asd, beth clavenna-deane, mary pearson, and blake hansen, hopes and hurdles: parents’ perceptions and experiences with transition planning for students with intellectual disabilities, jason robinson, and tracy gershwin mueller, how early experiences in cognitive development improve working memory and processing speed skills of children, heather dube, and sarah sarette, instruction in co-taught secondary classrooms: an exploratory case study in algebra 1, margaret p. weiss and wendy rodgers, the effects of relationship history on student responding in an academic setting, regan weston, tonya davis, and abby hodges, a brief primer of three major counseling theories for use by school-based personnel, samuel f. whitley, jaasep fall 2019 - click here, a systematic review of video modeling interventions to improve the independent living skills of students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, kaylee s. wynkoop, daniel r. wissinger, and matthew van horn, what challenges do special education teacher educators encounter while preparing novice special education teachers, laurie a. sharp & frank goode, services and supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorders in the kingdom of saudi arabia, siddiq ahmed, morgan chitiyo, and mohamad al-jaffal, how parents of students with pandas or pans perceive the educational process, patricia rice doran and elizabeth o’hanlon, the changing role of the itinerant teacher of the deaf: a snapshot of current teacher perceptions, holly f. pedersen and karen l. anderson, augmentative and alternative communication in classrooms: special education teacher competences, rashed a. aldabas, overcoming adapted physical education barriers through collaboration among special educators and administrators, scott w.t. mcnamara, lisa silliman-french, valda morgan, and tammy l. stephens-pisecco, perceived effectiveness of classroom management interventions with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, darlene desbrow, theory to practice: implementation achievements and challenges of response to intervention in a rural district, brenda l. barrio, kira j. carbonneau, marcus poppen, darcy miller, michael dunn, and yun-ju hsiao, general educator perceptions of school support in teaching students with an iep, faith kenny, jaasep spring-summer 2019 - click here, use of projective techniques in emotional disturbance evaluations, ryan a. allen, timothy hanchon, & bradley bornancin, developing culturally responsive transition plans using the indicator 13 checklist, meungguk park, morgan chitiyo, changdeog huh, and waganesh zeleke, an assessment of perceived antecedents to attitudes of college students towards children with autism, anthony m. denkyirah, yaw nyadu offei & emmanuel k. acheampong, exploring the effects of the autismate application on a 12 year-old boy with asd: a case study, natalie g. wall, julie ivey, and karen frederick, addressing the need for progress in special education:  understanding endrew f. and the role of special educators, laura kern, heather peshak george, lauren l. evanovich, and stephanie martinez, creating self-efficacious special educators through mentoring during teacher preparation, mary m. lombardo-graves, challenging behavior in students with an intellectual disability: promoting understanding and compassionate educational practice, evelyn bilias-lolis and alyson m. martin, exploring preservice teachers' perceptions of preparedness to teach students with disabilities, linda m. reeves, rebecca m. giles, and todd johnson, but… how helpful is that  parents’ views on the helpfulness of selected resources when making educational decisions for their young children with disabilities, maría isolina ruiz, linda flynn-wilson, lauren giovingo, and philip g. wilson, an investigation of co-teaching to improve academic achievement of students with disabilities: a meta-analysis, mickey losinski, sara sanders, robin parks-ennis, nicole wiseman, jessica nelson, and antonis katsiyannis, evaluation of the rhythmic arts project, a multi-modal rhythm-based perception and action intervention, in a school-based setting in children with autism spectrum disorders, beth a. smith, eddie tuduri, emily mostovoy, denise pannell, and chris landon, jaasep winter 2019 - click here, responding to the endrew’s decision: measuring meaningful educational benefit, deborah w. hartman, social skills for students with moderate to severe disabilities: can community based instruction help, carissa hernandez, m.a. & saili s. kulkarni, ph.d., mobile hearing screening in a rural community school in ghana, an investigation of special education preservice teachers' perspectives and practices of steam education, ashley gess, ph.d.  & nai-cheng kuo, ph.d., increasing teachers' use of behavior-specific praise with the teacher vs. student game, renée e. lastrapes, ph.d. , jennifer n. fritz, ph.d. & robert c. hasson, ed.d., building independence through self-prompting with technology, dana r. reinecke, ph.d., bcba-d, meeting the needs of students with disabilities: characteristics of universal design of instruction in odds-beating middle schools, heather kurto, m.s. ed., kristen c. wilcox, ph.d. & kristie asaro-saddler, ph.d., social skill and self-advocacy goals: an iep study, gregory w. smith, ph.d., k. alisa lowrey, ph.d. & david walker, ed.d., perspectives on current practices and barriers to training for paraeducators of students with autism in inclusive settings, emily eyrolles sobeck, ph. d & rachel robertson, ph.d., bcba-d, poverty and learning: the effects of poverty in the classroom, dr. jessie s. thacker-king, download winter 2019 issue of jaasep - download page, fall 2018 jaasep - click here, understanding the removal of classroom auditory distractors: an interactive design, gregory w. smith, ph.d., audra i. classen, ph.d., paul j. riccomini, ph.d., & robyn r. brewer, graduate student (bcba program), communication in support of students with disabilities attending career technical education, christine powell, ed.d., strategies for supporting students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in stem education, amelia k. moody, ph.d., dennis s. kubasko, ph.d. and allison r. walker, ph.d., gifting the ungifted: disproportionality of minority students in gifted education, nicholas catania, m.ed., prompting with wearable technology to increase teaching behaviors of a preservice special education teacher, andrew m. markelz m.ed., jonte c. taylor ph.d., mary catherine scheeler ph.d., paul j. riccomini ph.d., & david b. mcnaughton ph.d., “how am i doing” teaching children with emotional-behavioral disorders to self-manage their behaviors, lael tensfeldt, m.a., amory verroulx, m.a., bcba & jennifer n. mahdavi, ph.d, bcba-d., developing peer mediated interventions for secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders, danielle feeney, m.ed., fostering reading motivation in self-contained classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, heidi r. cornell, ph.d., exceptional gifted in west virginia: reflections of a teacher of the exceptional gifted on the state program, dr. patricia coon, the effect of a skills-based behavioral program on raising the self-concept of individuals with mild intellectual disability in uae, dr. ousha almheiri, democratic citizenship education and inclusion: preparing preservice teachers for inclusive social studies, dennis j. urban, jr., spring/summer 2018 jaasep - click here, social skills and students with moderate to severe disabilities: can community based instruction help, carissa hernandez, ma and saili s. kulkarni, ph.d., supporting students with disabilities during group activities: five tools every inclusive mathematics educator needs, benjamin s. riden ph.d., andrew m. markelz ph.d. and m. kathleen heid ph.d., using an alternating treatment design in a co-taught classroom to measure student on-task behavior, randa g. keeley, ph.d., a whole language reading intervention: a case study, matthew glavach, ph.d. and warren pribyl, m.a., common purpose, uncommon results: a literacy collaboration for a preschooler with down syndrome, chelsea t. morris, m.ed. and rachel j. chidester, m.s., educational policy: instruction and assessment, christina m. sorrentino, increasing use of research-based practices: action research report on a college-school partnership to support instruction aligned to middle school common core math standards for students with significant disabilities, katherine trela, ph.d., wendy gladstone-brown, ed.d., norah merritt, ph.d. and leah raftis, ed.d., the impact of assistive technology on autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review, angela bollin, bs tr, ctrs, julia vandermolen, ph.d and taylor bierwagen, effects of video modeling and video modeling plus prompting and reinforcement on the daily living skills of a student with autism, kaylee s. wynkoop. ph.d., rachel e. robertson, ph.d., bcba-d and emily e. sobeck, ph.d., winter 2018 jaasep - click here, supervisory teacher coaching in k-12 classrooms, millicent carmouche and jelisa thompson, factors that may hinder the implementation of the school-wide positive behavior intervention support model, jonathan chitiyo and michael e. may, matching students to augmentative and alternative communication: a single case study, sarah dimeo, mary frances baxter, susan zapf, jane pemberton, and husny amerih, academic experiences of students who are deaf at the university of education, winneba, ghana, alexander m. oppong, joyce adu, daniel fobi, and emmanuel k. acheampong, the effect of video modeling on preschoolers’ learning who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis, sanpalei nylla lyngdoh, m.a. and konabe bene, ph.d., autism support teachers’ attitudes about inclusion for children with autism, twila lukowiak, ed.d., james ghareeb, b.s., sarah wadi, b.s., samantha stanis, b.s. & jack walter, disabilities and social engagement: inclusive classroom preparation for pre-service art teachers, alyssia ruggiero, student engagement in an online special education-general education graduate program, laron scott and priyadarshini pattath, mindfulness meditation with high school students who receive special education services: research recommendations from a pilot study, ernest solar, ph.d., fall 2017 jaasep - click here, implementation of a post-secondary inclusive recreation program, chris brown, ph.d., john david johnson, ph.d. & ibrahim z. elsawy, ph.d., strengthening social and emotional intelligences through writing, jeanne hager burth, ed.d. & michelle mcconnell, b.s., let’s get parents ready for their initial iep meeting, helen hammond & lawrence ingalls, preparing preservice teachers for inclusive classrooms: a state-wide survey of teacher education faculty, lucinda anne lang, ph.d. & sherry mee bell, ph.d., are we practicing what we are preaching an evaluation of self-determination instructional components in ieps at a midwestern high school, nancy lopez, ed.d. & julia b. stoner, ed.d., ccc-slp, stretch (students ready to make change): making a difference in the lives of students, effects of activity schedules on challenging behavior for children with autism, dr. rachel scalzo, dr. tonya n. davis, regan weston, elizabeth dukes, dana leeper, nandar min, allen mom, jessica stone & alex weber, alternative approaches to iep conflict: a review of the literature, laura sinkonis, m.ed., evaluating the validity and reliability of a student self-advocacy teacher rating scale, christopher m. walick, ph.d., spring/summer 2017 jaasep - click here, the history of behavioral treatments in autism: from the punitive to the positive, jennifer l. suppo, ed.d., how early experiences in a kindergarten classroom shape the development of self-regulation skills of children, eloisa darcy, ed. d., sarah sarette, ed. d., anna boghigian and marley martin, mothers’ perspectives and experiences of speech generating devices, yeunjoo lee, ph.d. and luis a. vega, ph.d., teachers' pedagogical competence in adapting curricula for children with learning difficulties (ld) in primary schools in ghana, abdul-razak kuyini alhassan and chigorom okechukwu abosi, parents are the experts: understanding parent knowledge and the strategies they use to foster collaboration with special education teams, colby kervick, ed. d, examination of social story format on frequency of undesired behaviors, robyn thompson, ph.d., and susan s. johnston, ph.d., preparing early childhood educators for blending practices in inclusive classrooms, mary donegan-ritter, ph. d. and frank kohler, ph. d., pre-service teachers assisting the transition of the student with autism from school to adulthood, jeanne hager burth, ed.d., pre-service teacher self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities: what knowledge matters, brooke browarnik, sherry mee bell, r. steve mccallum, kelly smyth and melissa martin, variables affecting the amputees' reactions artificial limbs in the kingdom of jordan, mezyed al-adwan, yahya najjar, maha hdaib and monadel al-khateeb, winter 2017 jaasep - click here, how expert special educators effectively negotiate their job demands, shawna p. ortogero, ph.d., rhonda s. black, ed.d.  and bryan g. cook, ph.d., inclusive concurrent enrollment: a promising postsecondary transition practice for building self-determination among students with intellectual disability, amy l. cook, ph.d., felicia l. wilczenski, ed.d. and laura vanderberg, ph.d., improving outcomes for students with disabilities: identifying characteristics of successful districts, melissa devries, m.ed. and oran tkatchov, m.ed., a comparative study of teachers’ pedagogical competencies in supporting children with learning difficulties in primary schools in ghana and brunei darussalam, okechukwu abosi, ph.d, and abdul razak kuyini alhassan, ph.d., a case study of factors that influenced the attrition or retention of two first-year special education teachers, marquis c. grant, ed.d., significant outcomes in case law in the united states: autism and idea in 2013, transition issues and changes in diagnostic evaluation criteria, doris adams hill, ph.d. and jonte taylor, ph.d., effectiveness of pearson’s successmaker mathematics for students with disabilities, steven k. mckissick, teachers’ methodologies and sources of information on hiv/aids for students with visual impairments in selected residential and integrated schools in ghana, samuel k. hayford and frederick ocansey, managing asthma in elementary and middle schools: adherence to federal laws and national guidelines, ethan j. schilling, ph.d., stacey neuharth-pritchett, ph.d., yvette q. getch, ph.d. and a michele lease, ph.d., use of social narratives as an evidence-based practice to support employment of young adults with asd: practitioner’s guide, jamie thomas, m.s. and susan nix, m.ed., fall 2016 jaasep - click here, examining the attitudes of secondary general education and special education teachers toward inclusion of children with autism in general education classrooms, morghan e. bosch, ed.d., action research report: using objects to increase reading comprehension in students with significant cognitive disabilities, sheila bravo, the redundancy effect on retention and transfer for individuals with high symptoms of adhd, victoria brown, david lewis and mario toussaint, guidelines for the administration of educational programs for students who are deaf/hard of hearing, visually impaired, or deafblind, susan bruce, kay ferrell and john l. luckner, teaching reading comprehension to students with autism spectrum disorders in social studies classrooms: middle school teacher perceptions, lisa burke, wu-ying hsieh, norma lopez-reyna and kathryn servilio, general education and special education teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion, david a. hernandez, susan hueck and carmen charley, steps to becoming independent: toilet training challenges facing children with autism spectrum disorder, andrea belyea, herbert neely and julie p. jones, leadership style of head teachers of basic special schools as correlates of retention of special needs educators in southern ghana, felix kwame kumedzro, nelly otube, chomba wamunyi and mary runo, revisiting the regular education initiative: multi-tiered systems of support can strengthen the connection between general and special education, debra leach and shawnna helf, effects of inclusion classrooms on academic achievement of students with learning disabilities and students in general education, sharon ware, spring/summer 2016 jaasep - click here, the implications of a system-wide positive behavioral intervention initiative: from design to successful implementation, vance l. austin, micheline s. malow, nikki l. josephs and andrew j. ecker, creating an environment for pre-service teachers to work with learners with special needs, are we ready to have teachers with learning disabilities a study of school principals' observations, heidi flavian, ph.d., follow-up study to family members’ reactions to the initial special education meeting, dr. lawrence ingalls, dr. helen hammond, mr. carlos paez and mr. ivan rodriguez, perceptions of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders towards their partnerships with teachers, yun-ju hsiao, ph.d., brain gym: pseudoscientific practice, kevin kroeze, bae, keith j. hyatt, ed.d., and m. chuck lambert, ph.d., housing and independent living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, debra leach, ed.d., using the “asked” model to contrive motivations and teach individuals with asd to ask wh-questions in natural settings, cheryl ostryn, ph.d., bcba-d, lba, an analysis of factors influencing low enrolment and retention of girls with disabilities in integrated primary schools in embu county, kenya, njeru idah muthoni, dr. nelly otube and dr. samson rosana ondigi, employing case study methodology in special educational settings, angelise m. rouse, ph.d., retraction statement, jaasep winter 2016 - click here, the effects of special education training on educator efficacy in classroom management and inclusive strategy use for students with autism in inclusion classes, lynn d. parsons, ph.d., heather miller, ph.d. and aaron r. deris, ph.d., the effectiveness of using a social story intervention to improve social interaction skills of students with autism, mohammed al zyoudi, oshua al murhairi, enas olimat and abedsalm al zyoudi, preventing and responding to student escalation: combining de-escalation strategies and function-based support, chelsea martel and brian cavanaugh, ed.d., teaching sam to read: an integrated team approach with one child with asd, gail coulter, ph.d. and roger sasnett, ph.d., high stakes testing in the 21st century: implications for students in special education, lola gordon, ed.s., identifying and correcting barriers to successful inclusive practices: a literature review, marquis c. grant, m.ed., ed.d. and kimberly michelle jones-goods, mps, ph.d., cameras in self-contained classrooms: legal, professional and student implications, ashlee ivie, effects of an intervention on math achievement for students with learning disabilities, vivian d. kitchens, ph.d., aaron r. deris, ph.d. and marilyn k. simon, ph.d, crossing borders and building bridges: a video ethnography of special education in nuevo progresso, mexico, john lowdermilk, ph.d., mrs. julie pecina, cheryl fielding, ph.d. and mrs. lisa beccera, evaluating and using literature including people with disabilities in all classrooms, mary ellen oslick, ph.d. and mary pearson, ph.d., a pilot examination of the adapted protocol for classroom pivotal response teaching, aubyn c. stahmer, ph.d., jessica suhrheinrich, ph.d. and san diego state university, principals and teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in israel, dr. itay hess, dr. sara zamir and ben- gurion, fall 2015 jaasep - click here, elements of good teaching and good teachers: a theoretical framework and effective strategies for special educators, vance l. austin, ph.d, what factors contribute to self-efficacy, hildy straus, ph.d., rhonda bondie, ph.d., co-teaching and collaboration: preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceived sense of efficacy in teaching students with disabilities, tamara m. bowlin, ph.d., sherry mee bell, ph.d., mari beth coleman, ph.d. & david f. cihak, ph.d., creating a common table: using peer mediated intervention to promote social communication skills with at-risk and autism spectrum disorder populations, dr. lesley craig-unkefer & dr. jennifer loncola walberg, home-school collaboration for students with asds: parents’ perspectives, mary a. houser, ed.d., charlotte l. fontenot, ed.d., & john spoede, ph.d., validating an observation protocol to measure special education teacher effectiveness, dr. evelyn s. johnson & dr. carrie l. semmelroth, teaching play skills through the use of assistive technology and instructional strategies: a national survey, susan s. johnston, ph.d. & robyn m. thompson, m.s., student outcomes in a blended preschool program, sybil a. keesbury, ed.d., a meta-analytic review of tactile-cued self-monitoring interventions used by students in educational settings, dr. dennis mcdougall & dr. cecily ornelles, teachers’ knowledge of special education policies and practices, pamela sanders, ph.d., spring/summer 2015 jaasep - click here, table of contents, learning disabilities today: an examination of effective and not-so-effective interventions, vance l. austin, teaching algebraic equations to middle school students with intellectual disabilities, joshua n. baker, christopher j. rivera, joseph john morgan & noelle reese, students with disabilities in the polish educational system after the political changes (2007-2012), danuta apanel, fape and lre in online learning: special education directors’ perspectives, diana greer, ph.d., danna harvey, m.s., paula burdette, ph.d. & james basham, ph.d., a preliminary investigation of the benefits of computer-aided instruction in reading decoding for students with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, doris adams hill, phd, bcba-d& margaret m. flores, phd, bcba-d, perspective taking through film: educating pre-service and in-service teachers about autism, jacqueline p. kelleher, comparing student and teacher perceptions of the importance of social skills in a self-contained setting, joseph john morgan ph.d., nicole dobbins, ph.d., yun-ju hsiao, ph.d., nancy brown, m.ed. & kyle higgins, ph.d., inclusive education practice in southwestern nigeria: a situational analysis, samuel olufemi adeniyi, ph.d. & akinkunmi oluwadamilare adeyemi, parent perspectives on home-based intervention for young children with developmental disabilities: the parent-implemented communication strategies (pics) project in illinois, usa, hedda meadan, ph.d., bcba-d, julia b. stoner, ed.d., ccc-slp & maureen e. angell, ph.d., the digital divide and inequities for students with disabilities: needed….a bridge over troubled waters, patricia a. tyson, winter 2015 jaasep - click here, effects of the picture exchange communication system (pecs) on maladaptive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (asd): a review of the literature, dana battaglia and mary e. mcdonald, comparing measure of academic progress (map) and piers-harris 2 scores of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, terrence rainer chisolm, perceptions of disability and special education services: the perspectives of korean-american parents of children with disabilities, nari choi and raymond ostendorf, instructional constraints faced by learners with muscular dystrophy: a case of joytown special primary school, thika, kenya, annrose wanjiku wang’ang’a, franciscah irangi wamocho and paul kioy, the perspectives of k-12 stakeholders involved in early implementation of response to intervention (rti), nai-cheng kuo, ph.d., the role of peer guided play for children with autism spectrum disorder, amy m. papacek, ph.d., improving science scores of middle school students with learning disabilities through engineering problem solving activities, leyf peirce starling, ya-yu lo and christopher j. rivera, service delivery for high school students with high incidence disabilities: issues and challenge, edward schultz, cynthia simpson, jane c. owen and christina janise mcintyre, teaching children with autism to ask questions, katie e. squires and alyssa bickel, the principals' impact on the implementation of inclusion, carmelita thompson, fostering special education certification through professional development, learning communities and mentorship, mitzi p. trahan, dianne f. olivier and donna e. wadsworth, fall 2014 jaasep - click here, speech-language services in public schools: how policy ambiguity regarding eligibility criteria impacts speech-language pathologists in a litigious and resource constrained environment, lesley sylvan, ed.d, ccc-slp, are parents really partners in their child’s education, clarissa e. rosas, ph.d. and kathleen g. winterman, ed.d, vocational rehabilitation counselors’ perceived influences on the secondary transition planning process and postsecondary outcomes of students with disabilities, vickie miller-warren, ed.d., gender differences in emotional or behavioral problems in elementary school students, amanda malfitano, african american parental beliefs about resiliency:  a delphi study, vita jones, ph. d., kyle higgins, ph.d., randall boone, ph.d., susan p. miller, ph.d., & nancy sileo, ed.d., blending common core standards and functional skills in thematic units for students with significant intellectual disabilities, karena cooper-duffy and glenda hyer, effects of peer tutoring and academic self-monitoring on the mathematics vocabulary performance of secondary students with emotional or behavioral disorders, brittany l. hott, anya evmenova and frederick j. brigham, teaching multiplication with regrouping using the concrete-representational-abstract sequence and the strategic instruction model, margaret m. flores and toni m. franklin, student and teacher perceptions of the five co-teaching models: a pilot study, randa g. burks-keeley, m.a. and monica r. brown, ph.d., students with disabilities’ perspectives of stem content and careers, kimberly e bryant davis, a researcher’s story of assessing motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder, casey m. breslin and alice m. buchanan, the impact of video modeling on improving social skills in children with autism, dr mohammed alzyoudi, professor  abedalziz. sartawi and dr. osha almuhiri, spring-summer 2014 jaasep - click here, using e-readers to improve reading for students with mild disabilities, amy camardese, m. eileen morelli, yehuda peled and maile kirkpatrick, importance of quality of life issues: a pilot comparison of teachers and parents of children with autism spectrum disorders, julie ivey-hatz and karen frederick, effects of early childhood education on children with hearing impairments in special schools in kiambu, murang’a and nyeri counties, kenya, chege loise w, franciscah  i. wamocho and john aluko orodho, bringing aba into early childhood routines to meet the needs of young children with asd, perceptions of pre-service teachers as they relate to professional practice, emily williams, elissa poel, miguel licona, elsa arroyos and alma meraz-rodriguez, effectiveness of transitional and follow-up programmes to community integration of young adults with intellectual disabilities (yawid) in kiambu county, kenya, margaret w. makanya, mary runo and violet wawire, family communication: strategies for building effective partnerships and working relationships, emily r. shamash and alyson m. martin, adhd in preschool:  approaches and teacher training, ajay singh and jane squires, practitioners' perceptions of their knowledge, skills and competencies in online teaching of students with and without disabilities, diana l. greer, sean j. smith and james d. basham, effects of environmental and instructional factors on student motivation and self-directed learning, anne d. burkhalter, denise a. rich-gross, ph.d., winter 2014 jaasep - click here, preservice teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education policy in the united states, paul m. ajuwon, ph.d., effie laman, ed.d., & john c. earle, ph.d., autism spectrum disorders and implications for teachers, crystal echaniz, m.a. &  kathleen a. cronin, ph.d., stop the blame game: teachers and parents working together to improve outcomes for students with behavior disorders, melissa davis, positive and negative aspects of inclusion services, christye hayes, m.ed., ed.s., teacher perceptions of response to intervention implementation, j. kevin jenkins, ed.d  &  dia sekayi, ph.d, supporting preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (asd) and their families, dr. jin-ah kim, dr. nancy cavaretta & krystle fertig, ma, adolescence: a period of transition, leena jo landmark  &  trina geye, students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder participating in recess, matthew d. lucas, ed.d, michael  j. justice & kelly m. rosko, issues and concerns of assessment for english language learners with learning disabilities, blanca pichardo, maximizing the potential of our youth with intellectual disabilities: rethinking functional curriculum, trust and communication: perspectives of mothers of children with disabilities on the role and importance of communication in trusting relationships with teachers, julia b. stoner ed.d., ccc-slp  &  maureen e. angell, ph.d., fall 2013 jaasep - click here, responses to positive versus negative interventions to disruptive classroom behavior in a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), renee b. brown, a comparison of two curricular models of professional development to increase teacher repertoires for instructing students with autism, information needs and information seeking behavior of teachers of special education in shillong, india, bikika laloo and jocica l. buhril, helping preservice special educators scaffold the reflection process, elissa wolfe poel, monica r. brown, luis-vicente reyes, and cristóbal rodríguez, preparing preservice teachers to address bullying through cartoon lessons, audrey c. rule, stephanie r. logan, and frank w. kohler, special educator evaluation: cautions, concerns and considerations, carrie semmelroth, evelyn johnson, and keith allred, working together for learning together: supporting students and teachers with collaborative instruction, cynthia t. shamberger and marilyn friend, general education teachers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders: are they still being overlooked and underserved, roben wallace taylor and ravic p. ringlaben, should i stay or should i go revisiting influencing factors of sped teacher attrition & retention: a review of the literature, raschelle theoharis and michael fitzpatrick, spring-summer 2013 jaasep - click here, using a four-point scaled writing rubric: improving the quantity and the quality of the writing in a first grade specialized 8:1:1 classroom, lynn carlson, effective inclusion strategies for professionals working with students with disabilities, kathleen a. hogan, marla lohmann, and rose champion, professional development to support students with disabilities in multi-tier classrooms:  a case study, brooke blanks, integrated education in contemporary poland, the effects of self-graphing on oral reading fluency for a student with e/bd within an alternative education school, sara c. mcdaniel, kristine jolivette and robin parks ennis, applied behavior analysis: current myths in public education, cheryl fielding, john lowdermilk, lauren l. lanier, abigail g. fannin, jennifer l. schkade, chad a. rose, and cynthia g. simpson, application of the rti model in learning disability diagnosis: perceptions of current practices by new jersey special education administrators, pamela e. lowry, an exploratory study of successful paperwork management techniques for novice special education teachers, richard l. mehrenberg, factors influencing teacher behavior with students with diverse learning and behavioral needs, edward k. schultz and cynthia g. simpson, educational outcomes for students with special needs: the impact of support and resources on teachers’ perceptions, traci y. sharpe, winter 2013 jaasep - click here, identifying and integrating relevant educational/instructional technology (e/it) for culturally and linguistically diverse (cld) students with disabilities in urban environments, implementing and monitoring the response to intervention process: the special educator perspective, leigh k. gates,  john c. fischetti, and amelia moody, nature and causes of locomotor disabilities in india, santoshi halder and arindam talukdar, the over identification of minority males in middle school special education programs: examining the rti modely, nicole anderson-irish, literacy based behavioral interventions and video self-modeling with students with autism spectrum disorder (asd), debra leach and jennifer rodecki, m.ed., students with speech impairments participating in recess, matthew d. lucas and carolyn r. watson, writing ieps for the audience of teachers, parents, and students: the case for the communicative individual education program, richard j. lucido, comparison of gifted and advanced students on motivation toward science learning and attitude toward science, mustafa serdar köksal, exploring the experiences of special educators following the joplin tornado, allyson palmer, addressing the shortage of speech-language pathologists in school settings, katie squires, fall 2012 jaasep - click here, factors that affect the success of students with emotional and behavioral disorders in inclusive placements, naomi arseneau m.s. ed, theoretical frameworks for math fact fluency, katherine arnold, liberty university, fape model of exceptional student education leadership, dr. russell g. dubberly, working towards math facts mastery, anne durham, district-wide pbis team questions related to using the pbis framework to transition students with challenging behaviors from an alternative school to a neighborhood school, kristine jolivette, nicole c. swoszowski, nikki l. josephs, sara c. mcdaniel, & robin parks ennis, students with obsessive compulsive disorder participating in recess, matthew d. lucas, ed.d. c.a.p.e. & amanda l. sturgis, current issues in teaching bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder, amelia m. medina and judy t. salamon, an evaluation of inclusive education of students with visual impairment in schools and university in beira, mozambique, lawrence nhemachena, samuel kusangaya, & isaiah gwitira, transition knowledge of high school special education teachers in a midwestern school district, christine peper, & kristen mcmaster, the competency based community assessment: a five step process, laura a. roberts, ph.d., & orv c. karan, ph.d., download this issue of jaasep - ( aasep members login to access download ), spring/summer 2012, resilience theory: risk and protective factors for novice special education teachers, thomas l. benjamin & rhonda s. black, the ability-achievement model versus the response to intervention model:  which model is more accurate in the assessment of diagnosing students with learning disabilities, debra camp-mccoy, a program evaluation of an inclusive model for training pre-service general education teachers to work with students with special needs, joanna e. cannon, nicole c. swoszowski, peggy gallagher & susan r. easterbrooks, evaluation of push-in/integrated therapy in a collaborative preschool for children with special needs, stephen j. hernandez, students with multiple sclerosis participating in recess, matthew d. lucas, ed.d. c.a.p.e. & jamie brentlinger, perspectives of parents who have a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, lori a. kalash, ed.d. & myrna r. olson, ed.d., high fructose corn syrup, mercury, and autism - is there a link, heather a. opalinski, the use of a functional behavioral assessment-based self management intervention for students with emotional/behavioral disorders, saleem `a. rasheed, ph. d., cecil fore, iii, ph.d., arthur jones, ed. s. & latisha smith, ph.d., teaching common core math practices to students with disabilities, michelle stephan & jennifer smith, involuntary teacher transfer in special education: concepts and strategies for teachers facing new assignments, jan stivers, sharon f. cramer & kate riordan, how one teacher, two students with visual impairments, and a three-year r & d project could change how all students learn science, vicki urquhart, download this issue of jaasep  ( naset members - login access this issue), winter 2012, consulting to support emotional behavioral disordered students: implementing a behavioral school-based approach, faith andreasen, finding opportunity in co-teacher personality conflicts, kara boyer & cory mcmillen, meeting the needs of special education students in inclusion classrooms, cathy ledoux, shanna l. graves & winona burt, community-based instruction (cbi) as a component of a successful transition plan for students with intellectual disabilities, dr. russell dubberly, postsecondary education experience for students with developmental disabilities: a look into perceptions of parents of senior high transition students on a small university campus, neil friesland & brad king, autistic spectrum disorder and assistive technology: action research case study of reading supports, james e. gentry & pam lindsey, a qualitative study of special education certification methods and how they affect teacher efficacy, the classroom infrastructure and the early learner: reducing aggression during transition times, caroline guardino & elizabeth kirby fullerton, development of web quest lesson enhancing thai reading skills for students with down syndrome at lower elementary, nantawan kaewchote & maturos chongchaikit, should children with auditory processing disorders receive services in schools, jay r. lucker, the use of a rubric as a tool to guide pre-service teachers in the development of ieps, clarissa e. rosas & kathleen g. winterman, quality care for down syndrome and dementia, amanda tedder, does repeated reading improve reading fluency and comprehension for struggling adolescent readers, kristine lynn still & christine a. flynt, the psychological, behavioral, and educational impact of immigration: helping recent immigrant students to succeed in north american schools, thomas mcintyre, ellis i.barowsky & virginia tong, high anxiety: addressing family issues in the transition of students with disabilities from middle grades to high school, nancy brigham & cynthia m. aguilar, identifying and helping struggling readers, antonio hairston, research in reading interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, thienhuong hoang & michael oshiro, personal 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Study of Thai Language Oral Reading Problems for Students with Down Syndrome: Grade Range 1

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Students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Participating in Recess

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Differentiating for Struggling Readers and Writers: Improving Motivation and Metacognition through Multisensory Methods & Explicit Strategy Instruction

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Extracurricular Activities and 504 Plans

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Using an Accountability Tool to Improve the Quality of Outcomes on Individual Family Service Plans

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Spring/summer  2011 jaasep - click here, winter  2011 jaasep - click here, effective teacher behaviors evident in successful teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders vance l. austin, ellis i. barowsky, micheline s. malow, & diane w. gómez, students with mild mental retardation participating in recess matthew d. lucas, teaching artists: serving special education students in local schools roberta levitt & louisa kramer-vida, a multi-faceted approach to successful transition for students with intellectual disabilities russell g. dubberly, high school teacher perceptions of the student assistance team process jeff stoehr & jody isernhagen, a review of research on the educational benefits of the inclusive model of education for special education students sherry l. hicks-monroe, the millennial generation special education teacher: promise or problem rich mehrenberg, one-to-one in the inclusive classroom: the perspectives of paraeducators who support adolescents with autism spectrum disorder christopher healy, the role of self-efficacy on job readiness s and career choice among people with intellectual disability in singapore jen-yi li & li li goh, download this issue of jaasep, fall  2010 jaasep - click here, identifying and working with elementary asperger’s students in rural america barton allen, vito loiacono & james s. vacca, rise to the challenge: examining the relationship of swimming & autism spectrum disorders elizabeth p. kuhfuss & matthew d. lucas, preservice general education teachers’ attitudes and knowledge of special education patricia mahar, katherine terras, kari chiasson, lynne chalmers, & tricia lee, multiple-choice tests with correction allowed in autism: an excel applet elisabetta monari martinez, the use of assistive technology for people with special needs in the uae abdurrahman ghaleb almekhalfi & sana tibi, punishment strategies: first choice or last resort twila lukowiak & jennifer bridges, picture exchange communication system for individuals with autism spectrum disorder lauren e. andersen, special education is broken lacie rader, locus of control, interest in schooling and science achievement of some deaf and typical secondary school students in nigeria r. ademola olatoye & e. mosunmola aanu, m.ed., educational solutions for children with cerebral palsy lynn driver, donna riccio omichinski, nicole miller, danielle sandella, & seth warschausky, teachers’ perceptions on special education preparation: a descriptive study clarissa e. rosas & kathleen g. winterman, comparison of metacognitive strategies used by individuals with adhd in online instruction victoria brown, download this issue of jaasep  (loggin required), spring/summer  2010 jaasep - click here.

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Academic Achievment of Girls with Hearing Impairments in Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya Beatrice Bunyasi Awori, John K. Mugo, John A. Orodho & G. K. Karugu

Special Education and at-Risk Kindergarteners as Authors Louisa Kramer-Vida, Roberta Levitt & Susan P. Kelly

Sensory Integration Used with Children with Asperger’s Syndrome Analisa L. Smith

Use of Art/Art Work and Cognitive Skill for the Rehabilitation of Special Children of 4-9 Years of Age Zubair Hina

Social Issues Surrounding the Adolescent with Asperger Syndrome: Perceptions of Parents and Teachers Karen Hurlbutt & Elaine LaPlante

St udents with Autism Participating in Recess Matthew D. Lucas & Kourtney M. Nichols

A Comparison Between Collaborative and Authoritative Leadership Styles of Special Education Administrators Natasha W. Veale

The Effect of Embossed Picture Technique on Reading Performance of Learners with Hearing Impairments: A Case of Kambui School for the Deaf Sella Munyendo & Franciscah  Irangi Wamocho

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Training and Support for Parents of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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Recess for Students with Visual Impairments Matthew Lucas

Positive Behavioral Strategies for Students with EBD and Needed Supports for Teachers and Paraprofessionals Twila Lukowiak

Planning a Good School Experience for Children with Autism: A Family’s Story Ling-Ling Tsao & Dena Krueger

A Preliminary Study on Sight Word Flash Card Drill: Does it Impact Reading Fluency? Sharla N. Fasko & Daniel Fasko, Jr .

An Introduction to Literary Quaranic Stylistics Dr. Lubna Almenoar

Learning to Critique Disability Children’s Literature Available to Teacher Candidates in Their Local Communities Alicja Rieger

Assessing and Teaching Reading to Pupils with Reading Disabilities in Nyeri and Nairobi Districts-Kenya: The Teachers’ Opinion Mary Runo, Geoffrey Kargu & John K. Mugo

Response to Intervention and Identifying Reading Disability Thienhuong Hoang

The Importance of Identifying and Studying the Reasons Why Special Education Students Drop Out of High School Richard Wieringo

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The Relationship Between Childhood Traumatic Experiences and Gang-Involved Delinquent Behavior in Adolescent Boys Nichole L. Adams, Sergei V. Tsytsarev, and Paul J. Meller

What Do Brothers and Sisters Think? An Investigation of Expectations of Siblings with Autism Spectrum Disorders Julie K. Ivey and Lucy Barnard-Brak

Investigating Secondary Special Educator’s Perception of Interagency Collaboration Jen Yi Li and Hsintai Lin

Resistance to Change: Overcoming Institutional and Individual Limitations for Improving Student Behavior Through PLCs John W. Maag

Preparing Students with Moderate/Severe Disabilities for Employment Peter Dragula

Academic Interventions Implemented to Teach Students with Emotional Disturbance Twila Lukowiak

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A Comparison of the Effects of Tactile and Auditory Stimulation and Choice on the Problem Solving of Students with Attention Problems Stacey Emmert, Suneeta Kercood and Janice A. Grskovic

Significance of Multiple Intelligence Among Children with Special Needs S.Saradha priyadarshini

Foster Youth Who Have Succeeded in Higher Education: Common Themes Thomas Lovitt and John Emerson

A Mother’s Story about Raising Children with Disabilities Sadia Warsi

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Social Skills Training: Evaluating its Effectiveness for Students with Learning Disabilities, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Gregory Campbell

Assessment Beyond IQ Donna Riccio Omichinski, Marie Van Tubbergen, & Seth Warschausky

A Qualitative Study of Students with Behavioral Problems Participating in Service-Learning Michael P. O’Connor

Incorporating Research Based Strategies to Empower Educational Staff in Supporting Students with EBD Cathy A. Bradley, Courtney Degler, Larry Zamora & Michael Fitzpatrick

Steps for Special Education Teachers to Take to Appropriately Service Students Who Practice Islam Matthew D. Lucas

Inclusive Education Lukischa Lambert

Perceptual Differences in Quality Standards Among Teachers and Related Service Personnel Who Work with Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders Maria L. Manning, Lyndal M. Bullock and Robert A. Gable

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Instructional Tactics That Facilitate Inclusion William N. Bender, Richard T. Boon & Joe Ann Hinrichs

Master's Level Teacher Preparation for Educating Immigrant Students with Special Needs in US Schools John J. Hoover, Ph.D., Judy Smith-Davis, Ph.D., Leonard Baca, Ed.D., & Emily Wexler Love, Doctoral Candidate

Special Education Editorial: Autism Should Be a Singular Discipline for Undergraduate Study Sara E. Nixon

No Child Left Behind: Implications for Special Education Students and Students with Limited English Proficiency Dr. Mark E. Jewell

Cultural Identity and Special Education Teachers Loretta Salas, Ed.D., & Eric J. López, Ph.D.

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The Impact of Assistive Technology on Vocabulary Acquistion of a Middle School Student with Learning Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency James E. Gentry, Ed.D. & Pam Lindsey, Ph.D.

Seven Winnings to Inclusion Patricia Mahar, Ph.D

An Investigation of Agency and Marginality in Special Education Robert C. McOuat

“A League of Our Own”-The Implementation of the Vocabulary Football League Karen Talalas and Bill Gallache

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Evaluating Childhood Bipolar Disorder: A Survey of School Psychologists Knowledge and Practices Linda A. Mayo and Joseph A. Mayo

Using the Choice-making Skills of Students with Disabilities for Educational Planning Marie Van Tubbergen, Donna Omichinski, and Seth Warschausky

Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on a Student with an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder Val Rae M. Boe

Self-Determination Skills in Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities Saleem A. Rasheed

Integrating Service-Learning in Teacher Education to Raise Disability Awareness Lynn DeCapua

Future Action Research  - The Relationship of the General and Special Education Teachers in the Inclusive Setting James D. Oliver III

Essay - Strategies for Differentiated Instruction Rachael Cook

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Faculty Epistemological Beliefs as a Mediator to Attitudes Toward Persons with Disabilities Lucy Barnard, Tara Stevens, Kamau O. Siwatu, & William Y. Lan

Relationship Between Service Coordinator Practices and Early Intervention Services Mary Beth Bruder and Carl J. Dunst

Individualized Interventions: When Teachers Resist Sharla N. Fasko

No Child Left Behind’s Implementation in Urban School Settings: Implications for Serving Students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders Michael Fitzpatrick and Earle Knowlton

The Impact of High-Stakes Testing for Individuals with Disabilities: A Review Synthesis Richard Boon, Debbie Voltz, Carl Lawson, Sr.,and Michael Baskette

Special Education Professionals and Assistive Technology: Requirements for Preparation in a Digital Age George R. Peterson-Karlan, Jack J. Hourcade, Howard P. Parette, and Brian W. Wojcik

Book Review - The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal Richard L. Mehrenberg

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A Meta-analytic Review: Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Students with Disabilities Thienhuong Hoang and Mark Dalimonte

Recruitment and Retention of Assessment Personnel Cynthia G. Simpson, Sharon A. Lynch, and Vicky G. Spencer

Paving the Way for Women with Asperger Syndrome Karen Hurlbutt

No Child Left Behind and Paraprofessionals: Are They Perceived To Be Highly Qualified? Heather G. Nelson, Betty Y. Ashbaker, Shannon Coetzee, and Jill Morgan

Using a Checkbook Management System to Decrease the Inappropriate Speaking-Out Behaviors of a 14-Year-Old Special Education Student Martha Smith-Fontenot and Wendy Lowe Siegel

The Section 504 Process in Middle School: Perspectives of Parents, Teachers and Section 504 Coordinators Kari Chiasson and Myrna R. Olson

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Widely Used Disciplinary Options for Aggressive Kids: Are the Current Approaches Effective? Tracy Blankenship and William N. Bender

The Effects of Functional Communication Training on the Appropriate Behavior of a Student with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Kristine Jolivette, Janine P. Stichter, David E. Houchins, and Christina Kennedy

School-Age Homeless Children: Crucial Transporters of Literacy Activities in the Shelter Sadia Warsi

Transition Planning: Improved Methods to Promote Student Success from High School to the Workforce Christopher Martin, Richard T. Boon, and Cordy Love

A Comparison of Inclusive versus Resource Classroom Placement for Black Students with Mild Disabilities at the Secondary Level: Is There a Need for Separation? Earle Graham, Carl Lawson, Saleem `A. Rasheed,  and Deborah Voltz

Adventure Based Learning Experience (ABLE) Robert M. White

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The Emperor Has No Clothes! Unanswered Questions and Concerns on the Response To Intervention Procedure Michael R. Baskette, Lisa Ulmer, and William N. Bender 

Creating a Motivating Classroom: What Really Motivates Students to Achieve in Secondary Content-Area Classrooms? Richard T. Boon, Vicky G. Spencer, & Tara Jeffs

Does Inclusion Work?  Teacher Verification of Proof of Impact Sherwin D. Holmes, Joyce W. Barclay, Bonnie Dupuis, Valerie K. Lewis, Morgan Platt, and Steven H. Shaha

A Glimpse into the Lives of Mothers and their Children in a Homeless Shelter: What has Changed Over the Decades? Sadia Warsi

Using Conceptual Models of Teaching to Incorporate a Dog into a Self-Contained Classroom for Students with Severe Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: A Research-Based Intervention Katherine L. Anderson and Myrna R. Olson

Improving the Spelling Performance of Students Who Are Deaf and Exhibit Characteristics Consistent with Learning Disabilities Monica Soukup

Teaching Homeless Students or Others about Homelessness:  Juvenile Literature Can Help Marissa Johnstun, Mary Anne Prater, Tina Taylor Dyches

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The Perspectives and Assumptions of Pupil Appraisal Professionals in the Identification Process for Students with Behavioral Concerns Janice Rutledge Janz and Mary M. Banbury

Educational Implications for Children in Homeless Shelters and Beyond: Implications for All Educators and Child Advocates Sadia Warsi and Dorota Celinska

Research on Self-Management Techniques Used by Students with Disabilities in General Education Settings: A Promise Fulfilled? Dennis McDougall, Jim Skouge, Anthony Farrell and Kathy Hoff

Does Inclusion Help Students: Perspectives from Regular Education and Students with Disabilities Bonnie Dupuis, Joyce W. Barclay, Sherwin D. Holmes, Morgan Platt, Steven H. Shaha, and Valerie K. Lewis

What Does Health Have to Do with Transition? Everything! Ceci Shapland

Teaching Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Preschool Teacher Survey To Determine Best Practice Approach Joanne Grossi-Kliss,OTR/L

International Perspectives on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Comparison of Teachers in the United States and Sweden Steven Carlson, William Frankenberger, Kristina M. Hall, Sara J. Totten, and Katarina House

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Using technology in special education: current practices and trends

• Published: 18 June 2020
• Volume 68 , pages 1711–1738, ( 2020 )

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• Oluwabunmi Adewoyin Olakanmi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6281-0285 1 ,
• Gokce Akcayir 1 ,
• Oluwbukola Mayowa Ishola 2 &
• Carrie Demmans Epp 1  

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Recent reports suggest an increase in the number of individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities. To ensure equal opportunities for these learners, special education practices must be appropriately improved and scaled. Educational and assistive technologies are a possible avenue for meeting this need. To provide insight into recent technology practices in special education contexts, this study reviews recent literature (2014—2018) on the use of technology to support learners with cognitive and developmental disabilities. This review included 126 publications, which were a combination of journal articles and conference papers, found through the ACM, IEEE, ScienceDirect, and SSCI databases. The publications were analyzed to determine their general characteristics (e.g., number and age of participants and lengths of interventions), the contexts of technology use, specific learner characteristics, the subjects or skills the intervention(s) aimed to improve, the characteristics of the technologies, and the outcomes associated with their use. The results revealed that the most examined technology was games and the most studied outcome was improvements to learners’ cognitive skills. Additionally, participants in the majority of the publications were pre-college students with learning disabilities. The most studied topics belonged to the natural sciences while job skills were one of the least studied. Interventions were primarily conducted in formal educational environments and were implemented over 5–10 weeks in most cases. Based on the review, more detail in reporting and more attention to promoting life, job, and social skills are recommended.

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Olakanmi, O.A., Akcayir, G., Ishola, O.M. et al. Using technology in special education: current practices and trends. Education Tech Research Dev 68 , 1711–1738 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09795-0

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Understanding, Educating, and Supporting Children with Specific Learning Disabilities: 50 Years of Science and Practice

Elena l. grigorenko.

1 University of Houston, Houston, USA

2 Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA

Donald Compton

3 Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

4 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

Richard Wagner

Erik willcutt.

5 University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA

Jack M. Fletcher

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) are highly relevant to the science and practice of psychology, both historically and currently, exemplifying the integration of interdisciplinary approaches to human conditions. They can be manifested as primary conditions—as difficulties in acquiring specific academic skills—or as secondary conditions, comorbid to other developmental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In this synthesis of historical and contemporary trends in research and practice, we mark the 50th anniversary of the recognition of SLD as a disability in the US. Specifically, we address the manifestations, occurrence, identification, comorbidity, etiology, and treatment of SLD, emphasizing the integration of information from the interdisciplinary fields of psychology, education, psychiatry, genetics, and cognitive neuroscience. SLD, exemplified here by Specific Word Reading, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, and Written Expression Disabilities, represent spectrum disorders each occurring in approximately 5–15% of the school-aged population. In addition to risk for academic deficiencies and related functional social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties, those with SLD often have poorer long-term social and vocational outcomes. Given the high rate of occurrence of SLD and their lifelong negative impact on functioning if not treated, it is important to establish and maintain effective prevention, surveillance, and treatment systems involving professionals from various disciplines trained to minimize the risk and maximize the protective factors for SLD.

Fifty years ago, the US federal government, following an advisory committee recommendation ( United States Office of Education, 1968 ), first recognized specific learning disabilities (SLD) as a potentially disabling condition that interferes with adaptation at school and in society. Over these 50 years, a significant research base has emerged on the identification and treatment of SLD, with greater understanding of the cognitive, neurobiological, and environmental causes of these disorders. The original 1968 definition of SLD remains statutory through different reauthorizations of the 1975 special education legislation that provided free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities, now referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004). SLD are recognized worldwide as a heterogeneous set of academic skill disorders represented in all major diagnostic nomenclatures, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11, World Health Organization, 2018).

In the US, the SLD category is the largest for individuals who receive federally legislated support through special education. Children are identified as SLD through IDEA when a child does not meet state-approved age- or grade-level standards in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading fluency, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, and mathematics problem solving. Although children with SLD historically represented about 50% of the children aged 3–21 served under IDEA, percentages have fluctuated across reauthorizations of the special education law, with some decline over the past 10 years ( Figure 1 ).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted in 1975 as Public Law 94–142, mandates that children and youth ages 3–21 with disabilities be provided a free and appropriate public school education in the least restricted environment. The percentage of children served by federally mandated special education programs, out of total public school enrollment, increased from 8.3 percent to 13.8 percent between 1976–77 and 2004–05. Much of this overall increase can be attributed to a rise in the percentage of students identified as having SLD from 1976–77 (1.8 percent) to 2004–05 (5.7 percent). The overall percentage of students being served in programs for those with disabilities decreased between 2004–05 (13.8 percent) and 2013–14 (12.9 percent). However, there were different patterns of change in the percentages served with some specific conditions between 2004–05 and 2013–14. The percentage of children identified with SLD declined from 5.7 percent to 4.5 percent of the total public school enrollment during this period. This number is highly variable by state: for example, in 2011 it ranged from 2.3% in Kentucky to 13.8% in Puerto Rico, as there is much variability in the procedures used to identify SLD, and disproportional demographic representation. Figure by Janet Croog.

This review is a consensus statement developed by researchers currently leading the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) supported Consortia of Learning Disabilities Research Centers and Innovation Hubs. This consensus is based on the primary studies we cite, as well as the meta-analytic reviews (*), systematic reviews (**), and first-authored books (***) that provide an overview of the science underlying research and practice in SLD (see references). The hope is that this succinct overview of the current state of knowledge on SLD will help guide an agenda of future research by identifying knowledge gaps, especially as the NICHD embarks on a new strategic plan. The research programs on SLD from which this review is derived represent the integration of diverse, interdisciplinary approaches to behavioral science and human conditions. We start with a brief description of the historical roots of the current view of SLD, then provide definitions as well as prevalence and incidence rates, discuss comorbidity between SLD themselves and SLD and other developmental disorders, comment on methods for SLD identification, present current knowledge on the etiology of SLD, and conclude with evidence-based principles for SLD intervention.

Three Historical Strands of Inquiry that Shaped the Current Field of SLD

Three strands of phenomenological inquiry culminated in the 1968 definition and have continued to shape current terminology and conventions in the field of SLD ( Figure 2 ). The first, a medical strand, originated in 1676, when Johannes Schmidt described an adult who had lost his ability to read (but with preserved ability to write and spell) because of a stroke. Interest in this strand reemerged in the 1870s with the publication of a string of adult cases who had lived through a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Subsequent cases involved children who were unable to learn to read despite success in mathematics and an absence of brain injury, which was termed “word blindness” ( W. P. Morgan, 1896 ). These case studies laid the foundation for targeted investigations into the presentation of specific unexpected difficulties related to reading printed words despite typical intelligence, motivation, and opportunity to learn.

A schematic timeline of the three stands of science and practice in the field of SLD. The colors represent the strands (blue—first, yellow—second, and green—third). Blue: provided phenomenological descriptions and generated hypotheses about the gene-brain bases of SLD (specifically, dyslexia or SRD); it also provided the first evidence that the most effective treatment approaches are skill-based and reflect cognitive models of the conditions. Yellow: differentiated SLD from other comorbid conditions. Green: stressed the importance of focusing on SLD in academic settings and developing both preventive and remediational evidence-based approaches to managing these conditions. Due to space constraints, the names of many highly influential scientists (e.g., Marilyn Adams, Joseph Torgesen, Isabelle Liberman, Keith Stanovich, among others) who shaped the field of SLD have been omitted. Figure by Janet Croog.

The second strand is directly related to the formalization of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Rooted in the work of biologically oriented physicians, the 1952 first edition (DSM-I) referenced a category of chronic brain syndromes of unknown cause that focused largely on behavioral presentations we now recognize as hyperkinesis and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The 1968 DSM-II defined “mild brain damage” in children as a chronic brain syndrome manifested by hyperactive and impulsive behavior with reference to a new category, “hyperkinetic reaction of childhood” if the origin is not considered “organic.” As these categories evolved, they expanded to encompass the academic difficulties experienced by many of these children.

After almost 30 years of research into this general category of “minimal brain dysfunction,” representing “... children of near average, average, or above average general intelligence with certain learning or behavioral disabilities ... associated with deviations of function of the central nervous system.” ( Clements, 1966 , pp. 9–10), the field acknowledged the heterogeneity of these children and the failure of general “one size fits all” interventions. As a result, the 1980 DSM-III formally separated academic skill disorders from ADHD. The 1994 DSM-IV differentiated reading, mathematics, and written expression SLD. The DSM-5 reversed that, merging these categories into one overarching category of SLD (nosologically distinct from although comorbid with ADHD), keeping the notion of specificity by stating that SLD can manifest in three major academic domains (reading, mathematics, and writing).

The third strand originated from the development of effective interventions based on cognitive and linguistic models of observed academic difficulties. This strand, endorsed in the 1960s by Samuel Kirk and associates, viewed SLD as an overarching category of spoken and written language difficulties that manifested as disabilities in reading (dyslexia), mathematics (dyscalculia), and writing (dysgraphia). Advances have been made in understanding the psychological and cognitive texture of SLD, developing interventions aimed at overcoming or managing them, and differentiating these disorders from each other, from other developmental disorders, and from other forms of disadvantage. This work became the foundation of the 1968 advisory committee definition of SLD, which linked this definition with that of minimal brain dysfunction via the same “unexpected” exclusionary criteria (i.e., not attributable primarily to intellectual difficulties, sensory disorders, emotional disturbance, or economic/cultural diversity).

Although its exclusionary criteria were well specified, the definition of SLD did not provide clear inclusionary criteria. Thus, the US Department of Education’s 1977 regulatory definition of SLD included a cognitive discrepancy between higher IQ and lower achievement as an inclusionary criterion. This discrepancy was viewed as a marker for unexpected underachievement and penetrated the policy and practice of SLD in the US and abroad. In many settings, the measurement of such a discrepancy is still considered key to identification. Yet, IDEA 2004 and the DSM-5 moved away from this requirement due to a lack of evidence that SLD varies with IQ and numerous philosophical and technical challenges to the notion of discrepancy (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2019). IDEA 2004 also permitted an alternative inclusion criterion based on Response-to-Intervention (RTI), in which SLD reflects inadequate response to effective instruction, while the DSM-5 focuses on evidence of persistence of learning difficulties despite treatment efforts.

These three stands of inquiry into SLD use a variety of concepts (e.g., word blindness, strephosymbolia, dyslexia and alexia, dyscalculia and acalculia, dysgraphia and agraphia), which are sometimes differentiated and sometimes used synonymously, generating confusion in the literature. Given the heterogeneity of their manifestation and these diverse historical influences, it has been difficult to agree on the best way to identify SLD, although there is consensus that their core is unexpected underachievement. A source of active research and controversy is whether “unexpectedness” is best identified by applying solely exclusionary criteria (i.e., simple low achievement), inclusionary criteria based on uneven cognitive development (e.g., academic skills lower than IQ or another aptitude measure, such as listening comprehension), or evidence of persisting difficulties (DSM-5) despite effective instruction (IDEA 2004).

Manifestation, Definition, and Etiology

That the academic deficits in SLD relate to other cognitive skills has always been recognized, but the diagnostic and treatment relevance of this connection has remained unclear. A rich literature on cognitive models of SLD ( Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014 ; Fletcher et al., 2019) provides the basis for five central ideas. First, SLD are componential ( Melby-Lervåg, Lyster, & Hulme, 2012 ; Peng & Fuchs, 2016 ): Their academic manifestations arise on a landscape of peaks, valleys, and canyons in various cognitive processes, such that individuals with SLD have weaknesses in specific processes, rather than global intellectual disability ( Morris et al., 1998 ). Second, the cognitive components associated with SLD, just like academic skills and instructional response, are dimensional and normally distributed in the general population ( Ellis, 1984 ), such that understanding typical acquisition should provide insight into SLD and vice versa ( Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001 ). Third, each academic and cognitive component may have a distinct signature in the brain ( Figure 3 ) and genome ( Figure 4 ). These signatures and etiologies likely overlap because they are correlated, but are not interchangeable, as their unique features substantiate the distinctness of various SLD ( Vandermosten, Hoeft, & Norton, 2016 ). Fourth, the overlap at least partially explains their rates of comorbidity ( Berninger & Abbott, 2010 ; Szucs, 2016 ; Willcutt et al., 2013 ). Fifth, deficiencies in these cognitive and academic processes appear to last throughout the lifespan, especially in the absence of intervention ( Klassen, Tze, & Hannok, 2013 ).

Results of meta-analyses of functional neuroimaging studies that exemplify the distribution of activation patterns in different reading- ( A ) and mathematics- ( B ) related networks, corresponding to componential models of the skills. A (Left panel, light blue): A lexical network in the basal occipito-temporal regions and in the left inferior parietal cortex. A (Middle panel, dark blue): A sublexical network, primarily involving regions of the left temporo-parietal lobe extending from the left anterior fusiform region. A (Right panel): Activation likelihood estimation map of foci from the word>pseudowords (light blue) and pseudowords>words (dark blue) contrasts. The semantic processing cluster is shown in green. B (Left panel): A number-processing network, primarily involving a region of the parietal lobe. B (Middle panel): An arithmetic-processing network, primarily involving regions of the frontal and parietal lobes. B (Right panel): Children (red) and adult (pink) meta-analyses of brain areas associated with numbers and calculations. Figure by Janet Croog.

A schematic representation of the genetic regions and gene-candidates linked to or associated with SRD and reading-related processes (shown in blue), and SMD and mathematics-related processes (shown in red). Dark blue signifies more studied loci and genes. Blue highlighted in red indicate the genes implicated in both SRD and SMD. Figure by Janet Croog.

The DSM-5 and IDEA 2004 reflect agreement that SLD can occur in word reading and spelling (Specific Word Reading Disability; SWRD) and in specific reading comprehension disability (SRCD). SWRD represents difficulties with beginning reading skills due at least in part to phonological processing deficits, while other language indicators (e.g., vocabulary) may be preserved ( Pennington, 2009 ). In contrast, SRCD ( Cutting et al., 2013 ), which is more apparent later in development, is associated with non-phonological language weaknesses ( Scarborough, 2005 ). The magnitude of SRCD is greater than that of vocabulary or language comprehension difficulties, suggesting that other problems, such as weaknesses in executive function or background knowledge, also contribute to SRCD ( Spencer, Wagner, & Petscher, 2018 ).

Math SLDs are differentiated as calculations (SMD) versus problem solving (word problems) SLD, which are associated with distinct cognitive deficits ( L. S. Fuchs et al., 2010 ) and require different forms of intervention ( L. S. Fuchs et al., 2014 ). Calculation is more linked to attention and phonological processing, while problem solving is more linked to language comprehension and reasoning; working memory has been associated with both. Specific written expression disability, SWED ( Berninger, 2004 ; Graham, Collins, & Rigby-Wills, 2017 ) occurs in the mechanical act of writing (i.e., handwriting, keyboarding, spelling), associated with fine motor-perceptual skills, or in composing text (i.e., planning and revising, understanding genre), associated with oral language skills, executive functions, and the automaticity of transcription skills. Although each domain varies in its cognitive correlates, treatment, and neurobiology, there is overlap. By carefully specifying the domain of academic impairment, considerable progress has been made in the treatment and understanding of the factors that lead to SLD.

Identification methods have searched for other markers of unexpected underachievement beyond low achievement, but always include exclusionary factors. Diagnosis solely by exclusion has been criticized due to the heterogeneity of the resultant groups ( Rutter, 1982 ); thus, the introduction of a discrepancy paradigm. One approach relies on the aptitude-achievement discrepancy, commonly operationalized as a discrepancy between measures of IQ and achievement in a specific academic domain. IQ-discrepancy was the central feature of federal regulations for identification from 1977 until 2004, although the approaches used to qualify and quantify the discrepancy varied in the 50 states. Lack of validity evidence ( Stuebing et al., 2015 ; Stuebing et al., 2002 ) resulted in its de-emphasis in IDEA 2004 and elimination from DSM-5.

A second approach focuses on identifying uneven patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) profiles of cognitive functioning to explain observed unevenness in achievement across academic domains ( Flanagan, Alfonso, & Mascolo, 2011 ; Hale et al., 2008 ; Naglieri & Das, 1997 ). According to these methods, a student with SLD demonstrates a weakness in achievement (e.g., word reading), which correlates with an uneven profile of cognitive weaknesses and strengths (e.g., phonological processing deficits with advanced visual-spatial skills). Proponents suggest that understanding these patterns is informative for individualizing interventions that capitalize on student strengths (i.e., maintain and enhance academic motivation) and compensate for weaknesses (i.e., enhance the phonological processing needed for the acquisition and automatization of reading), but little supporting empirical evidence is available ( Miciak, Fletcher, Stuebing, Vaughn, & Tolar, 2014 ; Taylor, Miciak, Fletcher, & Francis, 2017 ). Meta-analytic research suggests an absence of cognitive aptitude by treatment interactions ( Burns et al., 2016 ), and limited improvement in academic skills based on training cognitive deficits such as working memory ( Melby-Lervåg, Redick, & Hulme, 2016 ).

Newer methods of SLD identification are linked to the development of the third historical strand, based on RTI. With RTI, schools screen for early indicators of academic and behavior problems and then progress monitor potentially at-risk children using brief, frequent probes of academic performance. When data indicate inadequate progress in response to adequate classroom instruction (Tier 1), the school delivers supplemental intervention (Tier 2), usually in the form of small-group instruction.

A child who continues to struggle requires more intensive, individualized intervention (Tier 3), which may include special education. An advantage of RTI is that intervention is provided prior to the determination of eligibility for special education placement. RTI juxtaposes the core concept of underachievement with the concept of inadequate response to instruction, that is, intractability to intervention. It prioritizes the presence of functional difficulty and only then considers SLD as a possible source of this difficulty ( Grigorenko, 2009 ). Still, concerns about the RTI approach to identification remain. One concern is that RTI approaches may not identify “high-potential” children who struggle to develop appropriate academic skills ( Reynolds & Shaywitz, 2009 ). Other concerns involve low agreement across different methods for defining inadequate RTI ( D. Fuchs, Compton, Fuchs, Bryant, & Davis, 2008 ; L. S. Fuchs, 2003 ) and challenges schools face in adequately implementing RTI frameworks ( Balu et al., 2015 ; D. Fuchs & Fuchs, 2017 ; Schatschneider, Wagner, Hart, & Tighe, 2016 ).

Prevalence and Incidence

Because the attributes of SLD are dimensional and depend on the thresholds used to subdivide normal distributions ( Hulme & Snowling, 2013 ), estimates of prevalence and incidence vary. SWRD’s prevalence estimates range from 5 to 17% ( Katusic, Colligan, Barbaresi, Schaid, & Jacobsen, 2001 ; Moll, Kunze, Neuhoff, Bruder, & Schulte-Körne, 2014 ). SRCD is less frequent ( Etmanskie, Partanen, & Siegel, 2016 ), but still represents about 42% of all children ever identified with SLD in reading at any grade ( Catts, Compton, Tomblin, & Bridges, 2012 ). Estimates of incidence and prevalence of SMD vary as well: from 4 to 8% ( Moll et al., 2014 ). Cumulative incidence rates by the age of 19 years range from 5.9% to 13.8%. Similar to SWRD, SMD can be differentiated in terms of lower- and higher-order skills and by time of onset. Computation-based SMD manifests earlier; problem-solving SMD later, sometimes in the absence of computation-based SMD ( L. S. Fuchs, D. Fuchs, C. L. Hamlett, et al., 2008 ). SWED is the least studied SLD. Its prevalence estimates range from 6% to 22% ( P. L. Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2016 ) and cumulative incidence ranges from 6.9% to 14.7% ( Katusic, Colligan, Weaver, & Barbaresi, 2009 ).

Comorbidity and Co-Occurrence

One reason SLD can be difficult to define and identify is that different SLDs often co-occur in the same child. Comorbidity involving SWRD ranges from 30% ( National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2014 ) to 60% ( Willcutt et al., 2007 ). The most frequently observed co-occurrences are between (1) SWRD and SMD ( Moll et al., 2014 ; Willcutt et al., 2013 ), with 30–50% of children who experience a deficit in one academic domain demonstrating a deficit in the other ( Moll et al., 2014 ); (2) SWRD and early language impairments ( Dickinson, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2010 ; Hulme & Snowling, 2013 ; Pennington, 2009 ) with 55% of individuals with SWRD exhibiting significant speech and language impairment ( McArthur, Hogben, Edwards, Heath, & Mengler, 2000 ); and (3) SWRD and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, with 25–50% of children with SWRD meeting criteria for ADHD ( Pennington, 2009 ) and for generalized anxiety disorder and specific test anxiety, depression, and conduct problems ( Cederlof, Maughan, Larsson, D’Onofrio, & Plomin, 2017 ), although comorbid conduct problems are largely restricted to the subset of individuals with both SWRD and ADHD ( Willcutt et al., 2007 ).

The co-occurrence of SMD is less studied, but there are some consistently replicated observations: (1) individuals with SMD exhibit higher rates of ADHD, and math difficulties are observed in individuals with ADHD more frequently than in the general population ( Willcutt et al., 2013 ); (2) math difficulties are associated with elevated anxiety and depression even after reading difficulties are controlled ( Willcutt et al., 2013 ); and (3) SMD are associated with other developmental conditions such as epilepsy ( Fastenau, Shen, Dunn, & Austin, 2008 ) and schizophrenia ( Crow, Done, & Sacker, 1995 ).

SLD is clearly associated with difficulties in adaptation, in school and in larger spheres of life associated with work and overall adjustment. Longitudinal research reports poorer vocational outcomes, lower graduation rates, higher rates of psychiatric difficulties, and more involvement with the justice system for individuals with SWRD ( Willcutt et al., 2007 ). Importantly, there is evidence of increased comorbidity across forms of SLD with age, with accumulated cognitive burden ( Costa, Edwards, & Hooper, 2016 ). Individuals with comorbid SLDs have poorer emotional adjustment and school functioning than those identified with a single impairment ( Martinez & Semrud-Clikeman, 2004 ).

Identification (Diagnosis)

Comorbidity indicates that approaches to assessment should be broad and comprehensive. For SLD, the choice of a classification model directly influences the selection of assessments for diagnostic purposes. Although all three models are used, the literature (Fletcher et al., 2019) demonstrates that a single indicator model, based either on cut-off scores, other formulae, or assessment of instructional response, does not lead to reliable identification regardless of the method employed. SLD can be identified reliably only in the context of multiple indicators. A step in this direction is a hybrid method that includes three sets of criteria, two inclusionary and one exclusionary, recommended by a consensus group of researchers (Bradley, Danielson, & Hallahan, 2002). The two inclusionary criteria are evidence of low achievement (captured by standardized tests of academic achievement) and evidence of inadequate RTI (captured by curriculum-based progress-monitoring measures or other education records). The exclusionary criterion should demonstrate that the documented low achievement is not primarily attributable to “other” (than SLD) putative causes such as (a) other disorders (e.g., intellectual disability, sensory or motor disorders) or (b) contextual factors (e.g., disadvantaged social, religious, economic, linguistic, or family environment). In the future, it is likely that multi-indicator methods will be extended, with improved identification accuracy, by the addition of other indicators, neurobiological, genetic, or behavioral. It is also possible that assessment of specific cognitive processes beyond academic achievement will improve identification, but presently there is little evidence that such testing adds value to identification ( Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014 ; Fletcher et al., 2019). All identification methods for SLD assume that children referred for assessment are in good health or are being treated and that their physical health, including hearing and vision, is monitored. Currently, there are no laboratory tests (i.e., DNA or brain structure/activity) for SLD. There are also no tests that can be administered by an optometrist, audiologist, or physical therapist to diagnose or treat SLD.

Etiological Factors

Neural structure and function.

Since the earliest reports of reading difficulties, it has been assumed that the loss of function (i.e., acquired reading disability) or challenges in the acquisition of function (i.e., congenital reading disability) are associated with the brain. Functional patterns of activation in response to cognitive stimuli show reliable differences in degrees of activation between typically developing children and those identified with SWRD, and reveal different spatial distributions in relation to children identified with SMD and ADHD ( Dehaene, 2009 ; Seidenberg, 2017 ). In SWRD, there are reduced gray matter volumes, reduced integrity of white matter pathways, and atypical sulcal patterns/curvatures in the left-hemispheric frontal, occipito-temporal, and temporo-parietal regions that overlap with areas of reduced brain activation during reading.

These findings together indicate the presence of atypicalities in the structures (i.e., grey matter) that form the neural system for reading and their connecting pathways (i.e., white matter). These structural atypicalities challenge the emergence of the cognitive—phonological, orthographic, and semantic—representations required for the assembly and automatization of the reading system. Although some have interpreted the atypicalities as a product of reading instruction ( Krafnick, Flowers, Luetje, Napoliello, & Eden, 2014 ), there is also evidence that atypicalities can be observed in pre-reading children at risk for SWRD due to family history or speech and language difficulties ( Raschle et al., 2015 ), sometimes as early as a few days after birth with electrophysiological measures ( Molfese, 2000 ). What emerges in a beginning reader, if not properly instructed at developmentally important periods, is a suboptimal brain system that is inefficient in acquiring and practicing reading. This system is complex, representing multiple networks aligned with different reading-related processes ( Figure 3 ). The system engages cooperative and competitive brain mechanisms at the sublexical (phonological) and lexical levels, in which the phonological, orthographic, and semantic representations are utilized to rapidly form representations of a written stimulus. Proficient readers process words on sight with immediate access to meaning ( Dehaene, 2009 ). In addition to malleability in development, there is strong evidence of malleability through instruction in SWRD, such that the neural processes largely normalize if the intervention is successful ( Barquero, Davis, & Cutting, 2014 ).

The functional neural networks for SMD also vary depending on the mathematical operation being performed, just as the neural correlates of SWRD and SRCD do ( Cutting et al., 2013 ). Neuroimaging studies on the a(typical) acquisition of numeracy posit SMD ( Arsalidou, Pawliw-Levac, Sadeghi, & Pascual-Leone, 2017 ) as a brain disorder engaging multiple functional systems that together substantiate numeracy and its componential processes ( Figure 3 ). First, the intraparietal sulcus, the posterior parietal cortex, and regions in the prefrontal cortex are important for representing and processing quantitative information. Second, mnemonic regions anchored in the medial temporal lobe and hippocampus are involved in the retrieval of math facts. Third, additional relevant regions include visual areas implicated in visual form judgement and symbolic processing. Fourth, prefrontal areas are involved in higher-level processes such as error monitoring, and maintaining and manipulating information. As mathematical processes become more automatic, reliance on the parietal network decreases and reliance on the frontal network increases. All these networks, assembled in a complex functional brain system, appear necessary for the acquisition and maintenance of numeracy, and various aberrations in the functional interactions between networks have been described. Thus, SMD can arise as a result of disturbances in one or multiple relevant networks, or interactions among them ( Arsalidou et al., 2017 ; Ashkenazi, Black, Abrams, Hoeft, & Menon, 2013 ). There is also evidence of malleability and the normalization of neural networks with successful intervention in SMD ( Iuculano et al., 2015 ).

Genetic and environmental factors

Early case studies of reading difficulties identified their familial nature, which has been confirmed in numerous studies utilizing genetically-sensitive designs with various combinations of relatives—identical and fraternal twins, non-twin siblings, parent-offspring pairs and trios, and nuclear and extended families. The relative risk of having SWRD if at least one family member has SWRD is higher for relatives of individuals with the condition, compared to the risk to unrelated individuals; higher for children in families where at least one relative has SWRD; even higher for families where a first-degree relative (i.e., a parent or a sibling) has SWRD; and higher still for children in families where both parents have SWRD ( Snowling & Melby-Lervåg, 2016 ). Quantitative-genetic studies estimate that 30–80% of the variance in reading, math or spelling outcomes is explained by heritable factors ( Willcutt et al., 2010 ).

Since the 1980s, there have been systematic efforts to identify the sources of structural variation in the genome, i.e., genetic susceptibility loci that can account for the strong heritability and familiality of SWRD ( Figure 4 ). These efforts have yielded the identification of nine regions of the genome thought to harbor genes, or other genetic material, whose variation is associated with the presence of SWRD and individual differences in reading-related processes. Within these regions, a number of candidate genes have been tapped, but no single candidate has been unequivocally replicated as a causal gene for SWRD, and observed effects are small. In addition, multiple other genes located outside of the nine linked regions have been observed to be relevant to the manifestation of SWRD and related difficulties. Currently there are ongoing efforts to interrogate candidate genes for SWRD and connect their structural variation to individual differences in the brain system underlying the acquisition and practice of reading.

There are only a few molecular-genetic studies of SMD and its related processes ( Figure 4 ). Unlike SWRD, no “regions of interest” have been identified. Only one study investigated the associations between known single-nuclear polymorphisms (SNP) and a composite measure of mathematics performance derived from various assessments of SMD-related componential processes and teacher ratings. The study generated a set of SNPs that, when combined, accounted for 2.9% of the phenotypic variance ( Figure 4 shows the genes in which the three most statistically significant SNPs from this set are located). Importantly, when this SNP set was used to study whether the association between the 10-SNP set and mathematical ability differs as a function of characteristics of the home and school, the association was stronger for indicators of mathematical performance in chaotic homes and in the context of negative parenting.

Finally, studies have investigated the pleiotropic (i.e., impacting multiple phenotypes) effects of SWRD candidate genes on SMD, ADHD, and related processes. These effects are seemingly in line with the “generalist genes” hypothesis, asserting the pleiotropic influences of some genes to multiple SLD ( Plomin & Kovas, 2005 ).

Environmental factors are strong predictors of SLD. These factors penetrate all levels of a child’s ecosystem: culture, demonstrated in different literacy and numeracy rates around the world; social strata, captured by social-economic indicators across different cultures; characteristics of schooling, reflected by pedagogies and instructional practices; family literacy environments through the availability of printed materials and the importance ascribed to reading at home; and neighborhood and peer influences. Interactive effects suggest that reading difficulties are magnified when certain genetic and environmental factors co-occur, but there is evidence of neural malleability even in SWDE ( Overvelde & Hulstijn, 2011 ). Neural and genetic factors are best understood as risk factors that variably manifest depending on the home and school environment and child attributes like motivation.

Intervention

Although the content of instruction varies depending on whether reading, math, and/or writing are impaired, general principles of effective intervention apply across SLD i . First, intervention for SLD is explicit ( Seidenberg, 2017 ): Teachers formally present new knowledge and concepts with clear explanations, model skills and strategies, and teach to mastery with cumulative practice with ongoing guidance and feedback. Second, intervention is individualized: Instruction is formatively adjusted in response to systematic progress-monitoring data ( Stecker, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2005 ). Third, intervention is comprehensive and differentiated, addressing the multiple components underlying proficient skill as well as comorbidity. Comprehensive approaches address the multifaceted nature of SLD and provide more complex interventions that are generally more effective than isolated skills training in reading ( Mathes et al., 2005 ) and math ( L. S. Fuchs et al., 2014 ). For example, children with SLD and ADHD may need educational and pharmacological interventions ( Tamm et al., 2017 ). Anxiety can develop early in children who struggle in school, and internalizing problems must be treated ( Grills, Fletcher, Vaughn, Denton, & Taylor, 2013 ). Differentiation through individualization in the context of a comprehensive intervention also permits adjustments of the focus of an intervention on specific weaknesses.

Fourth, intervention adjusts intensity as needed to ensure success, by increasing instructional time, decreasing group size, and increasing individualization ( L. S. Fuchs, Fuchs, & Malone, 2017 ). Such specialized intervention is typically necessary for students with SLD ( L. S. Fuchs et al., 2015 ). Yet, effective instruction for SLD begins with differentiated general education classroom instruction ( Connor & Morrison, 2016 ), in which intervention is coordinated with rather than supplanting core instruction ( L. S. Fuchs, D. Fuchs, C. Craddock, et al., 2008 ).

In addition, intervention is more effective when provided early in development. For example, intervention for SWRD was twice as effective if delivered in grades 1 or 2 than if started in grade 3 ( Lovett et al., 2017 ). This is underscored by neuroimaging research ( Barquero et al., 2014 ) showing that experience with words and numbers is needed to develop the neural systems that mediate reading and math proficiency. A child with or at risk for SWRD who cannot access print because of a phonological processing problem will not get the reading experience needed to develop the lexical system for whole word processing and immediate access to word meanings. This may be why remedial programs are less effective after second grade; with early intervention, the child at risk for SLD develops automaticity because they have gained the experience with print or numbers essential for fluency. Even with high quality intensive intervention, some children with SLD do not respond adequately, and students with persistent SLD may profit from assistive technology (e.g., computer programs that convert text-to-speech; Wood, Moxley, Tighe, & Wagner, 2018 ).

Finally, interventions for SLD must occur in the context of the academic skill itself. Cognitive interventions that do not involve print or numbers, such as isolated phonological awareness training or working memory training without application to mathematical operations do not improve reading or math skill ( Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016 ). Physical exercises (e.g., cerebellar training), optometric training, special lenses or overlays, and other proposed interventions that do not involve teaching reading or math are ineffective ( Pennington, 2009 ). Pharmacological interventions are effective largely due to their impact on comorbid symptoms, with little evidence of a direct effect on the academic skill ( Tamm et al., 2017 ).

No evaluations of recovery rate from SLD have been performed. Intervention success has been evaluated as closing the age-grade discrepancy, placing children with SLD at an age-appropriate grade level, and maintaining their progress at a rate commensurate with typical development. Meta-analytic studies estimate effect sizes of academic interventions at 0.49 for reading ( Scammacca, Roberts, Vaughn, & Stuebing, 2015 ), 0.53 for math ( Dennis et al., 2016 ), and 0.74 for writing ( Gillespie & Graham, 2014 ).

Implications for Practice and Research

Practitioners should recognize that the psychological and educational scientific evidence base supports specific approaches to the identification and treatment of SLD. In designing SLD evaluations, assessments must be timely to avoid delays in intervention; they must consider comorbidities as well as contextual factors, and data collected in the context of previous efforts to instruct the child. Practitioners should use the resulting assessment data to ensure that intervention programs are evidence-based and reflect explicitness, comprehensiveness, individualization, and intensity. There is little evidence that children with SLD benefit from discovery, exposure, or constructivist instructional approaches.

With respect to research, the most pressing issue is understanding individual differences in development and intervention from neurological, genetic, cognitive, and environmental perspectives. This research will ultimately lead to earlier and more precise identification of children with SLD, and to better interventions and long-term accommodations for the 2–6% of the general population who receive but do not respond to early prevention efforts. More generally, other human conditions may benefit from the examples of progress exemplified by the integrated, interdisciplinary approaches that underlie the progress of the past 50 years in the scientific understanding of SLD.

Acknowledgments

The authors are the Principal Investigators of the currently funded Learning Disabilities Research Centers ( https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/ldrc ) and Innovation Hubs ( https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/ldhubs ), the two key NICHD programs supporting research on Specific Learning Disabilities. The preparation of this articles was supported by P20 HD090103 (PI: Compton), P50 HD052117 (PI: Fletcher), P20 HD075443 (PI: Fuchs), P20 HD091005 (PI: Grigorenko), P50 HD052120 (PI: Wagner), and P50 HD27802 (PI: Willcutt). Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express their professional judgment. Therefore, this article does not necessarily reflect the position or policies of the abovementioned agencies, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

i For examples of effective evidence-based interventions see www.evidenceforessa.org , intensiveintervention.org , What Works Clearinghouse, www.meadowscenter.org , www.FCRR.org/literacyroadmap , www.understood.org/en/about/our.../national-center-for-learning-disabilities , https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/infographics/pdf/REL_SE_Implementing_evidencebased_literacy_practices_roadmap.pdf , among others.

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Special education teachers’ mental health after reopening schools during Covid-19

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Curriculum and Instruction Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States of America

• Gelan Hesham Abdou Ahmed

• Published: May 2, 2023
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284870
• Reader Comments

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) explore special education teachers’ mental health after reopening schools during Covid-19 and (b) identify the psychological services that they needed to safeguard their mental health. In total, 10 special education teachers represented the sample of this study: three from middle schools, four from elementary schools, and three from high schools. This sample was selected using the maximal variation sampling technique. One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the research participants. Thematic analyses of the data generated two emergent themes: stressors and psychological support. In order to safeguard special education teachers’ mental health, a personalized approach to mental health services has been recommended.

Citation: Hesham Abdou Ahmed G (2023) Special education teachers’ mental health after reopening schools during Covid-19. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0284870. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284870

Editor: Ehsan Namaziandost, Ahvaz Jundishapur University: Ahvaz Jondishapour University of Medical Sciences, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Received: February 14, 2023; Accepted: April 10, 2023; Published: May 2, 2023

Copyright: © 2023 Gelan Hesham Abdou Ahmed. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The data contain identifying information (e.g., names of the research participants, names of school principals, and names of schools). Besides, the data include sensitive information about the mental health of the research participants (e.g., medications). Hence, IU HRPP restricts the data generated from this research project as the research participants may be at risk of reputation or employability damage. To request data access, please contact IU HRPP at [email protected] .

Funding: The author received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, many countries implemented tight measures, such as social distancing and city lockdowns, to decrease the imperious spread of contagion and mitigate the propagation of new infections [ 1 – 3 ]. With respect to the education sector, schools across the world were closed, thereby leaving more than 90% of students without any face-to-face instruction [ 2 – 5 ]. In conjunction with school closures, online instruction had been adopted by educational institutions worldwide to lessen the spread of Covid-19 among students and school personnel. The shift to online instruction occurred, regardless of whether teachers were prepared to employ online instruction platforms [ 3 , 4 ]. In addition to the shift to online instruction, general education teachers had to integrate new methods to maintain students’ engagement during online classes and redesign educational content to facilitate their learning [ 1 , 4 – 7 ]. For special education teachers, the situation was increasingly complicated; they were obligated to develop individualized contingency learning plans (ICLPs) to describe instructional delivery using online modality, adjust evidence-based (EB) interventions to suit online modality and train caregivers or parents to deliver them at home, inform caregivers or parents of new ways to record data so that teachers could monitor students’ progress, and set learning goals for students with disabilities that accommodate their needs during the period of online modality [ 8 ]. Indeed, these new work-related responsibilities expanded special education teachers’ workload and further aggravated their mental health.

No studies have explored the mental health of special education teachers during lockdowns. However, a large body of research has investigated the mental health of general education teachers during lockdowns [ 5 , 7 , 9 – 14 ]. For example, a qualitative study reported that teachers experienced high levels of stress and burnout because of three factors. First, lack of resources (e.g., equipment) impeded teachers from executing their roles effectively. Second, training parents to navigate online instruction platforms (e.g., Google Classroom) expanded their workload. Last, students exhibited maladaptive behaviors, including demotivation to learn, inattentiveness, and lack of autonomy and ownership [ 15 ]. Another qualitative study reported that teachers experienced heightened levels of anxiety and fear because of three facets. First, online instruction negatively affected their teaching performance, as they were ‘technologically and mentally unprepared to adapt to digital platforms’ [2, p. 217]. Second, stakeholders’ decisions about high-stakes assessments were made without any consultation with them. Last, their workload increased extensively, since they were obliged to help caregivers or parents with the pedagogical and technical aspects of their children’s home-schooling journey.

In addition to qualitative research studies, a quantitative study reported that 5% of teachers had severe burnout, 12% had moderate burnout, and 38% had mild burnout. Symptoms of burnout correlated with excessive workload, acute work problems, lack of administrative support, and use of complex information and communication technologies [ 16 ]. Another quantitative study showed that 14% of teachers had severe stress, 15% had moderate stress, and 16% had mild stress. 7% of teachers had severe anxiety, 21% had moderate anxiety, and 12% had mild anxiety. 4% of teachers had severe depression, 11% had moderate depression, and 12% had mild depression [ 3 ]. Moreover, this study reported that female teachers demonstrated higher levels of stress and anxiety (9.5% and 12.6% respectively) than male teachers (2.8% and 3.5% respectively).

After several months of closure, schools were reopened in the early fall of 2021, and face-to-face instruction was resumed [ 17 ]. Reopening schools during Covid-19 has posed an immense threat to the mental health of teachers worldwide [ 18 ]. Only two studies [e.g., 17, 19] were found that examined the mental health aspect among school personnel after reopening schools during the pandemic and focused solely on general education teachers. To begin with, Kim et al.’s study [ 17 ] reported that teachers experienced feelings of stress and anxiety because of two factors. First, their workload vastly expanded as a result of safety protocols. They were assigned to monitor students’ implementation of safety measures (e.g., disinfecting their hands and wearing face masks). Second, the uncertainty of whether schools would shut down again excessively affected their work-related responsibilities; they were incapacitated ‘to develop their lessons since they did not know when or how changes might happen’ [p. 9]. To mitigate their feelings of stress and anxiety, teachers created support networks, which empowered them to exchange solutions to work-related problems. Next, Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al.’s study [ 19 ] found that 32.2% of teachers experienced depression, 49.5% experienced anxiety, and 50.6% experienced stress. In fact, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress highly correlated with employment instability, heavy workload, and the possibility of being infected with Covid-19.

No studies, to my best knowledge, have investigated the mental health of special education teachers after reopening schools. Prior to Covid-19, the mental health of special education teachers was strained due to work-related responsibilities, such as modifying the individualized educational plan (IEP) of students with disabilities to include new accommodations, acquainting students with instructional and behavioral routines, assessing their socio-emotional needs constantly, monitoring their progress towards learning goals, employing EB interventions with students with disabilities, ensuring their receipt of special education services in their IEPs, and scheduling case conferences with caregivers or parents [ 20 ]. With Covid-19, another layer of strain is undoubtedly added to the mental health of special education teachers. So, the aim of the current study was to bridge the gap in the knowledge base by exploring the mental health of special education teachers after reopening schools during the pandemic, and identifying the psychological services needed to safeguard their mental health. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the mental health problems that special education teachers experience after reopening schools during Covid-19? (b) What are the psychological services that they need to safeguard their mental health?

Research design

A phenomenological research design was selected as the most suitable approach to address the two research questions, which guided this study. This is because a phenomenological approach aims to ‘describe the essence of a phenomenon by exploring it from the perspective of those, who experienced it so as to grasp the meaning participants ascribe to that phenomenon’ [ 21 , p. 670]. In order to better explore the mental health of special education teachers after reopening schools and identify the psychological services needed to safeguard their mental health, the researcher carried out one-on-one interviews. The series of questions which guided the interviews were adapted from Kim et al.’s study [ 17 ]. Minor changes (e.g., adjusting tenses and keywords) were conscientiously made to the questions to suit the purpose of the present study.

• How can you describe your mental health after reopening schools?
• What are the factors that impacted your mental health after reopening schools?
• What kind of check-ins have you received from your school principal?
• What psychological services or interventions, if any, have you received from your school?
• What psychological services do you prefer to receive from your school?

Having obtained the institutional review board (IRB) approval, a formal invitation was sent to the research participants via e-mail; this invitation encompassed background information about the researcher, elucidated the aim of the study, introduced the data collection protocol, assured the anonymity of their responses, and urged them to respond to the e-mail as a means of signaling their willingness to take part in the study. Then, the research participants, who were willing to take part in the present study, were contacted via telephone to schedule a mutually agreeable date and time for the interviews. Having agreed on the interviews’ date and time, the researcher dispatched Zoom meeting links to the research participants.

At the beginning of each interview, the researcher acquainted the research participants with the aim of the study and its notable contribution to the knowledge base. Before posing the interview questions to the research participants, the researcher requested their permission to audio-record the conversation and ensured the complete anonymity of their responses. At the end of each interview, the researcher thanked the research participants for taking part in the study and for their invaluable insights.

Ethics statement

This research project aligns with the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). In addition, written informed consent was obtained from all research participants.

Inductive data analysis

Having interviewed the research participants, the researcher used Descript, a transcription software, to convert audiotape recordings into text data. To ensure that the transcription generated by Descript is free from errors, the researcher played the audiotape recordings and revised the text data. Next, the researcher conducted a preliminary exploratory analysis to comprehend the data as a whole, before breaking it into segments, and think about the organization of the data. During the preliminary exploratory analysis, the researcher read the text data, used colors to highlight similar and different ideas expressed by the research participants, and produced rudimentary ideas for data organization. Finally, the text data were uploaded into Atlas.ti, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software which had been previously utilized by the researcher and the coder. This software enabled the researcher and the coder to inductively code the data by ‘dividing texts into segments, labeling these segments with codes, examining them for overlap, and collapsing them into broader themes’ [ 22 , p. 243].

Trustworthiness

To guarantee that the data coding process was carried out conscientiously and consistently, intercoder reliability (ICR), which serves as a badge of trustworthiness, was undertaken. First, the researcher developed a coding frame, which is ‘a list of codes organized according to higher-order code categories, often accompanied by code explanations and example data segments’ [23, p. 12]. Following the recommendation of O’Conner and Joffe [ 23 ], the researcher shared the coding frame with a coder who was recruited to double code the data. At the beginning, the researcher asked the coder to double code a small amount of data (e.g., three interviews). Having established reliability through comparing the coding patterns of the researcher and the coder, and ensured the absence of any inconsistencies, the researcher requested the coder to resume double coding the remaining data (e.g., seven interviews).

Research participants

A total of 10 special education teachers represented the sample of this study: three of which from middle schools, four of which from elementary schools, and three of which from high schools in Indianapolis. When estimating the sample size, Bekele and Ago [ 24 ] underlined that at least six research participants are required for phenomenological research studies. In addition, Hennink and Kaiser [ 25 ] postulated that the minimum sample size for achieving saturation in phenomenological research studies is six interviews. To select the sample, the researcher accessed the Monroe County Community School Corporation’s (MCCSC) staff directory page for elementary, middle, and high schools. In the elementary schools’ tab, the researcher realized that only four out of eleven schools had shifted to face-to-face instruction, while the remaining seven schools were still implementing hybrid teaching. Accordingly, the researcher selected a special education teacher from each of the four elementary schools that had fully migrated to face-to-face instruction. For the sake of the aim of the study, the researcher did not choose any special education teacher from the schools that were incorporating hybrid teaching. In the middle schools’ tab, the researcher discovered that a total of three schools had transitioned to face-to-face instruction. As a consequence, the researcher selected a special education teacher from each of the three middle schools. Finally, in the high schools’ tab, the researcher noted that only three out of six schools had adopted face-to-face instruction, whereas the remaining three schools were still utilizing hybrid teaching. Therefore, the researcher selected a special education teacher from each of the three high schools that had transferred to face-to-face instruction. Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics of the special education teachers.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284870.t001

The aforementioned sample was selected using the maximal variation sampling technique; maximal variation sampling is ‘a purposeful sampling technique, in which the researcher samples cases, or individuals that differ on some characteristic or trait’ [22, p. 208]. The researcher utilized the maximal variation sampling technique to capture the different perspectives of special education teachers, who are currently working in elementary, middle, and high schools in Indianapolis, USA, about their mental health after reopening schools amidst Covid-19, and the psychological services needed to safeguard their mental health.

Thematic analyses of the data generated two emergent themes: stressors and psychological support. Table 2 associates the research questions that guided this study with the major themes and subthemes, emerging from the participants’ responses.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284870.t002

After reopening schools, all special education teachers exhibited feelings of stress because of a number of factors. These factors are outlined in the following subthemes: students’ behaviors, safety measures, IEP responsibilities, uncertainty, and contact tracing. These subthemes have been organized from the most frequent to the least frequent.

Students’ behaviors.

One of the most frequently reported factors, causing stress to all special education teachers, was students’ behaviors. After reopening schools, special education teachers reported an immense decline in students’ social skills. Across different grade levels, students struggled to communicate and interact with their colleagues, and engage in active listening with others. For example, a special education teacher stated “the biggest thing that I have seen from kids is a low window of tolerance within the classroom. They talk out of turn. They are unable to interact with one another.” Further, all special education teachers noticed that students lacked school readiness skills, like maintaining focus on a task. Accordingly, more than half of instructional time was spent on refocusing students on the task at hand. For instance, a special education teacher said “they cannot pay attention to me for longer than 10 minutes; they were used to being online and having these chunks of free time.”

Safety measures.

The second most frequently reported factor, triggering stress to special education teachers, was safety measures. After reopening schools, all special education teachers implemented a series of safety measures, including sanitizing their hands, maintaining social distance, and wearing face masks, to diminish the spread of Covid-19. For example, a special education teacher stated “there are a lot of those protocols that add stress. You know, outside of just what you are already worrying about. You have to keep distant and to use sanitization.” Besides, special education teachers were responsible for ensuring students’ implementation of such measures to mitigate the propagation of new infections. For instance, a special education teacher said “you have to make sure [the students] have their masks on and are six feet apart. So, that is another layer of stress.” Further, some special education teachers discussed how safety measures impinged their instructional strategies. Because students had to be six feet apart, special education teachers refrained from employing instructional practices that promoted collaborative work. For example, a special education teacher stated “hence instruction changed. I do large group instruction all the time. Safety measures altered the way you had to teach and narrowed down your educational strategies.”

IEP responsibilities.

IEP responsibilities were one of the least referenced factors, bringing about stress to special education teachers. Only one special education teacher tackled IEP responsibilities in his interview responses. This teacher exerted major efforts to ensure that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) received the exact number of counseling sessions listed in their IEPs after schools were reopened. During school closures, students with EBD received a few counseling sessions due to the pandemic. For example, a special education teacher said “I made sure to achieve the services in students’ IEP. I contacted service providers during school closures and agreed on a less number. But now, I am making sure that the number of sessions in their IEPs is met.”

Uncertainty.

Uncertainty was also one of the least referenced factors, causing stress to special education teachers. Only one special education teacher experienced feelings of uncertainty after schools were reopened. With the surge in Covid-19 cases and the appearance of the Omicron variant, this special education teacher was unsure of whether the government would force nationwide school closures, or would keep them open. These feelings of uncertainty impacted his duties as a teacher, especially when it came to developing lesson plans and assignments. For instance, a special education teacher said “the uncertainty was stressful for planning. It was hard to plan more than one week in advance because we did not know if next week our numbers would go up and it would shut the school down again.”

Contact tracing.

Contact tracing was too one of the least referenced factors, bringing about stress to special education teachers. Only one special education teacher discussed the contact tracing process in his interview responses. After reopening schools, this teacher was responsible for developing a seating chart for his students. This chart enabled him to make quarantine decisions for students, who were in contact with a Covid-19 infected classmate. Also, he ensured that the return dates for those, who were quarantined, were consistent. For example, a special education teacher said “I would have to turn in a seating chart. Anytime someone was to become positive in my room, I would have to go around and see who was around those students for upwards of 15 minutes.”

Psychological support

This theme provides a detailed account of the psychological support that special education teachers received from their colleagues and schools. Also, it presents a comprehensive description of their preferred psychological services. This theme encompasses the following subthemes: social support, schools’ support, and preferred support.

Social support.

After reopening schools, all special education teachers reported not receiving mental health check-ins from their principals (e.g., asking them how they are feeling today and if they are sensing any symptoms of depression, stress, and/or anxiety). For example, a special education teacher said “there were no mental health check-ins from our school administration. They have not really done much of anything to us.” However, all special education teachers asserted receiving newsletters or emails from their school administration about effective exercises and practices that could improve their mental health. For instance, a special education teacher stated “they send us many things that we could do. We get an e-mail saying go to this site and practice breathing exercises.” In addition, all special education teachers emphasized receiving mental health check-ins from their colleagues on a daily basis. During break time, special education teachers approached their colleagues in their classrooms to make sure that they were feeling well, to provide aid and support in any work-related duties, and to exchange solutions to classroom problems. For example, a special education teacher said “we care about each other. You see someone who has that look on their face and you ask them how they are doing and you listen for a while.”

Schools’ support.

After reopening schools, all elementary and middle school special education teachers were provided with psychological services. These services are an essential part of their health insurance plan, offered by their schools. For instance, a special education teacher said “we have access to six free counseling sessions per year. They are part of our basic medical package.” Although they had access to psychological services, several elementary and middle school special education teachers reported not making use of them because of a myriad of reasons, including the low-quality care of several psychological services’ centers, the limited working hours of counselors, and their distant locations. Unlike elementary and middle school special education teachers, all high school special education teachers were not allocated any psychological services from their schools. For example, a special education teacher stated “it would have been nice to be provided with any psychological services after reopening schools; however, I was not offered anything.” Further, many high school special education teachers associated the lack of mental health support with high teacher turnover rates. As their mental health was not a priority to school principals, special education teachers were continuously leaving the profession. For instance, a special education teacher stated “statistics tell us that teachers are leaving special education, so [school principals] should offer something to us. It would be nice if there were mental health services that were more readily available.”

Preferred support.

All special education teachers proposed several psychological services that they longed to receive from their schools. These services would help decrease the stress associated with reopening schools. One of the proposed psychological services was yoga. Several special education teachers suggested having weekly yoga classes on school campus; these classes would help them meditate and achieve mindfulness. For instance, a special education teacher said “if somebody came in once a week and led yoga classes, that would be excellent for our mental health.” Another psychological service that was proposed by some special education teachers was on-campus counselors. Having on-campus counselors would provide teachers with instantaneous opportunities to dialogue with a professional about their mental health concerns. For example, a special education teacher reported “if on-campus counseling could be offered to us, this would be phenomenal. Counselors would be checking in with us to make sure we are able to perform.” The last proposed psychological service was group therapy. Several special education teachers emphasized that group therapy would highly enable them to develop a support network, exchange ideas to improve a challenging situation, and share positive coping mechanisms. For instance, a special education teacher stated “group therapy enables you to talk to other people who may be going through what you are going through or share ideas and advice with individuals.”

The current study was conducted to explore special education teachers’ mental health after reopening schools. The sample comprised a total of 10 special education teachers who are currently tutoring different grade levels in public schools in Indianapolis, U.S.A. In effect, thematic analyses of the data generated two major themes: stressors and psychological support. To begin, all special education teachers experienced feelings of stress after reopening schools because of many factors, such as students’ behaviors, safety measures, IEP responsibilities, uncertainty, and contact tracing. These feelings of stress were echoed in a research study which probed general education teachers’ mental health after reopening schools and reported that 50.6% of the teachers suffered from stress [ 19 ].

One major source of stress to special education teachers was students’ behaviors. In effect, special education teachers observed a severe decline in students’ social and school readiness skills. This observation was consistent with a recent study which investigated general education teachers’ mental health during lockdowns and indicated that teachers experienced feelings of stress because of students’ behaviors. Students were reported to lack autonomy and ownership, to be demotivated to learn, and to have a minimal attention span [ 15 ]. Even though this study was carried out during lockdowns and included a different population of teachers, it was evident that students’ behaviors were not a characteristic of periods of lockdown.

A second major source of stress to special education teachers was safety measures. Indeed, special education teachers were required to implement safety measures on school campus, such as wearing face masks, maintaining social distance, and sanitizing their hands. In addition, they were responsible for monitoring students’ exercise of safety measures. This source of stress was echoed in a recent study which scrutinized the prevalence of depression, stress, and anxiety among general education teachers after reopening schools and reported that they suffered from symptoms of stress because of safety measures [ 17 ]. Teachers were required to implement safety measures inside their classrooms (e.g., sanitizing students’ desks between classes) to diminish the spread of Covid-19.

One of the infrequent, yet conducive sources of stress was uncertainty. With the increasing infectivity rates and the appearance of the Omicron variant, a special education teacher was unsure of whether schools would shut down again or remain open. These feelings of uncertainty resonated with a recent study which assessed the symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety among general education teachers after reopening schools and underlined that they experienced stress because of uncertainty. They were unable to execute their job-related duties (e.g., developing lesson plans and assignments), as they ‘did not know when or how changes may happen’ [17, p. 9]. They were also frustrated by ‘the government’s last-minute decisions and the schools’ ever-changing expectations about what [they] should be doing” [p. 8].

Another infrequent, yet causative source of stress was IEP responsibilities. After reopening schools, a special education teacher suffered from stress while revisiting the IEPs of students with disabilities and guaranteeing their receipt of special education services. A possible cause for these feelings of stress could be the lack of administrative support. A recent study which scrutinized the prevalence of depression, stress, and anxiety among general education teachers during lockdowns reported that they suffered from stress due to the absence of administrative support in work-related aspects, such as compiling records, and preparing documents and reports [ 3 ].

The last infrequent, yet contributing source of stress was contact tracing procedures. When schools were reopened, a special education teacher was in charge of developing a seating chart for his class; this seating chart informed his quarantine-related decisions and enabled him to keep track of students’ return dates. A plausible reason for the infrequency of this subtheme could be that the Indiana Department of Health [ 26 ], as of February 23 rd , ‘no longer recommends contact tracing in schools’ [p. 12]. Yet, schools, in partnership with Local Health Departments (LHDs), may resume contact tracing and quarantine protocols. Since the interviews were launched on April 1 st , most of the schools in Indianapolis may have ceased contact tracing and quarantine measures.

The second major theme was psychological support. It consists of the following subthemes: social support, schools’ support, and preferred support. To start with, all special education teachers emphasized that they did not receive any mental health check-ins from their school principals. Yet, they received mental health check-ins from their colleagues. This form of mental health check-ins was referenced in a recent study in which general education teachers postulated that social support ‘was a protective factor of their mental health and well-being’ [17, p. 14]. In fact, developing social networks enabled them to discuss work-related issues, share coping techniques, seek support, and exchange solutions to classroom problems.

The next subtheme was schools’ support. In fact, all elementary and middle school special education teachers had access to six free counseling sessions as a vital part of their schools’ health insurance plan. According to the UNESCO [ 27 ], these sessions aim at enabling teachers to actively support their mental health and their students’. Compared to elementary and middle school special education teachers, all high school special education teachers were not allocated any psychological services from their schools. Failure to provide teachers with psychological services can negatively affect the quality of their teaching performance, thus jeopardizing students’ academic achievement [ 28 ] and increasing teacher absenteeism [ 15 ].

The last subtheme was preferred support. Special education teachers proposed a number of psychological services, including yoga classes, group therapy, and on-campus counseling sessions, that they yearned to receive from their schools. These services would help them diminish the stress associated with reopening schools. Demonstrating genuine concern for teachers’ mental health by listening and responding to their psychological needs augments their effectiveness, increases their productivity, promotes their psychological wellness, and creates a positive work environment and atmosphere [ 29 ].

Study limitations and future research

The present study has some limitations. First, given the fact that there are scarce studies on teachers’ mental health during lockdowns and after reopening schools, there is a high risk of citing literature with moderate-to-low methodological quality. Second, all the special education teachers, recruited in this study, belonged to only one racial group (e.g., White). Hence, future studies need to explore the mental health of special education teachers, who are racially diverse (e.g., Black and Hispanic), after reopening schools and identify their preferred psychological services. Last, all the special education teachers, at the time of the interviews, were working in public schools. Therefore, future studies need to investigate the mental health of special education teachers, who are working in private schools, after reopening schools and pinpoint their preferred psychological services.

Implications for policy

Stress is a primary predictor of special education teachers’ early retirement or resignation [ 30 ]. Due to stress, the number of special education teachers, who planned to leave the profession or retire early, in Indianapolis rose from 28% to 55%, thereby exacerbating the problem of teacher shortages [ 31 ]. In effect, supporting special education teachers’ mental health is key in combating the problem of early retirements and resignations [ 18 , 27 ]. Instead of the standardized approach to mental health care whereby teachers receive pre-existing support systems in the form of counseling sessions that may or may not meet their needs, mental health services need to be personalized [ 32 ]. Personalization, a novel approach to service delivery in the mental health arena, is deemed as ‘the way in which services are tailored to the needs and preferences of individuals’ [32, p. 5].

A personalized approach to mental health, as accentuated by Mind [ 32 ], includes two main phases: person-centered needs assessment and self-directed support. Firstly, in the person-centered needs assessment, the mental health of individuals is screened so that they grasp and better address their needs. Secondly, individuals, in the self-directed support, create their own support plans and choose the services that align with their preferences and needs. Indeed, personalizing mental health services has been documented to improve individuals’ path to recovery and to manage their mental health problems [ 33 ].

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Federal Legislation Affecting Education for Children With Disabilities

Infants, toddlers, and the ifsp, preschool- and school-aged youth and the iep, the role of the health care provider in assisting children with special education needs, 1. identifying children in need of ei or special education services, 2. sharing relevant information with ei or school personnel, 3. meeting with ei or school personnel and parents/guardians, 4. using ei or school information in medical diagnostic or treatment plans, 5. working within an ei program, school, or school-based health clinic, 6. working at an administrative level to improve school functioning around children with special needs, services for children with disabilities in public versus private schools, behavioral and mental health issues for children with disabilities in the school environment, therapies and medical services in the iep and durable equipment in schools, entry into and transitions in services, initial referral to ei or special education, transition from ei to school, transition to a new school, transition from school to adulthood, conclusions, lead authors, council on children with disabilities executive committee, 2014–2015, council on school health executive committee, 2014–2015, the individuals with disabilities education act (idea) for children with special educational needs.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they do not have a financial relationship relevant to this article to disclose.

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Paul H. Lipkin , Jeffrey Okamoto , the COUNCIL ON CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES and COUNCIL ON SCHOOL HEALTH , Kenneth W. Norwood , Richard C. Adams , Timothy J. Brei , Robert T. Burke , Beth Ellen Davis , Sandra L. Friedman , Amy J. Houtrow , Susan L. Hyman , Dennis Z. Kuo , Garey H. Noritz , Renee M. Turchi , Nancy A. Murphy , Mandy Allison , Richard Ancona , Elliott Attisha , Cheryl De Pinto , Breena Holmes , Chris Kjolhede , Marc Lerner , Mark Minier , Adrienne Weiss-Harrison , Thomas Young; The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for Children With Special Educational Needs. Pediatrics December 2015; 136 (6): e1650–e1662. 10.1542/peds.2015-3409

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The pediatric health care provider has a critical role in supporting the health and well-being of children and adolescents in all settings, including early intervention (EI), preschool, and school environments. It is estimated that 15% of children in the United States have a disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entitles every affected child in the United States from infancy to young adulthood to a free appropriate public education through EI and special education services. These services bolster development and learning of children with various disabilities. This clinical report provides the pediatric health care provider with a summary of key components of the most recent version of this law. Guidance is also provided to ensure that every child in need receives the EI and special education services to which he or she is entitled.

Pediatric health care providers play a key role as advocates, promoting the well-being of all children in the educational setting as well as in health care. Children with disabilities, currently estimated as 15% of US children, 1 have been entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) since 1975 when the US Congress mandated public special educational services for those with special needs through the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 2 IDEA has undergone several reauthorizations and amendments by Congress since its initial adoption, most recently in 2004. This clinical report will review the historic and legal background of this entitlement and will explore the role of the pediatric health care provider in supporting special education services for children in need. It is complemented by other American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports and policy statements addressing related issues in early intervention (EI) and school health. 3 , – 8  

Congress passed IDEA in 1975 in response to public belief in the long-term benefit of educating children with disabilities, growing concern that states were not providing an adequate public education to these children, and a series of legal challenges. At the same time, states sought the assistance of the federal government to fund public education services for children with disabilities. 9 , 10 IDEA authorizes federal funding to states for EI services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and developmental delays (part C) and special education and related services for school-aged children with disabilities (part B) and relates principles for providing such services.

IDEA has several key requirements, 10 as follows:

Free appropriate public education: States and local school districts must offer FAPE to all children with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years, inclusive.

Identification and evaluation: States and school districts must identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, without regard to the severity of their disability, to determine their eligibility and need for special education and related services. This requirement is referred to as “child find,” and the principle is known as “zero reject,” meaning that no child can be denied an education

Individualized education program: Each child with a disability who is deemed eligible will receive an individualized education program (IEP) describing his or her specific educational and service needs, with parent participation on the IEP team. Individualized family service plans (IFSPs) are used for infants and toddlers.

Least restrictive environment: Children with disabilities must be educated with children without disabilities “to the maximum extent possible” in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

Due process safeguards: Procedural safeguards must be put in place for children and their families, including the right to mediation, request for complaint investigation, and/or a due process hearing; the right to appeal to a federal district court; and, if they prevail, the right to receive attorneys’ fees.

Parent and student participation and shared decision-making: Schools must collaborate with parents and students with disabilities in the design and implementation of special education services. The parents’ (and, whenever appropriate, the student’s) input and wishes must be considered in IEP goals and objectives, related-service needs, and placement decisions.

Although IDEA is a federal law overseen by the US Department of Education, its requirements pertain only to states receiving related funds. However, at the present time, all states and territories accept federal IDEA funds. The statute also allows state flexibility and discretion for many of its components.

IDEA’s provisions are separated into 4 distinct parts: part A consists of its general provisions; part B authorizes the state grants for services to preschool-aged (3–5 years) and school-aged children (ages 6–21 years, inclusive) with disabilities ( Table 1 ); part C authorizes services for programs of EI for infants and toddlers (children younger than 3 years) and their families; and part D focuses on personnel improvement, with awards to states for reforming and improving their systems for personnel preparation and professional development in EI, educational, and transition services and funding for at least 1 parent training and information center ( www.parentcenterhub.org ) in every state to provide information, training, and assistance to families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.

Supports From IDEA Law Versus Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act) Versus the ADA

Not all children in need of supports in school qualify under IDEA law. Other laws, such as section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA, can help determine supports necessary to a child with a medical condition in school. The table illustrates some of the differences between IDEA (requiring IEP development), section 504, and the ADA. ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

20 USC §1400, Title 20 - Education, Education of Children with Disabilities, Subchapter I - Definitions, section 1400 - Short title; findings; purposes (2011).

Education of All Handicapped Children Act. Pub L No. 94-142 (1975).

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Pub L No. 108-446 (2004).

29 USC §794, Title 29 - Labor, Chapter 16 - Vocational Rehabilitation and Other Rehabilitation Services, Subchapter V - Rights And Advocacy, section 794 - Nondiscrimination under federal grants and programs (2011).

42 USC §12101, Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare, Chapter 126 - Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, section 12101 - Findings and purpose (1990).

ADA Amendments Acts of 2008. Pub L No. 110-325 (2008).

Two other federal laws have roles in ensuring the educational rights of children with disabilities. Although IDEA serves as both a civil rights statute for children with disabilities as well as a funding statute centered on their education, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 11 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (as amended by the ADA Amendments Act in 2008) 12 address civil rights broadly, prohibiting discrimination against any individual with disabilities, and do not provide any federal funds to assist with implementation. Section 504 specifically prohibits discrimination against a person of any age with a disability, in any federally funded program or activity. Although childhood education falls within its purview, section 504 includes all levels of education, including colleges and universities, which are not covered under IDEA. In its regulations, section 504 requires the provision of an FAPE in the LRE for all children with disabilities attending public schools, but the regulations only require reasonable accommodations for younger children in child care settings, older youth in college, or for other public accommodations. In addition, section 504 extends to any private school that accepts any federal funds. The ADA also prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities of all ages and in all areas, including employment, public services, and public accommodations, such as schools. It covers all areas of public life and not just those receiving federal funding.

Although these laws overlap, they have different working definitions of disability. IDEA uses a categorical definition of a child with a disability, specifying an eligible child as having an intellectual disability (“mental retardation,” in its original text), hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities. IDEA also allows states to use the category of “developmental delay” for children 3 through 9 years of age (although not all states elect to use this category; http://tadnet.public.tadnet.org/pages/513-products?main_search=states+use+of+developmental+delay&search_query=keyword&x=0&y=0 ). In contrast, section 504 and the ADA define disability generally, using the functional description of disability as being a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a person in a major life activity (self-care, manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working). Conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and diabetes are covered under section 504 and the ADA if these conditions result in functional limitation. They may also be covered under the IDEA category of “other health impairment” if the health condition affects the child’s ability to benefit from the education program.

When a parent or the child’s pediatric health care provider is concerned about a child’s developmental or school needs, supports may be covered under IDEA, section 504, or the ADA ( Tables 1 and 2 ). If the child is in need of educational support services, such as special education, speech-language therapy, or occupational therapy, guidance for obtaining services falls within IDEA. Examples include a child whose academic achievement is not appropriate for his or her age, a child who cannot follow classroom instructions or has disruptive behaviors preventing learning, or a child who cannot write legibly. In contrast, a child with a motor disability who needs ambulation assistance or a child with diabetes who needs school nursing assistance for the administration of medication usually receives school accommodations under section 504. Finally, a school system is violating the ADA and section 504 if a child cannot participate in school activities because of physical barriers preventing his or her entry into the building or room. This situation may also be covered under IDEA, given its provision that children with disabilities must be able to participate in all nonacademic and extracurricular activities open to children without disabilities. Given the legal nuances of each regulation, a parent of an affected child or health care provider may benefit from consultation with an attorney or educational/disability advocate. The health care provider or parent can obtain further information from resources such as the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates ( www.copaa.org ) or the National Disability Rights Network ( www.ndrn.org ). Connecting parents to their state parent training and information center ( www.parentcenterhub.org ) can provide them with access to critical information about the process, their child’s rights, and their rights under IDEA, section 504, and the ADA.

Examples of Children or Teenagers Who May Qualify for Special Health and/or Behavioral Accommodations and Support in a School Setting

These students may be served by IDEA law, section 504, or the ADA depending on the child’s needs in a school setting.

Although IDEA focuses most of its attention on children aged 3 years and older, part C was developed in 1986 for the promotion of EI for children with developmental disabilities from birth to 3 years of age. As described by Congress, it is intended to enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, minimize the need for special education, and maximize the individual’s long-term potential for independent living. Part C recognizes the unique needs of infants and toddlers, with greater emphasis on the family and community, particularly emphasizing care in the home and community settings, rather than schools, and mandating family involvement. Therefore, the inclusion of families as team members is critical in developing and implementing the IFSP. The IFSP is a written plan with several key components or statements, as follows:

Service coordinator (ie, a professional responsible for program implementation).

The child’s present levels of development, in the following areas: physical (including vision, hearing, and health status), cognitive, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive.

Family’s resources, priorities, and concerns related to enhancing the child’s development.

Measurable results or outcomes expected to be achieved by the child and family, with criteria, procedures, and timelines to be used.

EI services necessary (“based on peer-reviewed research [to the extent practicable]”), including the beginning date, length, duration, frequency, intensity, method of delivery, and location.

Provision of services in the natural environment (ie, settings where young children without disabilities are typically found) or justification of why this will not be provided.

Educational component for children 3 years or older, when it is elected to continue EI services into the preschool period. Recent changes in IDEA allow states to continue EI services via an IFSP after 3 years of age and until a child enters kindergarten, with parental approval.

Other service needs, including medical, that are not required or funded under part C.

Payment arrangements, if any. Under IDEA, states may establish “family cost share” based on a sliding fee scale, but families cannot be denied needed services because of inability to pay. Families may also be asked to allow the EI system to bill their public or private insurance to cover needed services. Child find services, evaluations and assessments, development and review of the IFSP, and service coordination are provided at no cost to families in all states and territories.

In addition, a transition plan for services, necessary transition steps, and program options must be written in the IFSP for children nearing 3 years of age, not fewer than 90 days and not more than 9 months before the third birthday. Eligible children must be experiencing developmental delays in 1 or more areas of development, as measured by appropriate tests and procedures, or have a condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay. IDEA does not provide a more specific definition for eligibility, leaving it to the state’s discretion. As a result, the eligibility criteria vary by state. Further information on national and local laws and services can be found via the Center for Parent Information and Resources ( http://www.parentcenterhub.org/nichcy-resources/ ). The Center for Parent Information and Resources has relevant information as well as information on how to contact parent technical assistance centers ( http://www.parentcenterhub.org/ptacs/ ).

IEPs are critical for children with a disability or chronic health condition affecting school performance and learning. The IEP delineates the specific special education and related services (eg, physical therapy) that the child should receive. It is helpful for health care providers to be familiar with several commonly used terms related to IDEA. FAPE, or free appropriate public education, provided in the LRE, or least restrictive environment, are both requirements in IDEA law.

FAPE does not mean that the school is mandated to provide the “best” or “optimal” services for the child to learn and perform in the school. To decide on what “appropriate” means, the IEP team and other partners must decide what is important to consider and implement for any particular child. The Supreme Court, in Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v Rowley , 458 US 177 (1982), 13 held that FAPE is satisfied when the school provides instruction individualized with enough support services to allow a child to benefit educationally. This instruction should enable the child to advance from grade to grade. IDEA does not require that each state have schools fully fulfill the potential of children with disabilities. An example is a child with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy who requires a wheelchair to get from place to place. If the child’s required classroom is on the second floor, then the IEP needs to specify how the child will get to that classroom, taking the disability into account. This situation does not require the school to get an elevator, because the legal requirement is for “reasonable accommodations.” The IEP team will decide how the child will get to the classroom, whether this is by moving the classroom to an accessible first floor, getting an elevator, or having some other appropriate way of getting the child to the second-floor classroom. Because the child is also entitled to participate in the nonacademic and extracurricular activities available to children without disabilities, the school must also make those activities accessible to the child who uses a wheelchair.

IDEA law mandates that the child should be in the LRE or least restrictive environment. Children with disabilities should be educated with children without disabilities “to the maximum extent possible,” which means that they should be in the classroom that they would be in if not needing supports unless they cannot accomplish the goals in their IEP without a different placement. The goal of LRE is to preserve interactions with typical children and to ensure exposure to educational material and interactions that may not be found in a more restrictive placement. The following settings are listed from least to most restrictive environments: (1) typical education classroom with in-class supports; (2) typical education classroom with periodic pull-out to special education (resource) placement; (3) special education classroom with opportunities for “mainstreaming,” as appropriate; (4) special education school; and (5) special education school with residential placement on site. Even in more restrictive settings, the IEP must identify opportunities for the child with a disability to interact with nondisabled peers (eg, by bringing a student who is placed in an “out-of-district” school back to the school district to participate in the after-school program).

The term IEP relates to an individualized program for each eligible child. Children with special health needs/disabilities or special health needs cannot be placed in a classroom with only general plans or instruction. There are wide variations in function, manifestation, and severity in any disability or medical condition; therefore, each child with a special need requires an individualized program taking into account his or her strengths and needs and the effects of the child’s disability on learning. Children with a certain condition (eg, hearing loss) should not all have the same educational program. Health care providers can provide factual information to the educational team documenting, verifying, or certifying what accommodations are essential on the basis of bona fide medical need. As child health experts, they can assist school personnel in connecting a child’s medical condition to his or her educational needs, related services, and accommodations. In discussions with school staff, the health care providers should provide specific advice or direction to the school district on necessary health and safety accommodations. Health care providers can play advisory, advocacy, and collaborative roles but should take care not to dictate or impose their own view of preferred educational methods, as this task is best left to the educational team, including the parents. The IFSP or IEP should take into account medical diagnoses, treatments, and supports to provide special education, but these are not the medical care plans or emergency action plans that school nurses and related service providers would implement for health care at the school. These are discussed in other AAP documents and other reports. 5 , 8 , 9 , 14 , 15  

Developmental surveillance and screening performed in the medical home by the primary care provider often lead to the identification of children with disabilities who require further evaluation to determine the need for appropriate EI or special education services. 16 When a child is identified as having special needs, the health care provider can refer the child to appropriate resources such a psychologist or pediatric subspecialist for further assessment. In addition, referral to the local EI (age 0–3 years) or school (3 years and older) agency may facilitate evaluation toward possible services. To do this, health care providers are advised to be familiar with the appropriate local or state agencies for referrals. Parents may also self-refer their child. Further guidance and forms for health care providers are provided by the AAP clinical reports “Provision of Educationally Related Services for Children and Adolescents With Chronic Diseases and Disabling Conditions” 17 and “Early Intervention, IDEA Part C Services, and the Medical Home: Collaboration for Best Practice and Best Outcomes.” 18  

When a health care provider or parent makes a referral of a child to the school system, representatives of the school must determine whether an evaluation will be conducted. If it is decided that an evaluation will be conducted, the parent must give informed, written consent for the evaluation. Then the “comprehensive, multidisciplinary” evaluation must be completed by the school within 60 days of the parental consent (unless the state has a different timeline), followed by development of the IEP. More specifically, a meeting must be conducted to develop an IEP within 30 days of the eligibility determination, after which special education and related services are to be made available as soon as possible. If the district decides it will not conduct an evaluation, it must provide written information, known as prior written notice, to the parent indicating its decision as well as why it has decided not to conduct an evaluation, including all the information about the child that was used to make that determination and the factors that influenced the decision, what steps the parents can take if they disagree with this decision, and sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding their rights under IDEA. At each step, the district must provide a written response to any parental written request. Follow-up of the referral by the health care provider can help determine whether the child is evaluated appropriately.

EI programs and schools rely on interactions with health care providers to create the plans for a child’s appropriate intervention and educational environment and support. Parents and guardians usually share medical and mental health information with EI programs and schools. Health care providers may share a patient’s protected health information (PHI) relevant to the child’s education program with school personnel only after securing appropriate authorization to disclose PHI from the patient’s parent or legal representative or guardian. In addition, youth sometimes choose to share health information with school personnel. When appropriate, the youth or family should be consulted around information sharing, particularly when the information is sensitive in nature. When a program or school has a medical professional on site, the child’s health information should also be shared with this professional, who can assist in promoting collaboration with the medical home provider. Examples of reports that could be shared include developmental screening results, hearing and vision screening or assessments, hospitalization or other medical summaries (if there are consequences for the school), chronic medication treatments and treatment changes, emergency preparedness 19 plans, palliative care (which may include do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders at times), and subspecialist consultations and referrals. Health care providers are advised 20 that although they are required to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 21 in speaking with schools, schools need to be compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 22 A form for EI referral that incorporates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act considerations has been developed by the AAP in conjunction with the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs and is available for use by health care professionals (see Supplemental Information ). 4 , 8 , 9  

When communicating with a school, the health care provider should consider including his or her contact information and the family’s contact information and documenting the communication in the child’s medical record. Care needs to be taken so that the privacy and security of PHI is preserved in transmitting information. Transmitting information on letterhead may be helpful for the school to receive pertinent medical details, including on how to reach you as a health care provider, and for providing a dated record in the medical chart of the concerns and requests. However, health care providers should also be sensitive to reasons why parents may not wish to share some or all of the PHI with the school, particularly when not pertinent to a child’s health or development. In such cases, a parent may instead provide copies of select records. For example, although it is against the law to do so, schools have been known to discriminate against students with HIV or AIDS. And although the law requires that students with disabilities be educated in the LRE regardless of their diagnosis, some school systems may make blanket decisions with which parents do not agree about placement on the basis of a particular disability (eg, autism).

The health care provider can consider several issues when requesting specific services for a child with special needs. Initially, the health care provider can talk to the person responsible for developing and overseeing implementation of the child’s IFSP (service coordinator) or IEP, which differs depending on the state. In some situations, the principal has responsibility over the children and staff at the school and may want to be involved with important conversations between the school and outside professionals. The health care provider should understand that the school provides FAPE and not necessarily what would be “optimal” for the child. Health care providers can advise schools about the possible educational ramifications of medical or disabling conditions and suggest solutions; however, services in schools are decided collaboratively by the IFSP or IEP team. Writing a prescription for a school to provide a particular educational service for a child would be analogous to the school requesting a certain medical evaluation or treatment from the health care provider. This action can result in an antagonistic rather than collaborative relationship between the health care provider and the school.

Although most busy health care providers share information with the school by phone or fax, in-person meetings with EI or school personnel may also be considered for complex children who have many needs within the school environment or in situations when the team disagrees about how a health, disability, or mental health issue affects the IFSP or the IEP.

If an official IFSP or IEP planning meeting occurs, multiple professionals are usually involved, including an administrator, teachers, various therapists, school nurse, counselors, and others, making a meeting at the EI program or school more convenient. Health care provider involvement, through letters of support or direct advocacy by meeting attendance, may lead to improved medication compliance, medication monitoring (especially if done by school personnel), behavioral outcomes, parent satisfaction, and avoidance of corporal punishment and restraint situations in school settings. In states in which corporal punishment is legal, the health care provider can assist parents in advocating against it and in identifying an alternative educational placement. 23  

The diagnostic evaluation, performed by the EI program or school for determination of a child’s eligibility for services, can be helpful to the health care provider because it offers a standardized assessment of a child’s development or intellectual functioning. For the young child, the evaluation will involve several areas of development, including motor, communication, social, behavioral, adaptive, and sensory (hearing, vision) skills. Optimally, EI programs and schools share the results of evaluations with health care providers with informed written parental consent. Programs and schools may require a specific request from the parent to share these evaluations. When received, the health care provider can review and discuss the results with the family, providing interpretation as needed, because such information may be useful in determination of a specific developmental diagnosis, intellectual or learning disability, speech-language disorder, or motor disability.

Other school information can also be extremely helpful, if not critical, for medical, developmental, and behavioral health care. Examples include information about behavior for the diagnosis and follow-up for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, depression, or seizure disorder. Often, a decrease in school performance or onset of a new behavioral concern is the first sign of a medical condition or a poorly managed chronic disease. Children may have worsening or reoccurrence of symptoms at school, and school personnel may be frontline reporters for certain situations.

Health care providers may be key personnel at an EI program or school, whether they are there because of a mandatory requirement, part of a school-based health center, or consultant for the school system. These personnel may be part of IFSP or IEP discussions, depending on the roles delineated by the position. Some physicians may be part of a “community school” system, a partnership between the school and other community resources ( www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspx ). In this role, the physician can assist in the resolution of health issues affecting performance of the school system. Further information about the role of physicians in schools can be found in the AAP policy statements “The Role of the School Physician” 24 and “School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice.” 25  

Some health care providers may work at an administrative level, as in a federal, state, or local agency, to ensure that local EI agencies or schools are well equipped to be responsive to the needs of students with special needs, including the need for related services (eg, speech-language, physical, and occupational therapy), nursing, medication, and any special modified diets or nutritional needs. Each state has an interagency coordinating council for EI and a state advisory panel for special education ( www.stateadvisorypanel.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=40 ). In addition to serving on the council, another opportunity is providing public comment during meetings.

Currently, there are several ways that a child with a disability can attend a private school. A local educational agency (an entity that operates schools within the state) or another state educational agency can determine that a student may be placed within a private school to fulfill FAPE. In this situation, the school system pays for the costs of the services at the private school. Alternatively, the student’s parents or guardians may elect independently to place a child in a private school either before or after being determined eligible for special education. The state school system or local educational agency is not required to pay for this placement unless a hearing officer determines that “the agency had not made a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to the child in a timely manner prior to that enrollment.” 26  

Whether the requirement of FAPE is met within an educational program that the public education system provides is a common source of contention. The requirement of FAPE is met when a child is provided with individualized instruction with enough support services to have educational benefits; when the services are paid at public expense; and when the services meet the state’s standards for education, are at the grade levels used in the state’s regular education services, and are conducted in accordance with the child’s IEP. 13  

The local or state educational agency can place the child in a different private school program than the one the parents want if it meets the requirement of FAPE. 27 Also, if the private school does not adequately address the child’s education requirements, then courts may not require reimbursement to the private school. 28 If the placement is not for educational reasons, for example, for medical or religious reasons, reimbursement to the private school may also not be required. 29  

Finally, local educational agencies are required to identify children with disabilities, including those attending private schools. Health care providers can be quite helpful to children in private schools by working in conjunction with the parents or guardians to relay information to the public school system as described previously.

When a student with a disability breaks a rule of conduct in a school, he or she would be subject to disciplinary action. However, IDEA does have bearing on this, and the process may not be identical to that of a child without a disability. Choices for the school regarding student infractions include the following:

evaluation of the child’s behavior, with development of a new behavior plan within the IEP and class and school incorporation;

removal from current placement to another classroom or school setting, or suspension up to 10 days;

placement in another educational setting for up to 45 days if the student used a weapon, drugs, or inflicted serious bodily injury on another or if the current placement would cause injury to the child or others; and

if the student’s behavior is not a manifestation of the student’s disability or of the failure of the system to implement the IEP, the local educational agency can implement long-term disciplinary action, including expulsion, after a manifestation determination review.

The rules on disciplinary action in IDEA are complicated, and some guidance is available from a US Department of Education Web site “Q and A: Questions and Answers on Discipline Procedures” ( http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,QaCorner,7 ,), which is not meant to be legally binding. If the pediatrician believes the school’s actions are inappropriate, on the basis of the child’s disability, he or she can initiate a discussion with school personnel on the child’s behalf, advise the parents to request an IEP review, and/or seek legal counsel. Additional guidance can be found in an AAP policy entitled “Out-of-School Suspension and Expulsion.” 30  

IDEA states that the use of positive behavioral interventions must be considered 31 and a functional behavioral assessment must be used to determine causes of behavioral issues and possible proactive interventions. In addition, a manifestation determination review must be conducted to decide whether the behavior is associated with the child’s disability before any change in placement can be made. There has been much concern about the use of seclusions and restraints, especially since the Government Accountability Office reported hundreds of alleged instances of death and abuse in schools using these techniques, especially among children with disabilities. 32 The Government Accountability Office also reported that there is no federal law for either public or private schools regarding restraints and seclusions, and there are widely divergent state laws. Recommended standards regarding restraints, seclusion, and corporal punishment are provided in the AAP book Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs . 15 In addition, the AAP Council on Children With Disabilities has a policy statement 33 opposing the maltreatment of children with disabilities by use of inappropriate restraints, seclusion, and aversive interventions. Therefore, although restraints, seclusion, and corporal punishment can be used in some states, when such interventions are used, the health care provider should advise the parents about the potential effects of these practices on their child’s health, education, and development.

Most medical professionals realize that various therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy, may be required to support a child with a disability to benefit from special education. These therapies are considered “related services” by IDEA. IDEA sets forth many related services that should be considered for children with disabilities ( Table 3 ).

Related Services in IDEA

20 USC §1401, Title 20 - Education, Education of Children with Disabilities, Subchapter I - Definitions, section 1401 - General provisions (2011).

IDEA considers a medical service to be a related service if it is limited to diagnostic and evaluation purposes. Courts have helped identify which medical services the school is required to provide and which services should be provided outside the school environment.

The Supreme Court case Irving Independent School District v Tatro 34 stipulated that medical services should be provided by the school if the child has a disability requiring special education, the service is required to help a child with a disability benefit from special education, and a nurse or other qualified person who is not a physician can provide the service. In a subsequent Supreme Court case, Cedar Rapids Community School District v Garret F , 35 the Court continued to state that services by physicians or hospitals are not allowable in IEPs but indicated that nursing services, such as clean intermittent catheterization and full-time nursing, can be related services if the child requires them to attend school.

Assistive devices and durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs in schools may be paid for by several routes including Medicaid, the State Child Health Insurance Program, State Assistive Technology Centers, medical insurance, civic and volunteer organizations, or assistive technology manufacturers. 36  

There are several important entry points into and transitions for patients with disabilities to connect to necessary services. Children from families who relocate to different schools or cities or from home schooling around transition points are especially at risk of losing educational services and supports.

When a parent or health care provider discovers developmental problems or a disability, linkage to EI or special education will lead to receipt of special services, which may occur at birth for a child with trisomy 21, when symptoms and signs of autism manifest in toddlers to preschool-aged children, or when symptoms of psychosis become apparent later in childhood or adolescence. A follow-up clinic visit or phone call can help to check that a family has connected their child with a disability to the EI program or school system.

When a child is already involved with EI and has an IFSP, the IFSP team will usually ensure that the child’s parents or guardians are oriented to transitioning their child’s supports to special education as necessary, usually at 3 years of age. Ideally, members of the IFSP team will attend the IEP meeting at the child’s school to share information and plan transition services. Discussing this transition with parents and a follow-up clinic visit or phone call can help this transition occur smoothly and ensure there is not a loss of services.

Families of children with special needs may be concerned about the transition from elementary to middle school or from middle school to high school, particularly if their child is physically or emotionally immature. The family may worry about adjustment of their child to the new school, with other children developing more rapidly than their child, and may also worry about the subsequent stigmatization that often happens. Parents may fear that other children may take advantage of their child at the new school. Parents may also be unsure of the quality of IEP, special education, or related services at the new school. In collaboration with the personnel from the new school, the health care provider can uncover and explore these issues with the family so that solutions and transition plans can be made. The student and the parents can visit the new school to explore the possibilities and advantages of the new setting. Special education supports and related services at the new school can be explained and shown to the student and his or her parents.

It is important for families to understand their rights during this process. If the family moves to another neighborhood in the same district, their child’s IEP is transferred to the new school and implemented as written. (There may be some instances in which the parent and district may agree that a child should stay at his or her current school even after moving, either because of how a school transfer would affect the school or because of the lack of availability of needed services at the school closest to the family’s new neighborhood.)

If the family moves within the same state but to a different school district, that district may either adopt their child’s IEP or develop a new IEP in collaboration with the parent(s). Until it opts to develop a new IEP, it must provide services and settings comparable to those described in the current IEP developed by the previous school system, pending an IEP meeting with the parents to review and revise the IEP if needed.

If the family moves to a different state, the new school in that state must also provide services and settings comparable to the IEP from the previous state until a new evaluation is conducted (if needed) and a new IEP is developed and implemented (if needed). The district decides whether it can accept the evaluation from the district in another state or needs to conduct its own evaluation. If the district decides that an evaluation is not needed, a meeting still needs to take place with the parents to develop a new IEP. If the district decides that it must conduct a new evaluation to determine whether the child is still an eligible child with a disability in that state, and the evaluation determines that the child is eligible in the new state, then a meeting must take place with the parents to develop an IEP according to that state’s policies and procedures.

Regardless of the reasons a child is starting a new school, the child should not be sitting at home without services pending these decisions. In each case, the child’s IEP, or services and settings comparable to those in the child’s IEP, must be implemented pending these further discussions and decisions.

The transition from school to adulthood is a critical transition that requires individualized goals and supports for each student. Parents (and sometimes school staff) may overestimate or underestimate a child’s ability, causing inappropriate programming for special education and related services. The health care provider can assist in the formal planning and bridge-building needed for successful completion. Health care providers, school personnel, and parents or guardians are advised to begin discussion of this transition at 14 to 16 years of age (depending on the state) and to continue communication during the transition process. One cannot overstate the importance of knowing the youth and knowing what the family understands about their child’s potential. The best transitions to adulthood occur when IEPs fit students’ capabilities and are based on their interests, priorities, and hopes and dreams for the future.

Ideally, the educational system should prepare youth with disabilities for competitive employment, if not postsecondary (after high school) education. A vocational rehabilitation expert should be a collaborative member of the student’s team if community college or university settings do not match the student’s aptitude. Problems with supports toward employment have been explored in several analyses. 17 , 37 These include issues with using an adult vocational system for youth with disabilities. In addition, families are worried about Supplemental Security Income and other benefits being lost when their teenager is employed.

Additional considerations for an IEP that is focused on the transition to adulthood include a comprehensive behavioral plan focused on improved interactions with others and therapies to help students become mobile in the community. For some students with intellectual or other developmental disabilities, guardianship may be an important consideration. In most states, a student is considered an emancipated adult (ie, his or her own legal guardian) at 18 years of age. At the age of majority, youth with disabilities are empowered to make their own IEP decisions, regardless of their parents’ wishes, unless the parent secures their written consent for the parents to continue to make IEP decisions or secures guardianship. Some individuals do not have the capacity to safely care for themselves or make their own decisions even after reaching the age of majority. A court proceeding is necessary for another person to gain or maintain guardianship and requires serious considerations of the person’s needs and capacity for decision-making. Health care providers can help often fearful parents understand the value of the young adult being able to make as many decisions as possible. Some states have limited guardianships, which do not take away all of the young adult’s rights. Alternatives to guardianship should be considered and may include power of attorney or health care proxy. The school can assist with this process by providing information for the proceeding, such as psychological testing or other evaluations performed.

Services provided under IDEA and other federal laws are essential supports for children with special needs to learn and be integrated and contributing members of their communities. Health care providers have an important role in supporting the education of children with disabilities and other health issues and their families and in supporting EI and school programs. Health care providers are advised to understand the basic elements of federal law, including the public school mandate to provide an FAPE to qualified students in the LRE. Although providers are advised to respect the educational expertise of school professionals, they can safeguard that children with disabilities and other health or behavioral issues receive appropriate services from EI and school programs throughout their childhood years. Providers can particularly support these children and their families through critical transitions from the initial referral to EI and school systems through the transition into adulthood.

Center for Parent Information and Resources: www.parentcenterhub.org

Jones NL. Education of Individuals with Disabilities: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). CRS Report for Congress (R40123). February 3, 2011

Jones NL. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Statutory Provisions and Recent Legal Issues. CRS Report for Congress (R40690). December 3, 2010

Jones NL. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Private Schools. CRS Report for Congress (R41678). March 10, 2011

Jones NL. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Selected Judicial Developments Following the 2004 Reauthorization. CRS Report for Congress (R40521). November 10, 2010

National Center for Learning Disabilities: http://www.ncld.org/

US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS): http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html

Paul H. Lipkin, MD

Jeffrey Okamoto, MD

Kenneth W. Norwood Jr, MD, Chairperson

Richard C. Adams, MD

Timothy J. Brei, MD

Robert T. Burke, MD, MPH

Beth Ellen Davis, MD, MPH

Sandra L. Friedman, MD, MPH

Amy J. Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH

Susan L. Hyman, MD

Dennis Z. Kuo, MD, MHS

Garey H. Noritz, MD

Renee M. Turchi, MD, MPH

Nancy A. Murphy, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson

Carolyn Bridgemohan, MD – Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Marie Mann, MD, MPH – Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Nora Wells, MSEd – Family Voices

Max Wiznitzer, MD – Section on Neurology

Stephanie Mucha, MPH

Jeffrey Okamoto, MD, Chairperson

Mandy Allison, MD, MSPH

Richard Ancona, MD

Elliott Attisha, DO

Cheryl De Pinto, MD, MPH

Breena Holmes, MD

Chris Kjolhede, MD, MPH

Marc Lerner, MD

Mark Minier, MD

Adrienne Weiss-Harrison, MD

Thomas Young, MD

Elizabeth Mattey, MSN, RN, NCSN – National Association of School Nurses

Linda Grant, MD, MPH – American School Health Association

Veda Johnson, MD – School-Based Health Alliance

Madra Guinn-Jones, MPH

American Academy of Pediatrics

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Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

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This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors have filed conflict of interest statements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this publication.

Clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics benefit from expertise and resources of liaisons and internal (AAP) and external reviewers. However, clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics may not reflect the views of the liaisons or the organizations or government agencies that they represent.

The guidance in this report does not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

All clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

FUNDING: No external funding.

POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Selected Special Education Journals

These links take you to a source with recent issues of the journal. Additional issues may be available via other sources. Use  Find Journals by Title  (above) to find alternate sources for a title.

• American Annals of the Deaf
• American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - AJIDD
• Annals of Dyslexia
• Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice
• Behavioral Disorders: Journal of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
• Brain Injury
• British Journal of Learning Disabilities
• Continuity in Education An open access, peer reviewed journal for the education of children and young people with medical and mental health needs.
• Disability and Society
• Disability Studies Quarterly
• European Journal of Special Needs Education
• Exceptional Children
• Exceptionality
• Exceptionality Education International Open access after 1 year
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - IDD
• International Journal of Disability, Development and Education
• Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
• Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Journal of Early Intervention Offers blind peer reviewed articles "related to research and practice in early intervention for infants and young children with special needs and their families. . . .Key features include research reports, scholarly reviews, policy analyses, research methods, and "Innovative Practices".
• Journal of Intellectual Disability Research An ISI ranked journal sponsored by mencap a UK-based "organisation promoting the interests of people with intellectual disability/learning disability and their families." Includes peer reviewed research and invited expert reviews.
• Journal of Learning Disabilities
• Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs
• Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities - JSESD This open access, peer reviewed journal focuses on "science education for students with varying types and levels of disabilities."
• The Journal of Special Education
• Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research - American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
• Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness - American Foundation for the Blind
• Journal on Developmental Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities Research & Practice - Council for Exceptional Children LDRP publishes blind peer reviewed articles "addressing the nature and characteristics of children and adults with learning disabilities, program development, assessment practices, and instruction. "
• Learning Disability Quarterly
• Psychology in the Schools
• Remedial and Special Education
• Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Research in Developmental Disabilities
• Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders EMU's electronic access to this has 1 year delay. If you need a recent article, use interlibrary loan.
• Rural Special Education Quarterly
• TEACHING Exceptional Children - TEC
• Tizard Learning Disability Review EMU's electronic access to this has 1 year delay. If you need a recent article, use interlibrary loan.
• Topics in Early Childhood Special Education "The practical nature of this journal helps professionals improve service delivery systems for preschool children with special needs. Each issue features reports of original research, literature reviews, conceptual statements, position papers, and program descriptions."
• Topics in Language Disorders
• Volta Review - Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Young Exceptional Children

Selected Education Journals

• AERA Open "A peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the American Educational Research Association (AERA)."
• Afterschool Matters An open access peer-reviewed journal from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time.
• American Educational Research Journal AERJ "publishes original empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education that constitute significant contributions to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes." A blind peer reviewed journal from the American Educational Research Association.
• American Journal of Education Sponsored by the Pennsylvania State College of Education, this peer reviewed journal publishes articles "that present research, theoretical statements, philosophical arguments, critical syntheses of a field of educational inquiry, and integrations of educational scholarship, policy, and practice."
• Australian Journal of Teacher Education This open access peer- reviewed journal publishes research related to teacher education.
• Child Development "As the flagship journal of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Child Development has published articles, essays, reviews, and tutorials on various topics in the field of child development since 1930." Uses blind peer review.
• Cognition and Instruction This peer reviewed journal publishes articles on the "rigorous study of foundational issues concerning the mental, socio-cultural, and mediational processes and conditions of learning and intellectual competence." Articles are sometimes blind reviewed.
• Comparative and International Education This open access peer-reviewed journal "is published twice a year and is devoted to publishing articles dealing with education in a comparative and international perspective."
• Computers and Education Publishes peer reviewed articles on the use of computing technology in education.
• Contemporary Educational Psychology "publishes articles that involve the application of psychological theory and science to the educational process."
• Current Issues in Emerging eLearning (CIEE) "an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal of research and critical thought on eLearning practice and emerging pedagogical methods."
• Democracy and Education Open access peer-reviewed journal "seeks to support and sustain conversations that take as their focus the conceptual foundations, social policies, institutional structures, and teaching/learning practices associated with democratic education."
• Developmental Review This peer reviewed journal "emphasizes human developmental processes and gives particular attention to issues relevant to child developmental psychology."
• Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education This official publication of the Association for the Study of Primary Education (ASPE) publishes peer reviewed articles related to the education of children between the ages of 3-13.
• Educational Administration Quarterly This peer reviewed journal from the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) offers conceptual and theoretical articles, research analyses, and reviews of books in educational administration."
• Educational and Psychological Measurement "scholarly work from all academic disciplines interested in the study of measurement theory, problems, and issues."
• Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis EEPA "publishes scholarly articles of theoretical, methodological, or policy interest to those engaged in educational policy analysis, evaluation, and decision making." Blind peer reviewed journal from the American Educational Research Association.
• Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice Sponsored by the National Council on Measurement in Education, this journal promotes "a better understanding of and reasoned debate on assessment, evaluation, testing, and related issues."
• Educational Policy "focuses on the practical consequences of educational policy decisions and alternatives"
• Educational Researcher "Educational Researcher publishes scholarly articles that are of general significance to the education research community and that come from a wide range of areas of education research and related disciplines." A peer reviewed journal from the American Educational Research Association.
• Educational Research Quarterly ERQ "publishes evaluative, integrative, theoretical and methodological manuscripts reporting the results of research; current issues in education; synthetic review articles which result in new syntheses or research directions; book reviews; theoretical, empirical or applied research in psychometrics, edumetrics, evaluation, research methodology or statistics" and more. Uses blind peer review.
• Educational Research Review Publishes review articles "in education and instruction at any level," including research reviews, theoretical reviews, methodological reviews, thematic reviews, theory papers, and research critiques. From the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI).
• Educational Studies "publishes fully refereed papers which cover applied and theoretical approaches to the study of education"
• Education and Culture This peer reviewed journal from Purdue University Press "takes an integrated view of philosophical, historical, and sociological issues in education" with a special focus on Dewey.
• FIRE: Forum of International Research in Education This open access, peer reviewed journal promotes "interdisciplinary scholarship on the use of internationally comparative data for evidence-based and innovative change in educational systems, schools, and classrooms worldwide."
• Frontline Learning Research An official journal of EARLI, European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. Open Access.
• Future of Children Articles on policy topics relevant to children and youth. An open access journal from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution.
• Harvard Educational Review "a scholarly journal of opinion and research in education. It provides an interdisciplinary forum for discussion and debate about the field's most vital issues."
• High School Journal "The High School Journal publishes research, scholarship, essays, and reviews that critically examine the broad and complex field of secondary education."
• IDEA Papers A national forum for the publication of peer-reviewed articles pertaining to the general areas of teaching and learning, faculty evaluation, curriculum design, assessment, and administration in higher education.
• Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education A peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to the examination and analysis of education in a variety of local, regional, national, and transnational contexts.
• Instructional Science "Instructional Science promotes a deeper understanding of the nature, theory, and practice of the instructional process and resultant learning. Published papers represent a variety of perspectives from the learning sciences and cover learning by people of all ages, in all areas of the curriculum, and in informal and formal learning contexts." Peer reviewed.
• Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning - IJPBL This open access, peer reviewed journal "publishes relevant, interesting, and challenging articles of research, analysis, or promising practice related to all aspects of implementing problem-based learning (PBL) in K–12 and post-secondary classrooms."
• International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning An Official Publication of the International Society of the Learning Sciences
• International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation - IJELP An open access journal from the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. Articles undergo a double-blind peer review process.
• Internet and Higher Education Publishes peer reviewed articles "devoted to addressing contemporary issues and future developments related to online learning, teaching, and administration on the Internet in post-secondary settings."
• Journal for Research in Mathematics Education An official journal of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), JRME publishes peer reviewed research articles and literature reviews, as well as commentaries and book reviews. Concerned with mathematics education at both the K-12 and college level.
• Journal of Applied Research on Children - JARC Published by the CHILDREN AT RISK Institute, this open access. peer reviewed journal publishes "interdisciplinary research that is linked to practical, evidenced-based policy solutions for children’s issues."
• Journal of Computer Assisted Learning JCAL "is an international peer-reviewed journal which covers the whole range of uses of information and communication technology to support learning and knowledge exchange."
• Journal of Education A scholarly peer-reviewed journal focusing on K-12 education. This long-standing journal is sponsored by the Boston University School of Education.
• Journal of Educational Psychology This blind peer reviewed journal from the American Psychological Association publishes "original, primary psychological research pertaining to education across all ages and educational levels," as well as "exceptionally important theoretical and review articles that are pertinent to educational psychology."
• Journal of Educational Research "publishes manuscripts that describe or synthesize research of direct relevance to educational practice in elementary and secondary schools, pre-K–12."
• Journal of Interactive Media in Education - JIME This long-standing peer reviewed open access journal publishes research on the theories, practices and experiences in the field of educational technology.
• Journal of Research in Science Teaching - JRST This blind peer reviewed journal is the official journal of NARST: A Worldwide Organization for Improving Science Teaching and Learning Through Research, which "publishes reports for science education researchers and practitioners on issues of science teaching and learning and science education policy."
• Journal of Teacher Education The flagship journal of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) publishes peer reviewed articles on teacher education and continued support for teachers.
• Journal of the Learning Sciences "JLS provides a multidisciplinary forum for research on education and learning as theoretical and design sciences." This official journal of the International Society of the Learning Sciences uses a double blind review process.
• Journal of Vocational Behavior "The Journal of Vocational Behavior publishes empirical and theoretical articles that expand knowledge of vocational behavior and career development across the life span. " Peer reviewed.
• Learning and Instruction This peer reviewed journal from the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) publishes "advanced scientific research in the areas of learning, development, instruction and teaching."
• Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning - National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) Publishes "papers on all aspects of mentoring, tutoring and partnership in education, other academic disciplines and the professions."
• Merrill-Palmer Quarterly Publishes "empirical and theoretical papers on child development and family-child relationships."
• Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning MJCSL is an open-access journal focusing on research, theory, pedagogy, and other matters related to academic service-learning, campus-community partnerships, and engaged/public scholarship in higher education. Published by the University of Michigan. All articles are free online --don't worry about the "Buy a copy" messages.
• Michigan Reading Journal Open access journal from the Michigan Reading Association.
• NACADA Journal - National Academic Advising Association "The NACADA Journal is the biannual refereed journal of the National Academic Advising Association. It exists to advance scholarly discourse about the research, theory and practice of academic advising in higher education."
• Numeracy Published by the National Numeracy Network, this open access and peer reviewed journal "supports education at all levels that integrates quantitative skills across disciplines."
• Policy and Society A highly ranked open access journal that publishes peer-reviewed research on critical issues in policy theory and practice at the local, national and international levels. Includes articles on Education policy.
• Reading Research Quarterly RRQ publishes peer reviewed scholarship on literacy, including original research, theoretical and methodological essays, review articles, scholarly analysis of trends and issues, as well as reports and viewpoints. Published by the International Literacy Association.
• Review of Educational Research RER "publishes critical, integrative reviews of research literature bearing on education." A blind peer reviewed journal from the American Educational Research Association.
• Review of Higher Education Published by the Association for the Study of Higher Education this journal provides peer-reviewed research studies, scholarly essays, and theoretically-driven reviews on higher education issues.
• Review of Research in Education RRE "provides an annual overview and descriptive analysis of selected topics of relevant research literature through critical and synthesizing essays."
• Science Education "Science Education publishes original articles on the latest issues and trends occurring internationally in science curriculum, instruction, learning, policy and preparation of science teachers with the aim to advance our knowledge of science education theory and practice."
• Scientific Studies of Reading The official Journal of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading "publishes original empirical investigations dealing with all aspects of reading and its related areas, and occasionally, scholarly reviews of the literature and papers focused on theory development. " Uses blind peer review.
• Sociology of Education "SOE publishes research that examines how social institutions and individuals' experiences within these institutions affect educational processes and social development." A blind peer reviewed journal from the American Sociological Association.
• Studies in Science Education This blind peer reviewed journal publishes review articles that offer "analytical syntheses of research into key topics and issues in science education."
• Teachers College Record "The Teachers College Record is a journal of research, analysis, and commentary in the field of education. It has been published continuously since 1900 by Teachers College, Columbia University."
• Theory into Practice "TIP publishes articles covering all levels and areas of education, including learning and teaching; assessment; educational psychology; teacher education and professional development; classroom management; counseling; administration and supervision; curriculum; policy; and technology." Peer reviewed.
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• The Analysis of Verbal Behavior (Online) The Analysis of Verbal Behavior is an official publication of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and is primarily for the original publication of experimental or theoretical papers relevant to a behavioral analysis of verbal behavior. The mission of the journal is to support the dissemination of innovative empirical research, theoretical conceptualizations, and real-world applications of the behavioral science of language.
• Behavioral Disorders: Journal of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (Online) Behavioral Disorders (BD) addresses compelling issues related to individuals with behavioral challenges. Regular features include research-based articles, which discuss evidence-based practices for use with challenging behaviors.
• Behavioral Interventions (Online) Behavioral Interventions aims to report research and practice involving the utilization of applied behavior analytic techniques in the treatment, education, assessment and training of students, clients or patients, as well as training techniques used with staff. Behavioral Interventions publishes: (1) research articles, (2) brief reports (a short report of an innovative technique or intervention that may be less methodologically rigorous than a research report), (3) topical literature reviews and discussion articles, and (4) book reviews.
• Behavior Analysis in Practice (Online) This transnational journal provides science-based, best-practice information relevant to service delivery in behavior analysis. The range of contents includes empirical reports describing the application and evaluation of behavior-analytic procedures and programs; discussion papers on professional and practice issues; technical articles on methods, data analysis, or instrumentation in the practice of behavior analysis; tutorials on terms, procedures, and theories relevant to best practices in behavior analysis; and critical reviews of books and products that are aimed at practitioners or consumers of behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice is an official journal of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. more... less... Previously known as " target="_self">The Behavior Analyst Today
• Behavior Modification (Online) Behavior Modification (BMO) presents insightful research, reports, and reviews on applied behavior modification. Each issue offers successful assessment and modification techniques applicable to problems in psychiatric, clinical, educational, and rehabilitative settings, as well as treatment manuals and program descriptions. Practical features help you follow the process of clinical psychological research and to apply it to behavior modification interventions.
• Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (Online) Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities focuses on the education and welfare of persons autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and developmental disabilities.ETADD invites research and expository manuscripts and critical review of the literature. Major emphasis is on identification and assessment, educational programming, characteristics, training of instructional personnel, rehabilitation, prevention, community understanding and provisions, and legislation.
• Exceptional Children (Online) Insightful and pioneering research, topical issues and broad perspectives by leaders in the field for more than 75 years have made Exceptional Children (EC) the most respected scholarly journal in special education. This peer-reviewed journal publishes research, research reviews, methodological reviews of literature, data-based position papers, and policy analyses on the education and development of children and youth with exceptionalities. EC, published quarterly, is an official journal of the Council for Exceptional Children.
• Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities (Online) Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (FOCUS) offers practical educational and treatment suggestions for teachers, trainers, and parents of persons with autism or other pervasive developmental disabilities. FOCUS offers original research reports, position papers reflecting diverse philosophical and theoretical positions, effective intervention procedures, descriptions of successful programs, and media reviews.
• Gifted Child Quarterly (Online) Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ) is the official journal of the National Association for Gifted Children. As a leading journal in the field, GCQ publishes original scholarly reviews of the literature and quantitative or qualitative research studies. GCQ welcomes manuscripts offering new or creative insights about giftedness and talent development in the context of the school, the home, and the wider society.
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Online) IDD is a bimonthly peer reviewed multidisciplinary journal of policy, practices, and perspectives. As a journal with an applied focus, IDD provides a forum for the dissemination of rigorously reviewed, actionable information that is relevant to emerging policies, innovative practices, and transformative concepts.
• International Journal of Inclusive Education (Online) The International Journal of Inclusive Education provides a strategic forum for international and multi-disciplinary dialogue on inclusive education for all educators and educational policy-makers concerned with the form and nature of schools, universities and technical colleges. Papers published are original, refereed, multi-disciplinary research into pedagogies, curricula, organizational structures, policy-making, administration and cultures to include all students in education. *NOTE: Only open access articles available
• International Journal of Special Education (Online) The International Journal of Special Education publishes original articles concerning special education. Experimental, as well as, theoretical articles are sought from all over the world. Authors are encouraged to submit reviews of research, historical and philosophical reviews in addition to evidence based data of the effectiveness of innovative approaches.
• Intervention in School and Clinic (Online) Publishes multi-disciplinary research on inclusive education, pedagogies, curricula, organizational structures, policy-making, administration and cultures. intervention in School and Clinic (ISC) equips teachers and clinicians with hands-on tips, techniques, methods, and ideas for improving assessment, instruction, and management for individuals with learning disabilities or behavior disorders. Articles focus on curricular, instructional, social, behavioral, assessment, and vocational strategies and techniques that have a direct application to the classroom settings.
• Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Online) Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) is a psychology journal that publishes research about applications of the experimental analysis of behavior to problems of social importance.
• Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Online) The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders is the leading peer-reviewed, scholarly periodical focusing on all aspects of autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. Published monthly, JADD is committed to advancing the understanding of autism, including potential causes and prevalence (e.g., genetic, immunological, environmental); diagnosis advancements; and effective clinical care, education, and treatment for all individuals.
• Journal of Behavioral Education (Online) The Journal of Behavioral Education is an international forum dedicated to publishing original research papers on the application of behavioral principles and technology to education. Education is defined broadly and the journal places no restriction on the types of participants involved in the reported studies--including by age, ability, or setting. Each quarterly issue presents empirical research investigating best-practices and innovative methods to address a wide range of educational targets and issues pertaining to the needs of diverse learners and to implementation.
• Journal of Early Intervention (Online) The Journal of Early Intervention (JEI) offers articles related to research and practice in early intervention for infants and young children with special needs and their families. Early intervention is broadly defined as procedures that facilitate the development of infants and young children who have special needs or who are at risk for developmental disabilities. Key features include research, reviews, policy analyses, and conceptual papers.
• Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (Online) Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (JEBD) offers interdisciplinary research, practice, and commentary related to individuals with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Each issue explores critical and diverse topics such as youth violence, functional assessment, school-wide discipline, mental health services, positive behavior supports, and educational strategies.
• Journal of International Special Needs Education (Online) The purpose of the Journal of International Special Needs Education is to provide DISES members and members of the international scientific community with information that reflects the field of special education around the world. It is a multi-disciplinary journal for reporting original and theoretical contributions concerning disability and the delivery of special education programs and services to individuals with disabilities throughout the world.
• Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (Online) Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (JPBI) offers sound, research-based principles of positive behavior support for use in school, home and community settings with people with challenges in behavioral adaptation. Regular features include empirical research; discussion, literature reviews, and conceptual papers; programs, practices, and innovations; forum; and media reviews.
• Journal of Special Education (Online) Journal of Special Education (JSE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Education. JSE publishes reports of research and scholarly reviews on improving education and services for individuals with disabilities.
• Journal of Special Education Technology (Online) Journal of Special Education Technology (JSET) is a refereed professional journal that presents up-to-date information and opinions about issues, research, policy, and practice related to the use of technology in the field of special education. JSET supports the publication of research and development activities, provides technological information and resources, and presents important information and discussion concerning important issues in the field of special education technology to scholars, teacher educators, and practitioners.
• Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (Online) Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) is primarily for the original publication of experiments relevant to the behavior of individual organisms.
• The Journal of the International Association of Special Education (Online) The Journal of the International Association of Special Education (JIASE) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research and PRAXIS articles pertaining to the education of exceptional children from around the world. The PRAXIS section of the journal is intended for the dissemination of practical strategies that readers can immediately implement in their classrooms/schools. These methods/strategies may be new and unique ideas or they can be effective methods/strategies that some teachers have been using and believe that by their publication many more teachers could effectively implement them in their classrooms.
• Learning Disability Quarterly (Online) Learning Disability Quarterly (LDQ) publishes high-quality research and scholarship concerning children, youth, and adults with learning disabilities. Consistent with that purpose, the journal seeks to publish articles with the potential to impact and improve educational outcomes, opportunities, and services. This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
• Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners: A Publication of the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (Online) Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners (MV) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Division for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The journal publishes original research; conceptual and theoretical articles; critical analyses, reviews and syntheses of literature; and material, test, and book reviews.
• Perspectives on Behavior Science: An Official Journal of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (Online) Perspectives on Behavior Science is an official quarterly publication of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. It publishes reviews of theoretical, experimental, and applied topics in behavior analysis as well as allied behavior sciences.
• The Psychological Record (Online) The Psychological Record publishes empirical and conceptual articles related to the field of behavior analysis, behavior science, and behavior theory. The journal welcomes empirical studies of basic behavioral processes, as well as translational studies that bridge experimental and applied analyses of behavior. Conceptual articles pertinent to the theory and philosophy of behaviorism are also welcome. The journal is an official publication of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
• Remedial and Special Education (Online) Remedial and Special Education (RASE) offers interdisciplinary articles that bridge the gap between theory and practice involving the education of individuals for whom typical instruction is not effective. Articles include topical reviews, syntheses of research, field evaluation studies, and recommendations for practice of remedial and special education.
• Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (Online) Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (RPSD), published in association with TASH, is a critically acclaimed and widely-read journal in the field of disabilities. RPSD publishes breakthrough articles on such topics as inclusion, augmentative and alternative communication, supported living and employment, early childhood issues, self-advocacy, positive behavioral supports, disability rights and issues of concern to families.
• Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (Online) Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (RASD) publishes high quality empirical articles and reviews that contribute to a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at all levels of description; genetic, neurobiological, cognitive, and behavioral. The primary focus of the journal is to bridge the gap between basic research at these levels, and the practical questions and difficulties that are faced by individuals with ASD and their families, as well as careers, educators and clinicians.
• Research in Developmental Disabilities (Online) Research In Developmental Disabilities is an international journal aimed at publishing original research of an interdisciplinary nature that has a direct bearing on the understanding or remediation of problems associated with developmental disabilities. Articles will be primarily empirical studies, although an occasional position paper or review will be accepted. The aim of the journal will be to publish articles on all aspects of developmental difficulties using rigorous research methods.
• Teaching Exceptional Children (Online) Feature articles dealing with practical methods and materials for classroom use aimed at teachers of children with disabilities and children who are gifted; an official journal of the Council for Exceptional Children.
• American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Print) AJIDD is a bimonthly scientific, scholarly, and archival multidisciplinary journal for reporting original research contributions of the highest quality on intellectual disability, its causes, treatment, and prevention.
• Exceptional Children: Journal of the International Council for Exceptional Children (Print) Insightful and pioneering research, topical issues and broad perspectives by leaders in the field for more than 75 years have made Exceptional Children (EC) the most respected scholarly journal in special education. This peer-reviewed journal publishes research, research reviews, methodological reviews of literature, data-based position papers, and policy analyses on the education and development of children and youth with exceptionalities. EC, published quarterly, is an official journal of the Council for Exceptional Children.
• Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Print) Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) is a psychology journal that publishes research about applications of the experimental analysis of behavior to problems of social importance.
• Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Print) The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders is the leading peer-reviewed, scholarly periodical focusing on all aspects of autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. Published monthly, JADD is committed to advancing the understanding of autism, including potential causes and prevalence (e.g., genetic, immunological, environmental); diagnosis advancements; and effective clinical care, education, and treatment for all individuals.
• Journal of Special Education (Print) Journal of Special Education (JSE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Education. JSE publishes reports of research and scholarly reviews on improving education and services for individuals with disabilities.
• Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (Print) Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) is primarily for the original publication of experiments relevant to the behavior of individual organisms.
• Learning Disability Quarterly: Journal of the Division for Children with Learning Disabilities (Print) Learning Disability Quarterly (LDQ) publishes high-quality research and scholarship concerning children, youth, and adults with learning disabilities. Consistent with that purpose, the journal seeks to publish articles with the potential to impact and improve educational outcomes, opportunities, and services. This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
• The Psychological Record (Print) The Psychological Record publishes empirical and conceptual articles related to the field of behavior analysis, behavior science, and behavior theory. The journal welcomes empirical studies of basic behavioral processes, as well as translational studies that bridge experimental and applied analyses of behavior. Conceptual articles pertinent to the theory and philosophy of behaviorism are also welcome. The journal is an official publication of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
• Remedial and Special Education: RASE (Print) Remedial and Special Education (RASE) offers interdisciplinary articles that bridge the gap between theory and practice involving the education of individuals for whom typical instruction is not effective. Articles include topical reviews, syntheses of research, field evaluation studies, and recommendations for practice of remedial and special education.
• Research in Developmental Disabilities (Print) Research In Developmental Disabilities is an international journal aimed at publishing original research of an interdisciplinary nature that has a direct bearing on the understanding or remediation of problems associated with developmental disabilities. Articles will be primarily empirical studies, although an occasional position paper or review will be accepted. The aim of the journal will be to publish articles on all aspects of developmental difficulties using rigorous research methods.
• International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (Online) nternational Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECSE) is an online, open-access, scholarly, peer-reviewed journal offering scholarly articles on various issues of young children with special needs (0-8 age) and their families. The INT-JECSE publishes empirical research, literature reviews, theoretical articles, and book reviews in all aspects of Early Intervention (EI)/Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). Studies from diverse methodologies, including experimental studies using group or single-subject designs, descriptive studies using observational or survey methodologies, case studies, and qualitative studies, are welcome. High technical quality in the design, implementation, and description, as well as importance to the field is required to be reviewed and published in the INT-JECSE.
• Topics in Early Childhood Special Education (Online) Topics in Early Childhood Special Education (TECSE) focuses on information that will improve the lives of young children with special needs and their families. The practical nature of this journal helps professionals improve service delivery systems for preschool children with special needs. Each issue features reports of original research, literature reviews, conceptual statements, position papers, and program descriptions.
• Young Exceptional Children (Online) Young Exceptional Children (YEC) is written for teachers, early care and education personnel, educational administrators, therapists, families and others who work with or on behalf of children from birth through 8 years of age who have identified disabilities, developmental delays, are gifted/talented, or are at risk for future developmental problems. It offers useful, friendly articles that help readers implement research-based strategies and interventions across many settings.
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• Last Updated: Aug 30, 2022 3:27 PM
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Special Education

• Getting Started
• Find Scholarly Journals
• Find Peer-Reviewed Articles
• Web Resources & Professional Associations
• Statistical Sources This link opens in a new window
• Neuroscience in Special Ed
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
• Autism Resources for Special Education Professionals

Database Searching for Peer-Reviewed Articles

Articles from peer-reviewed journals are included in many library databases, including ERIC and Education Source.

You can limit your search results to articles from only peer-reviewed journals  by selecting the "Peer-reviewed Journals" option in the "Refine Your Results" column on the left of the page. 

Peer Review in 3 Minutes

How to Determine if an Article is Peer-Reviewed?

There are two basic ways to find out if a journal contains articles that are peer reviewed:

1) Google the name of the journal to get to the publisher's webpage. Look for a section on the page "about this journal". If it is a peer-reviewed publication, it will proudly advertise itself as such. 

2) There is also a library database that supplies this information called "Ulrich's." Use this link to get there. Alternatively, you can access it on the library's website by navigating to "Databases" on the homepage > A-Z Database List > "U" tab and then scroll down to find "ulrichsweb.com (Ulrich's Periodicals Directory)."

Something to think about:  A journal can be peer-reviewed and still contain individual articles that are NOT peer-reviewed. For example, editorials and book reviews are pieces that are not peer-reviewed.

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• Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024 1:06 PM
• URL: https://libguides.gwu.edu/specialed