<p> After the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004, many schools began to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model instead of the discrepancy model when identifying students with specific learning disabilities (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). When elementary schools adopted the RtI model, it was shown to be successful with any students who need academic interventions (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). The success at the elementary level has led to middle schools adopting the model with varying success (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). In this study, middle schools that have developed an academic RtI program through the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process were compared to non-PLC middle schools that may not provide a systemic process of academic interventions to determine if PLC schools produce higher academic achievement. Academic achievement was determined by students&rsquo; Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) index scores in communication arts for seventh and eighth graders. As a result of the application of a <i>t</i>-test, there was not a significant difference between the scores of PLC schools and the scores of non-PLC schools. Building principals of the middle schools in the PLC group were surveyed to identify the characteristics of the RtI model that were in place. The survey results of the six top-performing PLC schools were analyzed and compared to the entire PLC group to determine what characteristics lead to improved academic achievement. The components of RtI present in the top-performing schools included interventions that were implemented for at least three years, interventions provided a minimum of three days per week, and a maximum of 70 minutes of intervention per week.</p>

<p> Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome (RTS) is a rare congenital neurodevelopmental disorder that often presents with corresponding speech and language delays. However, the available literature on communicative development in RTS is currently very limited. The purpose of this retrospective single-case research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), an aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system developed to teach functional communication to children with limited communication, on communicative abilities in RTS by providing a detailed profile of the intervention procedures utilized for a 6-year-old child with RTS. The aim of this investigation was both to contribute to the existing literature on the syndrome, as well as to document the success of the PECS system in children with RTS. Specifically, the current study explored the participant&rsquo;s communicative progression and development in the areas of (a) communication initiation, (b) vocalization, and (c) eye contact after Phases 1-4 of the PECS protocol were implemented. Data records from 26 evaluation and intervention sessions completed during the participant&rsquo;s Spring 2014 attendance at the CSULB Department of Speech-Language Pathology&rsquo;s Speech and Language Clinic were analyzed in order to evaluate the effects of the PECS protocol on the participant&rsquo;s communicative abilities. Results indicated that the PECS treatment significantly improved the participant&rsquo;s communicative abilities, namely, by increasing her initiation of communicative exchanges, increasing use of vocalizations and word/phrase approximations, and increasing eye contact with communication partners. The current study supports the use of the PECS protocol in children with RTS as a functional communication system.</p>

<p> The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2006) set a precedent that established even higher expectations for all students, including those with disabilities. More recently, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers developed a common set of state standards for proficiency in English language arts and mathematics known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010). The CCSS in mathematics define and detail the content expectations and standards for mathematical practices for grades K-12. Their intent is to provide a rigorous, focused, and structured set of standards to prepare students in the 21^st century to be college and career ready upon exiting the high school system. To meet these increased expectations, this investigation sought to determine the effects of peer-mediated schema based instruction on the number of correct steps of a task analysis to solve the <i>change</i> problem type of mathematical word problems with middle school students with moderate/severe intellectual disabilities (MS/ID). Additionally, this study investigated the effects of peer-mediated schema based instruction on the number of correct mathematical problems solved, the ability of students with MS/ID to discriminate between addition and subtraction in word problems for the <i>change</i> problem type, and if students with MS/ID were able to generalize the learned mathematical skills to an unfamiliar peer. Finally, this study examined the effects of peer-mediated instruction on both tutors&rsquo; and tutees&rsquo; social attitudes and perceptions of one another before and after the study was completed. The findings of this study demonstrated a functional relation between peer-mediated schema-based instruction (SBI) on the number of correct steps of a task analysis. Results also provided several implications for practice, offers suggestions for future research in this area, and discusses the social and academic benefits of using peer-mediated instruction for students with MS/ID.</p>

Students who are (D/HH) have a history of low-reading proficiency. Factors external to the student, such as the reading and spelling instruction the child receives once he or she enters school, are thought to be contributors to low-reading proficiency (Limbrick, McNaughton, & Clay, 1992; Lytle & Rovins, 1997; Paul, 1998). Because of constraints in teacher preparation programs, much of what teachers of students who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (D/HH) learn about reading instruction will be "on-the-job." Therefore, professional development and in-service training programs assume an important role in providing teachers with the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills for early reading and spelling instruction. Research indicates that professional development efforts that focus on improvement in student learning outcomes and that are interactive and ongoing produce the greatest benefits for students and teachers (Bos, 1995; Gersten, Morvant, & Brengelman, 1995; Richardson, 1994). The main focus of this study was to examine teacher change in attitudes, knowledge, and practices pertaining to early reading and spelling instruction with students who are D/HH. Additionally, the learning outcomes of the students in response to their teachers' participation in this project were examined. Three teachers participated in a collaborative professional development project that included a three-week course in assessment and instruction of early reading and spelling for at-risk students, and a year of collaboration. The research design combined qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Analysis of the data showed that two of the teachers grew substantially in their knowledge of the structure of language. While the third teacher did not improve on the knowledge assessment, growth in knowledge was apparent from her practices and comments in journals and during dialogues. All three teachers agreed more with explicit methods than implicit, whole language methods, although their beliefs about implicit methods did not decrease during the year. Teachers perceived the collaboration with the researcher and opportunities for problem solving and dialogue about students and instructional practices to be beneficial. The teachers also identified specific resources that were particularly useful to them individually. The students who received explicit instruction of phonological awareness skills during the year improved on early reading tasks.

The present study investigated anomalous hemispheric processing for language and its impact on spatial task performance. Mental rotation and dichotic listening tasks were administered to three groups of children: control (C), learning disabled (LD), and Down syndrome (DS). Significant differences were found in reaction time and accuracy measures in mental rotation. Although the DS group lacked a systematic reaction time function, all three groups produced similar accuracy functions: each group appeared to demonstrate difficulty at equivalent angular disorientations. Dichotic listening resulted in performance differences only when the DS group was compared to the C and LD groups: discrepant language processing was not demonstrated between the C and LD groups. Conclusions could not be reached regarding the impact of language lateralization on spatial task performance. Inconsistencies of neuropsychological measurements are discussed; the topic of mental rotation is explored in depth. Generalizations regarding performance outcomes are limited to a behavioral level.

A growing body of literature focuses on comparisons between developmental disabilities of diverse etiologies including Down syndrome (DS). Earlier research emphasized the limitations of this population, and frequently subjects with DS did not compare favorably with control groups. The current investigation examined the implicit and explicit memory skills of individuals with Down syndrome, other developmental disabilities, and MA-matched nonhandicapped children while controlling for confounding variables. In contrast to many previous studies, it was determined that under controlled conditions, free recall and recognition memory of children with DS are equivalent to that of NDS and NH groups. And performance on a pursuit rotor task was also comparable between groups. However, priming of subjects with DS was inferior to controls, a deficit similar to that previously identified in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In addition, the DS group was mildly impaired in both word fluency and attention.

Literature-based reading instruction is a current method being used in elementary schools today. A growing body of research on such programs used within the regular education classroom suggests that such programs improve students abilities to critically construct meaning. Yet, despite this movement, little has been documented on how such programs might effect learning disabled students mainstreamed in the regular education classroom for reading instruction. The main focus of this study then, was to examine the strategies and possible teaching modifications that would be necessary for learning disabled students to participate in a literature-based reading program along with their regular education peers. Three learning disabled students within the researcher's fifth grade classroom were voluntary participants in this study and received all of the same reading instruction as their non-labeled classmates.

Reading instruction in a self-contained classroom of deaf and hard-of-hearing elementary school students was observed. Videotapes were made of two complete units of study and analyzed using an interval recording system. Interviews were conducted with the teacher. The results of the study indicate the teacher utilized approximately 75% of the allotted instructional time in reading instruction. The teacher spent a good portion of this time eliciting student participation. Students engaged in reading related activities a greater proportion of the time than actually reading. Discussion was the dominant student activity.

<p>In this descriptive study, I researched five elementary general education teachers&rsquo; reading assessment practices as they worked within the context of IDEA (2004), NCLB (2002) and Response to Intervention (RTI). My own connection to the classroom and reading assessment practices brought me to this research. I presented my personal and professional connection through vignettes about my own classroom assessment practices. Relevant literature on both the context and culture of assessment were pertinent to this research. </p><p> I used a qualitative design, specifically, Colaizzi&rsquo;s (1978) method of phenomenological analysis. Data were three in-depth phenomenological interviews, relevant documents and artifacts, and use of a researcher reflective blog. I summarized the initial findings of this research through 10 clustered themes; shift of focus, ever changing accountability, independent efforts with data, collaborative efforts with data, working environment, interventions and reading assessment practices in action, authenticity in practice, lack of decision making power, teacher emotion, and teacher needs and wants and a composite narrative in order to describe the lived experience of these teachers reading assessment practices. </p><p> Implications from my research with regard to policy include a perceived incongruence between an RTI framework and the teacher evaluation system with regard to active collaboration. Those toward practice include difficulty with the day-to-day implementation of an RTI framework and the perception of a singular focus of RTI as disability determination. My recommendations for future research include an action research agenda designed to explore increased involvement of stakeholders such as students, parents and other school personnel. </p>

<p> This study is an examination of early intervention services for infants/toddlers with visual impairments, as related to home-based services and andragogy learning theory. Early intervention refers to therapeutic services provided to eligible infants/toddlers while andragogy emphasizes how adults learning. Research discussed the implementation of andragogical factors with parents of infants/toddlers appeared limited. The null hypotheses statements addressed four variables related to infant/toddler with visual impairments assessment scores, the number of home visit units authorized by the child&rsquo;s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and implemented by the early intervention service provider, responses on the family outcome survey, and service provider responses regarding the use of andragogical factors during early intervention home visits.</p><p> The researcher examined secondary data related to assessment scores of infants/toddlers with visual impairments, the frequency of home visits implemented by a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and/or Orientation and Mobility (O and M) specialist, comparison of early intervention units, and results of a Family Outcome Survey. The researcher co-authored the Modified Instructional Perspectives Inventory for Teachers working with Parents of Young Children (MIPI-TPC) to measure the frequency in which early intervention service providers implemented andragogical factors during home visits. Participants of this study included 30 infants/toddlers with visual impairments receiving early intervention services from a TVI and/or O and M specialist. Seventeen families completed the Family Outcome Survey and three early intervention service providers completed the MIPI-TPC. The utilization and analysis of descriptive statistics, a <i>t</i>-test of dependent means, and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, Analysis of Variance, and <i>Chi-Square</i> test determined relationships among the variables.</p><p> The results demonstrated limited relationships with assessment scores, frequency of home visits, units provided and authorized in the infant/toddler&rsquo;s IFSP, and parent responses on the Family Outcome Survey. However, the MIPI-TPC results reported the service providers implementing andragogical factors within the category levels of above average and average. The prominent finding of the study supported the integration of andragogy learning theory during early intervention services. Future studies linking the two fields together may benefit the advocacy of early intervention service providers, empowerment of parents, and most importantly, infants/toddlers with developmental delays. </p><p>