Although social groups have "insiders," this construct has not been measured within the disability advocacy community. Examining 405 individuals who applied for an advocacy training program, this study examined the nature of insiderness within the disability advocacy community and ties to individual roles. Participants showed differences…

The problem of this basic qualitative study was that students served in self-contained classes had limited access to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process due to the rationed participation by parents and teachers (i.e., advocates), which may have been restraining students' ability to prepare for adult living expectations within their…

Given that self-knowledge is recognized as a key component of self-determined behavior, intentionally teaching students with learning disabilities (LD) about their identified disability can create conditions needed for future self-determined behavior. In the following article, action steps are provided that are useful for fostering development of…

Since 2011, increased responsibility has been placed on English mainstream schools to provide appropriate careers guidance and support to their students to prepare them for a successful transition from school. Disabled students are likely to encounter many barriers in their transitions from formal education settings, and they are less likely to be…

Special education advocacy programs educate and empower individuals to become advocates for families of school-aged children with disabilities. Although special education advocacy programs are becoming more common across the globe, replication and wide scale implementation are needed to determine their credibility. The purpose of this study was to…

Despite a myriad of linguistic and cultural barriers, immigrant parents of children with disabilities in the United States have adopted a variety of advocacy strategies. Drawing upon the frameworks of Community Cultural Wealth and Ecological Systems Theory, this study explores how Korean immigrant mothers of children with disabilities advocate for…

While sharing some characteristics with their general physical education colleagues, adapted physical educators also face unique challenges related to their role. For example, both general and adapted physical education teachers encounter stress stemming from the marginalized nature of their discipline but may navigate such experiences…

Medical students with disabilities constitute 7.6% of allopathic (MD) and 4.3% of osteopathic (DO) programs, and they are entitled to reasonable accommodation, per the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, research has demonstrated that disabled medical students often encounter barriers when accessing accommodations. In response to these…

All children in the United States have a right to effective education. While an optimal learning environment is important for all students, children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to barriers to accessing high-quality learning environments. Many parents of children receiving special education services want to be strong advocates for…

Individual education plan (IEP) quality is a strong predictor of student outcomes and progress towards their goals. In the Republic of Ireland, unlike many other jurisdictions, IEPs are not compulsory, regulated or assessed. Therefore, the aim of our co-produced, mixed-methods study was to identify and understand the IEP priorities of the autistic…

Advocacy has long been heralded as a way to create change for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. However, without an established measure, it is difficult to accurately characterize advocacy activities. Drawing from extant research, the Advocacy Activities Scale was developed to assess three…

Since the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting is so important both to a student's progress and educational growth as well as the school's legal obligations, it is imperative that researchers work to understand parent perceptions of Individualized Education Program meetings (Fish, 2006). Family participation and advocacy are also…

Numbers of autistic students and staff studying or working in post-secondary educational settings have grown since the international adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This has been accompanied by an increase in research exploring their experiences in these settings. This scoping review…

Discussions about students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) often center on finding solutions for the difficulties they face in school. However, there is a lack of emphasis on the self-advocacy experiences of these students. Self-advocacy can empower students with SLD to pursue their interests, understand their rights, and effectively…

Becoming a special education teacher encompasses more than just learning how to teach. A large component of this position requires advocacy at the local, state, and national levels. Therefore, special education teachers need to be prepared to effectively advocate across all levels. This article examines the integration of advocacy into an…