This study focused on the needs of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students who have I.Q. scores of roughly 75-95. These students often function two or more years below grade level in school and are referred to as Marginally Learning Disabled (MLD), or slow learners. Factors which contribute to the existence of this situation were discussed as were problems of accurate identification. It was found that most school districts do not provide special help for these students. MLD students are usually placed in the regular classroom. A few school districts have experimented with special resource classes or self-contained classes. Parental involvement was found to be a major factor in the academic progress of the slow learner. Teacher effectiveness is also extremely important. An effective teacher was found to, (a) believe the child could learn, (b) be organized and run a structured program, and (c) provide direct, group instruction rather than individualized lessons.

Self-monitoring involves teaching students to be aware of their own behavior, and be able to record whether the behavior happened or not. The present study uses meta-analysis of single case design (SCD) studies to evaluate the effectiveness of self-monitoring interventions that use electronic devices during implementation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eligible studies were accessed to determine design quality, and examine the use of self-monitoring for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Studies were evaluated against inclusion-exclusion criteria. The studies that met inclusion criteria (n = 15) were assessed with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for methodological rigor. The WWC standards were applied to baseline and intervention phases. There were a total of 12 studies with 32 students diagnosed with ASD that met SCD standards without, and with reservations. The 12 studies were evaluated using the Tau-U effect size metric to quantify the percentage of change that was attributed to the self-monitoring intervention. Overall, omnibus Tau-U was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.89, 1.0]). Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015, Texas special education programs were rated among the lowest in the nation. School districts in the state have a substantial need for effective and efficient staff training. In this study, researchers implemented TAPS: A Talk Aloud Problem Solving Approach Packet to teach active listener qualities to staff members in a life skills special education classroom. A multiple baseline across staff members was used to evaluate the effects of the TAPS training on the presence and absence of the staff members' active listener qualities during a pre-test, a post-test, and probes. The staff members that underwent TAPS training acquired all of the active listener qualities as a function of the TAPS training, and the effects of the training maintained during probe sessions. Additionally, TAPS training appeared to improve staff members' scores on the Whimbey Analytical Skills Inventory (WASI) Test and anecdotally improved the quality of staff and student tutoring interactions. Several areas of potential research and improvement are discussed.

No description available.

The impacts of emerging adults' social media use have been shown as generally negative, especially in decreasing their self-esteem and self-concept and increasing anxiety, depression, and more. Although there is research on social media's impact on various communities of adolescents and young adults, limited research has focused on this effect for young adults with mental health diagnoses or served under IDEA's emotional disturbance eligibility criteria. Additionally, no research has studied this topic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to examine how various types of social media use impact young adults' self-esteem, including those who are psychologically vulnerable. Participants included 119 individuals, 18 to 19-years of age, with and without mental health diagnoses or Emotional Disturbance special education eligibility recruited utilizing social media pages and social media hashtags. Participating individuals answered demographic and social media use questions and completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to provide information about self-esteem. Additionally, participants responded to questions regarding what role they feel social media use has had on their mental health, including contribution to or exacerbating their symptoms. Univariate statistics were run to control demographic factors and determine the percentage of participants who believe social media has negatively affected their mental health. Multiple regression analyzed if time spent on social media or specific social media platform or activities were predictive of participant self-esteem. Limitations and implications are discussed.

No description available.

No description available.

Today, many school districts are mandating tests to measure student performance and to hold individual schools and school systems accountable for that performance in order to meet the standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004). The focus of this study was to examine the relationship among cognitive ability as measured by the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and measures of achievement, specifically, standardized achievement scores on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) and school grades. The current study investigated archival data of 452 seventh grade students enrolled in a large, suburban public school district during the 2007-2008 school year. Scores on the CogAT and NJ ASK were collected from grades 3, 5, and 7. Final grades in the subject areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies and Science were collected from report cards from the end of seventh grade of the 2007-2008 school year. Pearson correlations found significant relationships between: (1) cognitive ability and standardized achievement scores in grades 3, 5, and 7, (2) third grade cognitive ability and grade seven grades, and (3) third grade standardized achievement scores and grade seven grades. Further, out of the five cluster scores on the grade 3 CogAT and NJ ASK, the NJ ASK Language Arts score was the best predictor of grades in Reading and Writing and the NJ ASK Mathematics score was the best predictor of grades in Math, Science, and Social Studies. Finally, third grade NJ ASK Language Arts, NJ ASK Mathematics and CogAT Verbal scores were the best predictors of special education classification in grade 7, accounting for a combined 22% of the variance. Limitations to the study and implications for future research and practice are discussed. / School Psychology

By the end of the kindergarten, students are expected to possess early academic skills as well as the social maturity to be successful in first grade. Students leaving kindergarten without these readiness skills are sometimes held back in first grade or referred for a special education evaluation in later grades if they fail to make adequate progress. However, before a special education referral can be made, the education system must demonstrate that the deficit is not due to a lack of instruction. Response-to-Intervention is a preventive intervention framework supported by federal legislation (No Child Left Behind (NCLB); 2002 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEIA); 2004) that ensures that only valid special education referrals (i.e., referrals based on quantitative data) are processed. Using a multi-tiered assessment and intervention approach, students are first identified as at-risk through the use of screening tools designed to indicate academic or behavioral deficits. At-risk students are then exposed to evidence-based interventions with increasing levels of intensity to determine the type and amount of support needed. However, response-to-intervention has yet to be extended down to kindergarten students, and the screening instruments available for this population have yet to be evaluated for their predictive validity with end of first grade academic and behavioral performance. This study examines the predictive validity of psychometrically sound academic and behavioral screening instruments with first grade academic and social-emotional success. Participants included kindergarten students (n=290) from five ethnically diverse elementary schools located in a small suburban city in a mid-Atlantic state. Early literacy, early numeracy, writing, and social-emotional screening assessments were administered three times a year to determine whether the screening tools were adequate measures of kindergarten readiness skills for first grade academic and social-emotional success. Participants were followed from the beginning of kindergarten until the end of first grade to determine which skills measured by the screening assessments were the most predictive of a conceptual model of first grade academic and social-emotional success. The results indicated that the social-emotional screening assessment was able to significantly predict social-emotional success at the end of first grade. Kindergarten academic screening assessments however, were not able to significantly predict first grade academic success. Results also indicated that there were significant differences in scores across gender, ethnicity and family composition. / School Psychology

In comparison to school age special education practices, preschool special education practices have received far less attention in the research community. Each year in the United States, over 250,000 preschool age children are determined to exhibit developmental delay. It is unknown how many of them exhibit developmental delay in the area of social emotional functioning and what is the educational placement in which they received special education services. In this study, a national sample of school psychologists (n=119) who practice in early childhood settings was surveyed with regard to their assessment and educational placement practices. Results indicated that more school psychologists chose the regular education setting as opposed to separate classroom for placement of children with social and developmental delays. However, when placement options were grouped by settings it became evident that overall more preschoolers with social and emotional delays receive services in non-inclusive settings. Assessment factors as opposed to program factors were most influential on placement decisions. Observation in the educational setting was found to be the primary assessment tool in both assessment of social emotional competencies and in contributing to placement decisions. School psychologists reported annual monitoring of placement decisions and no correlation between the frequency of monitoring and the psychologists' perceived quality and efficacy of programming was found. Possible explanations and the associated implications of the study's findings are discussed. / School Psychology