Children with hearing loss often experience communication and language delays that result in difficulties acquiring novel vocabulary and literacy skills. This research examined the effectiveness of using repeated storybook reading paired with explicit teacher instruction to teach novel vocabulary to young children with hearing loss who were…

No studies to date have prospectively examined early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) markers in infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS), who are at elevated risk for ASD. This paper describes the developmental profiles of eight infants with FXS from 9 to 24 months of age. Four meet diagnostic criteria for ASD at 24 months of age, and four do not.…

The increasing ethnic diversity in the UK has highlighted the importance of supporting primary school pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL), some of whom also have special educational needs (SEN). However, there is relatively little research carried out in the UK on children with both EAL needs and SEN. This paper presents the…

Our objective was to use a community-based participatory research approach to identify and compare barriers to healthcare experienced by autistic adults and adults with and without other disabilities. To do so, we developed a Long- and Short-Form instrument to assess barriers in clinical and research settings. Using the Barriers to Healthcare…

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of a program for training direct-care staff to implement an iPad®-based communication intervention with adults with developmental disability and severe communication impairment. Methods: Participants were 11 adults with developmental disability and 19 direct-care staff drawn from two day program settings.…

Selective mutism (SM) is considered a communication and anxiety disorder that afflicts about 1% of students. The rarity of SM and the isolated cases of this condition has rendered the elementary to secondary school experience for a student with SM difficult to study. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this phenomenological case study examined the…

Using an autoethnographic approach, this dissertation explores the path taken by a person who serves a unique population of individuals--people who not only have more than one disability, but in addition, are unable to communicate using verbal (spoken) speech. Starting with a recap of the history of the use and subsequent oppression of American…

Conducting qualitative research interviews among individuals with intellectual disabilities, including cognitive limitations and difficulties in communication, presents particular research challenges. One question is whether the difficulties that informants encounter affect interviews to such an extent that the validity of the results is weakened.…

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related social-communication delays may display difficulties commenting on actions that occur in their natural environment. One method for increasing early conversation skills is direct instruction. Using video examples of actions may increase the salient features of instructional targets and,…

To reduce phenotypic heterogeneity of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and add to the current diagnostic discussion this study aimed at identifying clinically meaningful ASD subgroups. Cluster analyses were used to describe empirically derived groups based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised (ADI-R) in a large sample of n = 463 individuals…

Background: People with severe and profound intellectual disability typically demonstrate a limited ability to communicate effectively. Most of their communications are non-verbal, often idiosyncratic and ambiguous. This article aims to identify the process that regulates communications of this group of people with others and to describe the…

Positive interactions with peers impact future success in many domains, including language development and relationship development. Children with complex communication needs (CCN), especially those with characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), confront many barriers to successful interactions with peers. These include personal barriers,…

This study qualitatively investigates miscommunication moments during which a teacher of English who speaks a first language other than English and students with various linguacultures collaboratively resolve communicative problems with the assistance of other students in the classroom. These other students, referred to as third-party participants…

Language brokering (LB) practices are a widespread phenomenon in transnational communities. This paper aims to add to the description and analysis of these practices within a community which has not been extensively studied--the Vietnamese in the Czech Republic, as well as show how LB is embedded in other sociolinguistic aspects of community life.…

Supporting interaction in inclusive settings between students with complex communication needs (CCN) and their peers requires careful planning and support. We used a multiple-probe-across-participants design to investigate the efficacy of collaborative planning and peer support arrangements to increase peer interaction in inclusive classrooms.…