It is estimated that autism affects 1% of the world’s population (Elsabbagh, 2012). Given the increased numbers of children being identified with the disorder, many believe that there is a global public health crisis looming. This is in part due to the need for expanded capacity in the area of professional development for teachers and improved educational service delivery systems in many parts of the world. The purpose of this paper will be to describe how to design effective educational interventions for children with autism with an emphasis on building capacity among professionals in underdeveloped regions of the world.

This is a discussion of panelists from different universities who learned to navigate their institutes of higher education to create quality online special education certification programs to reach teacher candidates in rural areas. Each panelist will detail her university’s technology, process for approval, and financial incentives to create online programs.

Students with significant disabilities are most at risk for exclusion from grade-aligned content due to the barriers imposed by traditional instruction. This presentation will provide special and general education teachers with effective, research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies. Learner outcomes: • Participants will learn about research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies; • Participants will learn about results from a recent review of the literature focused on comprehension strategies targeting Common Core content areas for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability; and • Participants will be provided with specific comprehension strategies and ways to increase opportunities for comprehension in inclusive contexts for students across a variety of diverse backgrounds.

The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with moderate or severe intellectual disability (ID) are quite unique and complex. CLD students with moderate or severe ID face many of the same issues as their non-disabled CLD peers; however, due to the nature of their disability this may lead to even less access to the general curriculum, appropriate services, materials, and meaningful collaboration between families and educators. The purpose of this article is to provide a culturally responsive framework for facilitating academic instruction for CLD students with moderate or severe ID that also includes appropriate supports in an effort to increase access to postsecondary outcomes for this population. Suggestions for accessing the general curriculum and a discussion about increasing parental involvement and accessing appropriate adult agencies to further enhance these outcomes are provided.

This course is part of the Nancy McKinley Lecture Series, Aligning Literacy Instruction to Standards for Students with Moderate-to-Severe Disabilities (Including Autism), and is presented in partnership with University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This course will provide attendees with best practices to teach grade aligned middle and high school English/Language Arts (ELA) content. The best practices highlighted have been derived from rigorous studies conducted with a wide range of students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities and autism.

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We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to establish the evidence base for using visual activity schedules (VAS) with individuals with intellectual disability. Literature published after 2005 was evaluated for quality using the criteria developed by Horner et al.; a total of 14 studies were included as acceptable. Findings suggest that VAS is an evidence-based practice for teaching a variety of daily living, navigation, vocational, recreation, and academic skills to adolescents and adults with intellectual disability. Results also show increases in independence and on-task behaviors. We conclude the article by discussing limitations and recommendations for future research.

The purpose of the presentation is to summarize and describe the results from a single case design study that measures the effects of an iPad application containing a grade aligned adapted high school novel on the listening comprehension of high school students with significant disabilities. Results of the study indicated a functional relation between the use of the application and gains in vocabulary, comprehension, and engagement. This session will also highlight the use of technology to promote grade aligned standard instruction in the context of use within the inclusive classroom. . a) effectively use an iPad application featuring adapted grade level aligned fictional text to promote listening comprehension for students in the high school setting b) discuss ways to implement grade-aligned access to ELA skills for students with significant disabilities in inclusive settings

This presentation will inform participants on a study targeting teaching Middle School ELA skills via an App to students with significant disabilities. Based on results of an IES SBIR grant funded single subject study, participants will learn about apps to make accessing the general curriculum motivating and easy to use while promoting best practices and future directions for inclusive practices. At the end of this session participants will be able to: Identify evidence based practices built within an English/ Language Arts app to for students with significant disabilities (e.g., story based lessons, constant time delay, system of least prompts). Gain knowledge on creation and research behind the app. Identify strategies to teach grade aligned Common Core standards in English/ Language Arts, such as adapting grade appropriate texts, and embedding target vocabulary, target comprehension across Blooms Taxonomy. Gain knowledge about future directions for expansion of the app to cover more English/ Language Arts standards. Identify resources for meaningful access to the general curriculum using a variety of text depicting diverse populations for individuals with significant disabilities, including autism.

No description available.