In this dissertation, I investigated the impact of the involvement of students with disabilities in the ASPIRE intervention program and examined the relationship between student involvement in the ASPIRE program and academic performance and growth. To do so, first, I outlined how I built my perspective for this study in the areas of transition,…

Despite a growing awareness of the prevalence of motor differences in the autistic community, their functional impact is poorly understood. Social media offers the ideal setting to observe this discourse in a less-contrived setting than lab-based structured interviews. The aims of the present study were (a) to determine the proportion of Twitter…

This descriptive quantitative study aimed to identify specific professional development needs of Career and Technical Education teachers regarding special education. With the passage of House Bill 5, Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses and programs have experienced an increase in students. As the number of special education students in…

This publication provides an explanation of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, or Perkins V, which is the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (2006), and the benefits it provides to students with intellectual disabilities. There are many implications for students…

There has been a recent increase in the number of studies done on the use of music therapy and the use of music in general to support social connections, literacy, language skills, and communication in students with disabilities; however, little has been published that supports the specific benefits of using music to increase engagement and…

Children with difficulties in language learning experience considerable problems in writing and spelling. This systematic review explores the research literature that has been conducted with children who have language learning difficulties (developmental language disorder) through the lens of Chenoweth and Hayes' (2003) model of writing. The model…

This grounded theory study uses a semi-structured interview process, as well as a differentiated information acquisition approach to explore the perceptions and experiences of individuals who identify as neurodivergent in the postsecondary setting. The aim of this study is to gain firsthand knowledge about the lived experiences of former and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the need for an individualized curriculum within special education for students living with autism spectrum disorder. Previously conducted research disclosed a need for further research to understand the differentiation of curriculum for students living with autism spectrum disorder. The research question…

Background: Atypical speech prosody has been commonly found among autistic children. Yet it remains unknown whether prosody impairment originates from poor pitch ability in general or whether it is the result of the difficulty in understanding and using prosody for communicative purposes. Aims: To investigate whether native Mandarin…

The purpose of this study was to analyze what factors contribute to the self-efficacy/teacher efficacy (TE) of pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they instruct physical education (PE) to students with disabilities (SWDs). Self-efficacy theory, SET, (Bandura, 1977; Maddux, 2013) was used to make meaning of what SET tenets the PSTs found valuable as it…

Dyslexia refers to a persistent difficulty specific to word reading and spelling. Dyslexia may lead to difficulties in text reading fluency, reading comprehension, and written expression, which in turn may impact learning across curricular content areas and contribute to social-emotional challenges. This research advisory provides an overview of…

The following study seeks to answer this research question: What is the lived experience of college graduates who are Black men, born into poverty, and living with a visual impairment? The researcher has used intersectionality as an aspect of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to conceptualize the research question and develop an interview protocol. The…

Background: Visual attention span (VAS) refers to the number of visual elements processed simultaneously in a multielement array. Yet, there are mixed findings regarding VAS deficit in developmental dyslexia (DD) across different tasks, stimuli, languages, control groups, and ages. Aim: The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate VAS deficit in…

In the field of visual disabilities, students who have visual impairments in addition to other disabilities receive limited amounts of direct service time from a teacher of students who are visually impaired (TVI), leaving most of their education in the hands of special education teachers and paraprofessionals. These professionals can support…

Nearly every secondary-age student must complete homework for their classes, and for many students with disabilities, completing homework at home is a struggle. Students with disabilities often require substantial support to execute homework assignments, and this responsibility frequently falls to their families. This dynamic can create a…