Primary caregivers' beliefs often influence their experiences of providing care to children with disabilities. This exploratory study qualitatively probed the meanings that five Korean immigrant mothers attributed to the unanticipated responsibility of parenting children with autism spectrum disorders and communication disorders. From a…

The disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in exclusionary discipline practices is a well-documented practice in education. This paper synthesizes current literature that points to a cultural incongruence between students and teachers as an underlying mechanism for disparity in school practices involving…

This study applies a diagnostic errors framework to identify and classify mistakes that were made in a psychoeducational assessment of a bilingual student who was misidentified as a person with autism. Findings of diagnostic errors were categorized under four domains--faulty knowledge, faulty data gathering, faulty data processing, and faulty…

Many parents of students with disabilities face barriers to meaningful participation in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings; parents who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) encounter additional challenges. Given the changing demographics of the United States and the central role of the IEP in special education, it is important…

The reality that American public schools are not meeting the needs of all students and the increasing incongruity between student and teacher demographics demand increased efforts to prepare teacher candidates to work with students who are ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse. Teacher preparation programs are charged with this work…

Multicultural and bilingual special education scholars have long advocated that research and practice situate (dis)ability in its social, cultural, racial/ethnic, linguistic, historical, legal, and political contexts. Still, the special education literature reflects more restricted conceptualizations of culture, language, and diversity than…

This study investigated whether Latina youth in special education and parents of Latinas in special education differ from their Anglo counterparts regarding transition expectations and experiences, and experiences of self-determination. Surveys were completed by 211 transition-aged Anglo and Latina females, and parents of Anglo girls and Latinas…

This study examines the perceptions of first-generation, English-speaking West Indian immigrant families, in regard to the education of their children once they are determined to be eligible for special education services. Data were obtained primarily from conducting audio-taped, semi-structured interviews with three families. Grounded theory…

Schools across the country are inadequately prepared to meet the educational needs of English language learners (ELLs), much less the needs of ELLs who also have an intellectual disability (ID). In this exploratory study, three Mexican American elementary students with moderate ID were given vocabulary word instruction in English and Spanish using…

This paper proposes a model of effective instruction and intervention for English Learners (ELs) within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. First, we review literature on effective instruction for ELs and how RTI can address the needs of these students. Then, we describe the PLUSS model, which integrates research on effective instruction…

The focus of research on disproportionality to date has been culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with emotional/behavioral and learning disabilities and mental retardation. There is a dearth of research on the representation of CLD learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Using data from the Minnesota Department of…

A grounded theory approach is used to explore the "lived experiences" of two upper-middle-class families from India who have children with disabilities. Findings provide insight into the parents' beliefs and perceptions about disabilities, their goals and expectations for their children, and their views of inclusive education programs.…

Developing educators' attitudes toward and skills in working with families is vital, given both legislative mandates and the different and potentially difficult experiences with home-school collaboration for families. This study explores 17 educators' expectations of parents' acquisition and use of cultural and social capital through focus group…

In this article, we present a review of research studies that address special education literacy instruction for English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) and ELLs with low literacy achievement in elementary and middle school grades. We describe research on the following categories: a) culturally and linguistically…

This qualitative study investigated five elementary classroom teachers' perceptions of, and attributions about the school performance of Asian American students. Using naturalistic inquiry, data were obtained through interviews, classroom observations, document reviews and field notes; and were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. The…