Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) experience multiple barriers that may prevent them from understanding and exploring their own sexuality. These barriers prevent them from achieving the same autonomy and quality of life as their peers. This research synthesis focuses on 13 articles published between 2000 and 2013…

Attaining proficiency with daily living skills is necessary for increasing the independent functioning of adolescents and adults with disabilities. Research demonstrates the positive effects of teaching individuals with disabilities to use various technologies to independently self-prompt their daily living tasks. A literature search of technology…

Sexual development is a complex but vital part of the human experience. People with significant disabilities are not excluded from this principle, but often may be prevented from receiving high-quality and comprehensive instruction necessary for a healthy sexual life. The functional model of self-determination emphasizes increasing knowledge,…

The main purpose of this article is to add to the transition assessment resources by introducing the Guardianship Alternative Assessment Template (GAAT) as it relates to guardianship prevention for youth and adults who have an intellectual disability. Guardianship refers to a legal intervention when a court determines that adult individuals are…

As students who have intellectual disability reach or have reached the age of majority, concerns regarding their competence to make informed decisions are often raised, as is the issue of adult guardianship. Guardianship refers to when a judge appoints an adult to be the guardian of another adult (ward) who has been determined to be unable to care…

This study represents a follow-up to a review of research on functional curriculum for secondary students with mild intellectual disability by Bouck and Flanagan (2010), which focused on the years 1994-2009. This systematic review focused on research involving functional curriculum for secondary students with mild intellectual disability published…

The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of the published research-based strategies used in content area instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Twenty-eight (N = 28) studies published from 2000-2012 that met the criteria for inclusion were located, reviewed, and synthesized. Findings revealed the…

Social interactions may positively influence developmental and quality of life outcomes. Research in persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) mostly investigated interactions with caregivers. This literature review focuses on peer interactions of persons with PIMD. A computerized literature search of three databases was…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle with features of adult life, including obtaining and maintaining gainful employment. Many factors seem to contribute to this issue, such as: (a) access to financial resources, (b) interaction between the unique characteristics of ASD and employment settings, and (c) curriculum and…

This article was written with the purpose of informing educators, agency service providers, family members, stakeholders, researchers in the field of transition, and individuals with intellectual disabilities themselves, of the guardianship alternatives that can be used, hence negating the need for a legal guardian. Guardianship refers to the…

Curriculum content is an essential component of the field of special education for students with moderate and severe disabilities. This study updates the twenty-year curriculum content review by Nietupski, Hamre-Nietupski, Curtin, and Shrikanth (1997) and provides an overview of the last 15 years of research on this topic. A hand search of ten…

In order to better assist practitioners and better serve persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families, it is vital for professionals to systematically evaluate the existing body of literature and synthesize its scientific evidence, so that the efficacy of research can be translated to evidence-based practices (EBPs) (Wheeler,…

Mathematics education--like all education--faced changes in recent years including increasing expectations, and these expectations have impacted all students, including students with mild intellectual disability. To explore the impact of the changes on mathematics education on students with mild intellectual disability, the authors reviewed the…

Since 2002, the body of literature examining choice interventions and preference assessments for individuals with severe to profound disabilities has grown substantially. This paper is an extension of the Lancioni, O'Reilly, & Emerson (1996) and Cannella, O'Reilly, & Lancioni (2005) papers and reviews 50 studies conducted between 2002 and 2010…

Errorless learning is an instructional approach designed to eliminate and/or reduce the number of errors students produce in traditional trial-and-error approaches (Mueller, Palkovic, & Maynard, 2007). Various response prompting strategies are employed to produce errorless learning. Simultaneous prompting is an errorless learning strategy that has…