This article provides an overview of my experiences in special education as a teacher and subsequently as an intervention researcher providing background on where we were in providing instruction to individuals with disabilities 40 years ago (prior to legal protections and supports) compared with the present. This article acknowledges the progress…

The number of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who enter secondary school settings and access the general education curriculum continues to grow. Many educators may find they are not prepared to adapt their instruction to meet both state standards and the diverse needs of the full spectrum individuals with ASD, which has…

Patterns of identification for special education services across three cohorts of students in kindergarten through third grade before and after implementation of a schoolwide, three-tier reading prevention model in one large school district are reported. The first cohort of students represents a historical control group that did not participate in…

This study investigated the effects of computer-assisted comprehension practice using a researcher-developed computer program, Computer-Assisted Collaborative Strategic Reading (CACSR), with students who had disabilities. Two reading/language arts teachers and their 34 students with disabilities participated. Students in the intervention group…

The present study extends 8 years of previous research using Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), a set of comprehension strategies designed to improve understanding of expository text. We examined teachers' year long implementation of CSR. Five intervention and five control teachers from five schools participated along with their students.…

The effects of three grouping formats (1:1 [one teacher with one student], 1:3, and 1:10) on outcomes for second grade struggling readers was studied. All students received the same reading intervention for the same number of sessions and made significant gains. Both 1:1 and 1:3 were highly effective intervention group sizes but 1:1 was not…

This paper synthesizes the findings of social skills interventions conducted with 3- to 5-year-old children with disabilities between 1975 and 1999. Provided are study purposes, procedures, measures, and findings as well as analysis of effect size outcomes. Positive outcomes were associated with a range of interventions, including modeling,…

This article summarizes studies conducted with Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), a program designed to enhance reading comprehension and content-area reading for diverse learners. It describes the stages of CSR development and discusses the role of peer-mediated learning in improving the social and academic outcomes of participating students.…

Eight classrooms of third graders (n=111) and their teachers were provided with two intervention strategies, partner reading intervention designed to enhance fluency, or collaborative strategic reading, designed to enhance comprehension. Over time, there were statistically significant effects for rate of reading for both interventions for low- to…

Three years after seven teachers had participated in an intensive year-long professional development experience in three multilevel reading practices (partner reading, collaborative strategic reading, and making words), all but one teacher sustained one or more of the practices at a high rate, as determined by classroom observation and interviews.…

A study that investigated perceptions of 31 kindergarten teachers found there were statistically significant differences between teachers' views of the desirability of implementing practices to enhance the outcomes of children with disabilities as they transition to kindergarten and the feasibility of such implementation. Portfolios were viewed as…

Individual and focus group interviews with 49 third-grade regular and special education teachers revealed that teachers value control over their decisions on grouping for reading instruction. Regular teachers reported they preferred whole class and mixed ability grouping arrangements for social and academic reasons, whereas special educators…

Results of professional development programs for elementary through secondary teachers are described, with attention to improving practices for teaching students with learning disabilities and behavior disorders in general education. Four professional development programs explored effective formats and content, and three subsequent programs…

A total of 93 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers rated the desirability and feasibility of adaptations for mainstreamed students in their general education classes. All adaptations were perceived as more desirable than feasible, and few differences were found among teachers of different grade levels. (Author/JDD)

The Flow of Planning Process Model was used to investigate one science and two social studies middle school teachers' preplanning, interactive planning, and postplanning for six students with learning disabilities who were mainstreamed into their general education classes. Results suggest that content coverage, classroom/student management, and…