The Indian community consists of 2.21% disabled people, whose capabilities and strengths are often not recognized by the majority abled population. This inability to identify the specially abled population as co-contributing members of the society hampers their social and educational development. Despite policies and strategies for supportive…

"Dimensions of Communication" is a manual to assess the communication skills and behaviors of individuals with disabilities. It is an assessment instrument designed to help teachers, parents, educational specialists, speech-language therapists, psychologists, and other service providers evaluate the communication skills of individuals…

Special education researchers and practitioners have increasingly demonstrated that disability accommodations may afford students with disabilities (SWD) enhanced opportunities for academic success. However, disability accommodations have primarily been designed and delivered within the context of the traditional classroom settings in higher…

The dissertation includes two independent chapters which investigated the experiences of individuals with disabilities in connection with societal attitudes regarding disability. The first article is a systematized review which analyzes and synthesizes the existing literature on implicit and explicit disability attitudes across multiple domains…

Communication deficits are one of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As such, individuals diagnosed with ASD are often taught to communicate using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. One of the most commonly used AAC systems is the Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®). Despite the prevalent use of…

Background: Many youth are not meaningfully engaged in their school-based transition process. Understanding youth's perceptions of their engagement and factors influencing engagement is important to increase engagement. Design: A search of six databases produced 975 studies; 11 which were included. Inclusion criteria: Qualitative research on…

While abduction remains a rare occurrence in the United States, many parents and caregivers have concerns about children's reactions to strangers and other safety-related behaviors. Abduction is a risk for all children, but may be of specific concern for people with disabilities due to social skill and communication deficits. Behavior analytic…

Writing has implications for the academic, vocational, and social pursuits of students. Unfortunately, many students with disabilities -- including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities -- struggle with a foundational aspect of written expression: text writing within sentences and paragraphs. This study used a multiple-baseline…

Transitioning to post-secondary education is often challenging for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). To address this, Florida International University, specifically FIU Embrace, piloted the Embrace Mentoring Program (EMP), which provided unique role-specific workshops to both faculty/staff mentors, and student…

This study used a mixed methods approach to investigate the perceptions of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) attending a Transition Postsecondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID). This study explored what they perceived to be the most chosen and helpful accommodations, assistive technologies, and supports and…

Technology is integral to the lives of youth who, as digital citizens, use technology to participate in social and civic action to improve their communities. Using a digital citizenship framework and "National Longitudinal Transition Study of 2012" data, we explored technology access and use between youth with and without intellectual…

Purpose: Many children with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities are at a higher risk for hearing loss than their peers who are typically developing. Unfortunately, they do not consistently participate in routine school-based hearing screenings. The current study investigated the feasibility of increasing their participation using an…

Per laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, college students with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the United States are expected to be self-advocates and speak up for needed accommodations, regardless of diagnosis or condition. Students with I/DD in particular are…

This study explores the perspectives of Arab-Bedouin teachers in Israel regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with 15 teachers working in schools that integrate students with special needs, the research reveals both the opportunities and challenges inherent in…

In higher education settings, the central function of a disability resource professional (DRP) is determining accommodations in collaboration with disabled college students, making their role in the outcomes of students with disabilities paramount. Despite this importance, research on the process of determining accommodations is minimal, and…