The special education literature has included a continuing line of articles and chapters that have translated for practitioners the legal meaning of the progress monitoring provisions in the successive versions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This article examines this line of publications in light of the language of the…

Beliefs may be described as Type A, scientific and verifiable (objective), or Type B, not verifiable and personal (subjective). Type B might be considered subjective opinion, something other than empirically confirmed, objective truth. Nevertheless, Type B is asserted as truth by some and can be valued over Type A. Both kinds of belief are…

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework for organizing and integrating academic, social, and emotional supports within a school. Full implementation of MTSS establishes a continuum of readily-available supports matched to student needs. Federal education statute and state-education agencies (SEAs) have prioritized the scale-up of…

This article investigates how picture books published in 2019 represent Autism to children, with special attention as to whether those representations overtly include terminology around autism or covertly present autistic characters. Although both overt and covert representations occur in children's literature, covert representation may or may not…

To effectively teach reading to students with and at risk for disabilities, special and general education teachers depend on principals who support effective specialized reading instruction. Yet, extant research indicates that principals have inadequate preparation for supporting specialized instruction. To address this issue, scholars have…

Recent political, fiscal, and educational equity challenges require a renewed emphasis in our efforts to advocate for increased culturally and linguistically responsive education, making certain to further advance the accomplishments of the past four decades. The education of diverse exceptional learners is well established within the fields of…

Many students with significant disabilities have complex communication needs and are not yet able to express themselves using speech, sign language, or other symbolic forms. These students rely on non-symbolic forms of communication like facial expressions, body movements, and vocalizations. They benefit from responsive partners who interpret and…

This article examines the research literature to determine whether the provision of quality early childhood education (ECE) lowers the risk of a child developing special education needs (SEN) and mediates the intensity of support for children with an identified exceptionality. Schools play a crucial role in reducing developmental gaps assessed at…

This article explores trends and statistics specific to the mental health status of children from both the Canadian and the global contexts to inform a conversation on the environmental conditions and experiences that impact the mental health of young children. The research described here focused on the intersection between mental health and early…

The international classification of functioning, disability, and health for children and youth (ICF-CY) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is a framework for understanding concepts of disability specific to children and youth. This framework has been used in countries around the world to support the education of children with…

This article provides an overview of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which is based on brain-structure research and which incorporates multiple means of instruction, action and expression, and engagement. The article describes the relevance of this framework to linguistically diverse and culturally and linguistically diverse…