The purpose of this study was to identify counseling competencies considered important for audiologists to possess to provide effective counseling in practice.To achieve this, researchers and clinicians with expertise in audiologic counseling, were recruited to participate in a three-round consensus survey. These experts were asked to generate and rate a list of counseling competency items they believed were important for audiologists to possess. In the final round of the study, final consensus was met on 64 counseling competency items (16 knowledge, 35 skills, and 13 attitudinal items) deemed important for audiologists to possess. The results of this study revealed that current practice guidelines in the field lack the clarity and detail necessary for audiologists to provide effective counseling in practice. Items that met consensus can inform counseling competencies students can acquire during pre-professional training. Future research is proposed to explore what is needed to move these competencies forward into training/practice and to help improve audiologic patient/family outcomes.

The number of students with autism spectrum disorder is on the rise and more of these students are being served in general education settings. As a result, more school personnel need to be prepared to support students with autism spectrum disorder. Most students with autism spectrum disorder require social supports to function effectively in a general education setting. Previous research indicates that there is a need for efficient social skills interventions implemented by existing school personnel. This study examined the effect of a brief, localized, intensive, social skills training intervention on the social interactions of students with autism spectrum disorder in an in inclusive school setting. The results indicate that this intervention produced meaningful increases in participants’ appropriate social vocalizations and social engagement. We discuss the implications of these results for current practice and future research.

Some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to perform a series of academic tasks, like academic worksheets, independently. Photographic activity schedules are one technique that has been demonstrated to promote independent behavior in individuals with ASD. This study used a multiple baseline design across participants to examine how activity schedules impacted the accurate and independent completion of a series of academic tasks (i.e., worksheets) for young children with ASD. Participants included three young children with ASD 6 and 7 years old who performed a series of academic tasks in the presence of an adult, but struggled to display those concepts accurately in the absence of an adult. Procedures involved training participants to use activity schedules through graduated guidance until participants used activity schedules to accurately complete three academic tasks without additional assistance. Completing these worksheets using schedules not only improved student accuracy but also provided more opportunities for students to learn in an environment with their typically developing peers.

Students who receive special education services in resource classroom settings often engage in low levels of on-task behavior during independent work time. Given the independent work demands in middle school classrooms, it is crucial for students who receive services in a resource classroom to engage in high levels of on-task behavior. The researchers examined the effects of activity schedules on on-task behavior, on-schedule behavior, and percentage of work problems correct in four middle school students receiving special education services in a resource math classroom. Results of the study demonstrate that on-task and on-schedule behavior increased for all participants following the implementation of the activity schedule in both math and language arts classroom settings. Both students and teachers indicated that they liked the intervention and the activity schedule improved on-task behavior. Results of this study extend the use of activity schedules to a novel setting and participant population.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine how Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) were initially budgeted for sustainable or unsustainable purposes by the 50 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in East Tennessee in 2009-2010. Federal guidance for use of ARRA funds suggested funds should be spent quickly to create or save jobs and support education reforms. Thoughtful investment in order to avoid the funding cliff when ARRA funds ended was also stressed. The one-time funds presented a substantial increase in federal dollars and provided opportunity for LEAs to reduce maintenance of effort, the level of state and local funds an LEA must maintain in order to receive federal funds. The study was conducted to determine if significant relationships existed among the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, the percentage of dollars taken in reduction of maintenance of effort, geographic demographics of the LEAs, and the percentage of dollars budgeted for sustainable purposes. Data sources included the 2009-2010 IDEA Part B ARRA budget applications and 2009-2010 IDEA Special Education Services LEA Budget Applications as approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. The LEA Report Card Profiles were the source for the percentage of economically disadvantaged population. Significant results were found in the difference in dollars budgeted for unsustainable and sustainable purposes with more funds for unsustainable efforts. No significant relationships were found among the percentage of dollars budgeted for sustainable purposes, the percentage of reduction in maintenance of effort, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and the rural-urban index classifications of the LEAs. The study indicates the importance of careful long-term planning by LEAs to identify and prioritize needs in order to appropriately budget short-term funds to the best advantage for students. There may also be implications for state and federal entities that underscore the importance of specific structuring and clear communication of parameters for use of short-term funds.

This study examined general education teachers who have taught students with disabilities and their perceived knowledge of special education law, processes, and procedures. Results obtained from the study's 15 research questions were examined using independent samples t-tests and ANOVAs based on differences in teachers' gender, education level (Bachelor's Degree, Advanced Degree), current grade level teaching assignment (K-8, High School), years of experience (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15+), and current subject teaching assignment (Academic, Nonacademic). Results show that across the 3 areas regardless of demographics only 1 of the 15 research questions had a statistically significant finding. No significant differences were found in teachers' knowledge of special education law or procedures. However, statistically significant findings occurred in their knowledge of processes based on grade level teaching assignment (t(156) = 4.16, p < .001,η2 = .06) where the mean for K-8 teachers (M = 4.36, SD = 0.90) was significantly higher than the mean for high school teachers (M = 3.85, SD = 1.01). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires that every state have a process in place for locating, identifying, and evaluating all children who may be in need of special education and related services (Klor, 2007). This process is known as Child Find. General education teachers play an important role in locating eligible students. The majority of students with disabilities will likely be identified at a fairly young age. So, K-8 teachers should logically be more familiar with the process than high school teachers.

Self-advocacy for students with disabilities was noted throughout the literature as a necessary element for student success (Brinckerhoff, 1996; Daly-Cano, Vaccaro, & Newman, 2015; Gould, 1986; Williams & Shoultz, 1982). The literature also found that self-advocacy was particular crucial as students entered higher education (English, 1997; Stodden, Conway, and Chang, 2003; Vaccaro, Daly-Cano & Newman, 2015). In regard to student persistence, academic advising was the most cited student service (Hossler & Bean, 1990). Academic advisors assist students through their academic journeys and are tasked with assisting students to navigate college life (Kuh, 2008). However, there was a lack of research regarding the relationship between advisors, students with disabilities, and self-advocacy. Therefore, this research study was conducted to explore the insights and support of self-advocacy among academic advisors when working with students with disabilities. A qualitative phenomenological research design was used to explore these experiences. From the data analysis, seven themes emerged after the interviews and a focus group, which represented the needs of academic advisors for their specific roles and interactions. The themes were lack of knowledge, accommodations, transition, academics, fear of being labeled, relationships and interactions, and self-awareness. The information gathered through this study may lead to professional development programs to improve relationships between academic advisors and students with disabilities and to prepare students with disabilities to become strong self-advocates.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey ·learning disability students and students in special day classes and to compare them on select characteristics to each other and to children attending regular day classes. VARIABLES: The selected variables. for this study were creativity, locus of control, and academic achievement. Each of these variables was divided into sub-parts permitting a more inclusive consideration. Creativity was measured for the factors of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Locus of control was separated into three parts, each measuring one of the following: student responsibility for academic failure, (I-); responsibility for academic success, (I+); and a composite of these two (I Total). Academic achievement was measured by the use I of diagnostic Stanford Reading and Stanford Arithmetic tests. The following skills· were tested in the area of reading: reading comprehension, vocabulary, auditory discrimination, syllabication, beginning and ending sounds, blending, and sound discrimination. The diagnostic arithmetic test had thirteen subtests. Only seven of the subtests were used and these were number system and counting, operations, decimal place value, addition, subtraction, concepts total, and computation total. POPULATION: The population of this study consisted of forty randomly selected elementary students in special programs for the educationally handicapped. Twenty of the students were enrolled in learning disability groups while the remaining twenty students attended special day classes for educationally handicapped minors. All of the students were in either the third or fourth grade level school placement and attended the Napa Valley Unified School District. PROCEDURES: The forty students were divided into one of four groups according to I.Q. and educational classification. This allowed the researcher to control the I.Q. while examining the twenty-one variables. Analysis of variance was used. When comparing students in special day classes and students in learning disability groups to normative data, the t-test was utilized. FINDINGS: Achievement l. Special day class students are academically more deficient than learning disability students in understanding the number system, knowing decimal place notation, doing addition. These results were significant at the .05 level of confidence. 2. As expected, students in learning disability groups and students in special day classes are below regular students in all academic areas (significant at the .01 level). Creativity 1. Students in learning disability groups are more flexible than students from special day classes. · 2. Both students from learning disability groups and students from special day classes were less elaborate but more original in their responses than regular students. · Locus of Control 1. Students in learning disability groups and students in special day classes were less able to take responsibility for their academic successes than regular students. There is some indication that both students in learning disability groups and students in special day classes do not take responsibility for their academic failures. In general, these two types of students see the world as externally controlled.

<p><h1>There is a growing number of students with disabilities accessing postsecondary education in Ontario. Among this student body, students with learning disabilities are the largest sub-group. These students transition into knowledge workplaces, which have significant cognitive performance standards. Although there is some emerging literature on the outcome of university graduates with learning disabilities, there is little known about their <em>experiences </em>during this transition process.</h1></p> <p>There are two central purposes of this doctoral thesis: a) to provide insight into the experiences of transition for university graduates with learning disabilities, and b) to critically reflect upon the practicalities and politics of implementing participatory action research. The papers gathered in this dissertation are based upon a participatory action research project with mentees, and interviews with both mentees and mentors from a learning disability mentorship program at an Ontario university. The first paper is a collaborative writing piece with co-researchers that applies an analogy of ‘taking center stage’ to reflect upon the process of participation for co-researchers. The second paper involves a critical reflection of the <em>imagined distance </em>that took place amongst the research team, and an exploration of participatory techniques to address this distance. The third paper examines qualitative interviews with mentors and mentees on three stages of the transition process: interview, general cognitive ability testing and probationary period.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)