Department of Exceptional Student Education

In this study, physiological and psychological outcomes of an 8-week moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise program (Zumba®) for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were examined. Forty-six participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 24) or control group (n = 22). The experimental group participated in Zumba® for 8 weeks, 3 days per week, along with completing exercise rating scales and fitness tests. Outcome measures included agility, endurance, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), exercise motivation, and exercise self-efficacy.
Agility, endurance, and RPE were measured by three fitness tests; Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and Modified Borg Dyspnoea (MBD). Physiological outcomes were measured before the intervention (pretest), 4 weeks during the intervention, and after the intervention (posttest). The experimental group completed a follow-up of all three fitness tests 2 weeks after the removal of the intervention. A paired t test assessed the continuous measures within each group.

Preparing young children for kindergarten is an important task. There are many
skills that need to be learned. Simple everyday school and daily living tasks are
kindergarten readiness skills that need to be taught. Many preschool students struggle to
learn these skills unless taught directly. There are a sufficient number of interventions
that have been used to teach various skills to students, but few have been identified as
evidenced-based practices for teaching skills to at-risk preschool students in the
classroom.
Literacy based behavioral interventions (LBBI) (Bucholz, Brady, Duffy, Scott, &
Kontosh, 2008) are a class of intervention that have been found to be effective to teach a
variety of skills. This type of intervention consists of a combination of sequenced visuals
and words to either teach a new skill and/or increase or decrease a behavior. Several
studies have shown that a storybook LBBI is an effective intervention for teaching new skills including daily living skills, but to date only one study has looked at the effects of a
storybook LBBI with preschool children who are at-risk (Hall, Brady, & Morris, 2017).
This study expanded the storybook LBBI literature by exploring the effect of
small group-delivered storybook LBBIs on preschool students who were at-risk and
struggling to learn basic kindergarten readiness skills. Using a multiple baseline design
across skills, this study examined the effectiveness of using LBBIs delivered in a small
group to teach kindergarten readiness skills and the children’s ability to maintain and
generalize these skills. Four preschool students were taught three skills including cutting
with scissors, using liquid glue, and matching. Data were collected on the steps correct
and independent on the task analysis for each skill. The results found an increase in skill
acquisition with students learning the new skills and maintaining those skills after the
removal of the LBBI. Students were also able to generalize these new skills to novel
materials. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Adults with developmental disabilities may not learn the safety skills needed to
maintain the safety of those within their communities. Basic life-saving skills are valued
by community members and increase independent and integrated living and employment
opportunities. This study used an instructional package consisting of modeling, task
analysis, and simultaneous prompting to teach college students with developmental
disabilities a basic life-saving skill, specifically how to perform cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) with the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). Phase 1
of the study used the instructional package to teach the students to perform CPR. Once
mastered, Phase 2 of the study taught students to use an AED, incorporating it into the
CPR chain. Results showed that the students’ accuracy with the tasks increased after the
introduction of the instructional package, generalized to a novel environment, and
maintained once the instructional package was removed. Implications and future
research are discussed.

The reality of changing state and federal policy, as well as the process of program
improvement across teacher preparation programs has prompted a line of research into
the exploration of an alternative curriculum-based value-added model (VAM). Based
upon a thorough review of VAMs as they have been applied to education policy and
decision-making, this line of inquiry focused on a curriculum-based approach to
increasing our understanding of how the instructional efforts of our candidates affect the
learning gains of the K-12 students they teach. Designed to conform to the fundamental
principles of evidence-based practice, candidate and program level data for 109 student
teachers between 2013 and 2017 were analyzed. Results indicate that variation in K-12
students’ learning gains can likely be attributed to the instructional efforts of our special
education teacher preparation program (TPP) completers. Limitations, implications, and
directions for future inquiry across policy, practice, and scholarship are discussed.

This study examined the use of an iPhone and List Recorder application to teach
three adolescents with autism spectrum disorder to enhance their interpersonal daily
living skills in a community setting. Participants were taught to use interpersonal skills to
perform an ordering and purchasing task. A multiple probe design across participants was
used to demonstrate the effects of the intervention on the participants’ performance.
Results indicated an increase in interpersonal skills used in a community setting.
Participants were able to generalize these skills to another community setting. Finally,
participants were able to demonstrate these skills once the intervention was removed
during follow-up. Implications for future research are discussed.

One of the ways students with an intellectual disability (ID) can reach their fullest
potential is by attending an institution of higher education; too few universities and
colleges offer programs for these students. There are over 3,000 universities and colleges
throughout the United State, yet only 272 of them offer programs for students with an ID
(Think College, 2017). Within the identified programs, there is variation in location,
length, goals, and methods (Grigal, Hart, & Weir, 2012). This study used an iterative
classification process to first identify the programs serving students with ID located on
college campuses, then analyze program websites to determine how they increase selfdetermination
(SD). Phase 1 of the study used categorical sorting to identify programs
that (a) served students with identified intellectual disabilities who had exited the school
system; (b) were located on a college campus; (c) were run by a college; and (d) followed
a college semester/quarter calendar. Phase 2 involved reviewing the websites for the
programs meeting those criteria to identify self-determination activities and classes. In Phase 3 of the study, an online survey was sent to program administrators to verify and
expand the description of self-determination activities. Results of this study show college
programs for students with ID promote SD through instruction; however, the teaching
methods vary from program to program. SD instruction is delivered by staff, peer
mentors, and faculty. Programs measure SD outcomes; however, the tools used vary
from program to program, and they are not applied systematically. The examination of
college program practices and outcomes is central to further program development.
Future research is needed to determine long-term independent living and employment
outcomes of students with ID who attend college programs.

Research has demonstrated that higher levels of parent language use is
correlated with later language use and intellectual development of their children.
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display deficits in social and
communication skills. They also demonstrate repetitive and restrictive behaviors or
interests. These behavioral deficits and excesses may contribute negatively to
language development, as well as parent and child social interactions, and
communication exchanges. The current study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline
design to evaluate the effectiveness of behavior skills training (BST) and on-going
graphical and verbal feedback on increasing parent language use and child words and
utterances. Results of this study demonstrated that BST with on-going feedback was
effective in increasing parent language use and child words and utterances above baseline levels for all four parent-child dyads. The dissertation concludes with
recommendations for future research.

Employment coaching is essential for performing job duties and for developing
and enhancing skills. Coaching in the school setting typically follows the traditional
format of pre-conference, observe, and post-conference, where feedback on teaching
performance is shared but often delayed. Professional development provides teachers
with skills to enhance their teaching practice with little to no follow-up or support. The
most effective way to produce change in the school setting is to show the connection
between professional development and student performance, and iCoaching can help to
bridge the gap. Research shows that effective feedback is immediate, systematic,
positive, constructive, and detailed (Scheeler & Lee, 2002). Bug-in-ear (BIE) coaching is
a way to provide immediate feedback so correction can be made live, and errors are
reduced. iCoaching uses iPods as a BIE device with a coach serving as a remote observer
providing coaching prompts or immediate feedback to the teacher to allow the teacher to implement ideas or make corrections immediately. Increasing opportunities to respond
(“Increasing Opportunities to Respond,” 2015) is a way to increase academic
achievement and on task behavior (Sutherland, Alder, & Gunter, 2003). This study
utilized a multiple probe across participants design to investigate the effect of iCoaching
on teacher-delivered OTR. Four teacher participants and their students participated in the
study, where the teachers completed a teacher preparation session and live iCoaching
sessions to increase their OTR. Data were collected on OTR (including the type of
OTR), coaching comments, student responses, and student curricular performance. The
results indicate that iCoaching was effective in increasing teacher-delivered OTR and
increasing student responses and academic performance. Implications for future research
are discussed.

There has been a dramatic increase in the utilization of technology within the fields of education and rehabilitation in the past two decades. Two studies focused on technology intended to assist a total of seven young adults with developmental disabilities to increase independence, decrease the need for paid supports, and improve task performance. Participants completed food preparation tasks in an employee break room, adhering to an industry specific protocol, while using a task application on an iPad that provided audio and video prompts. A multiple baseline across participants was used to show effects of the intervention on task performance and reliance on prompts. Results indicated that using an application on an iPad to video model tasks was effective in improving and maintaining accurate skill performance, while reducing the need for prompts. Participants in both study one and study two demonstrated mastery of task performance using the iPad application. In study one, three of the four participants faded the use of prompts, whereas only one of the three participants demonstrated independence in study two. Implications for future research are discussed.

Teachers of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often struggle to find effective instructional methods to use with their students on a daily basis. The characteristic verbal, social, and behavioral limitations of children with ASD make finding effective teaching methods difficult. Though some intensive intervention methods, such as discrete trial teaching (DTT), have numerous studies demonstrating their effectiveness with students with ASD, the required one-on-one format makes it impractical to use in a classroom setting on a regular basis. Direct Instruction (DI) appears in the literature as a promising intervention for students with developmental disabilities. One benefit of DI is that, unlike DTT and similar interventions, it can be implemented in a group format. This group format provides a practical alternative for classroom teachers to use with their students with ASD. This study utilized a multiple probe across behaviors design to further investigate the use of DI to teach high school students with ASD how to answer “wh-” questions. The researcher used the Science Research Associates (SRA) Reading Mastery language program, which is a DI program designed to develop language skills. Three participants between the ages of 15 and 17 participated in 20-25 minute instructional sessions four times a week for eight weeks. Data were collected on each participant’s accuracy in answering “wh-” questions during baseline, acquisition (teaching), and maintenance conditions. The results indicate that DI was effective in helping participants acquire the language skills necessary to accurately respond to “what,” “where," and “who” questions. Implications for small group language instruction for students with ASD and recommendations for future research are discussed.