This study compared 3 different methods of creating cut scores for a screening instrument, T scores, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, and the Rasch rating scale method (RSM), for use with the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) Teacher Rating Scale for Children and Adolescents (Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007).…

This paper is about mothering an intellectually disabled child identified with special educational needs. It specifically looks at the parent partnership rhetoric that has dominated UK government policy and directives for nearly three decades and yet research suggests parents and more often mothers have to battle to be recognised as legitimate…

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by social and communication difficulties in day-to-day life, including problems in recognising emotions. However, experimental investigations of emotion recognition ability in ASD have been equivocal, hampered by small sample sizes, narrow IQ range and over-focus on the visual modality.…

Agreement between the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and two brief scales completed by parents was 93.1% for the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) and 89.7% for the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in a sample of adolescents with suspected autism spectrum disorders. Our study is consistent with others showing that brief…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by temper tantrums, impulsivity, mood fluctuations, difficulty with change in routine, skinpicking, stubbornness and aggression. Many studies on behavior in PWS are limited by sample size, age range, a lack of genetically confirmed diagnosis of PWS and inconsistent assessment of behavior. The aim of…

This article presents the conclusion made by the consensus group regarding infantile spasms. The consensus group concluded that "infantile spasms are a major form of severe epileptic encephalopathy of early childhood that results in neurodevelopmental regression and imposes a significant health burden." The entire group agrees that the best…

For hearing parents, receiving a hearing loss diagnosis for their child can be a shocking event. For some parents, the diagnosis is the fulfillment of a hunch; confirmation of the suspected, but still scary verdict. Recent research finds that the period directly after hearing loss diagnosis is the most stressful and burdensome for parents,…

Sometimes one of the most difficult parts of handling a life-altering event is not even knowing what needs to be accomplished, never mind what issues should be tackled first. There is no single set plan for any family, no "one size fits all" list of tasks to accomplish first. In this article the author, a mother of two children on the autism…

This resource conveys policies, procedures, and guidelines that support the delivery of special education services in British Columbia's (Canada) public schools. It was originally published in 1995 (ED414703), following an extensive provincial Special Education Review (1993-94). The purpose of this manual is to provide a single point of reference…

Long-term, adolescent English language learners (ELLs) experience persistent academic underachievement in spite of several years of schooling; yet, the research on this topic is scant. To increase our understanding of these students' educational experiences, we explored perceptions of 13 long-term ELLs about their schooling in the context of their…

Evidence of disparate identification of autism at national and local levels is accumulating, but there is little understanding about disparate identification of autism at the state level. This study examined trends in state-level administrative identification of autism under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Prevalence rates and…

The purpose of the current study was to examine academic and cognitive profiles of first graders who responded adequately and inadequately to intensive small-group reading intervention (Tier 2), as well as assess how these profiles differ based on the criteria used for classification of unresponsiveness. Nonresponders were identified using two…

This dissertation focuses on interdisciplinary problem-solving teams used to address the academic needs of elementary students struggling with reading. Use of teams has a strong theoretical base and wide endorsement by educational leaders, but limited empirical base. Three studies explore teams that convene students of differing academic status:…

The primary aim of this study was to investigate common family experiences during the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic process, and the child and family variables that may relate to different diagnostic outcomes. A secondary aim of this study was to evaluate families' knowledge of the research support for various interventions. To…

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has emerged as a powerful new tool to identify genomic abnormalities associated with a wide range of developmental disabilities including congenital malformations, cognitive impairment, and behavioral abnormalities. CMA includes array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism…