The increase in English learners (ELs) with disabilities has been reported by others, yet little is known about the transition planning meeting experiences of this population and their post-school expectations. This study explored transition planning experiences and post-school expectations of a nationally representative sample of ELs with…

Families who have children with delays or disabilities are often expected to become advocates for their children. Despite this inherent expectation, there is limited research available focused on advocacy during the early years (birth to three). The purpose of this study was to use qualitative inquiry, specifically semi-structured interviews, to…

Advocacy is often an expectation for parents of children with disabilities. However, little is known about the process and products (i.e., outcomes) of parent advocacy experiences. Without understanding parent perceptions of their advocacy experiences, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of parent advocacy. To this end, the purpose of…

Parental engagement in special education promotes positive student outcomes and parent-school relationships. In order to promote engagement, parents must possess a basic knowledge and understanding of special education processes and parent and student rights. Little is known regarding parental knowledge about special education or how they learn…

Rapidly becoming the largest ethnic group of American students, compared to White students with disabilities, Latino students with disabilities receive less services and their parents are more likely to struggle to receive services. Yet, it is unclear how Latino families advocate for their children with disabilities including how cultural values…

This brief article addresses the question of whether the Individuals with Disabilities Act or Section 504 and its sister statute, the Americans with Disabilities Act, provides for the liability of special educators and other public school personnel for money damages. The analysis synthesizes the applicable case law under these federal disability…

Classification changes are common in special education. Using the first four years of the Pre-elementary Education Longitudinal Study data set (N = 3000), we investigated national trends in classification changes among young children with disabilities, the relationship between classification changes and children's demographic information, and the…

The purpose of this study is to replicate a study conducted by Hux, Marquardt, Skinner, and Bond (1999) in which the researchers explored the frequency of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the special education population as compared to the frequency of TBI among students in general education. Hux and colleagues (1999) found that roughly…

This exploratory study analyzes the perceptions of Disability Support Services (DSS) personnel regarding the transition process and documentation requirements to receive services for students with invisible disabilities in postsecondary settings. Invisible disabilities include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders,…

The purpose of this survey study was to assess the perceived skill level and educational needs of special education paraprofessionals in the area of function-based intervention and to identify paraprofessionals' preferred training delivery method(s) and any variables that affect paraprofessionals' preference for these methods. Special education…

For the past 30 years, the dropout rate for students with emotional disturbance has hovered around 50%, a rate substantially higher than the dropout rate for students with other disabilities and the general population. This systematic review evaluated the literature published between 1990 and 2013 on the effectiveness of dropout prevention and…

Using a multiple baseline across participants design, this study examines the functional relationship between instruction in note-taking skills and the ability of young adults with autism spectrum disorder to take notes on college lectures. The three participants were enrolled in a program aligned with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public…

Mandates such as No Child Left Behind (2001) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) shifted the emphasis of instruction to include skills that access the general curriculum for students with moderate to severe intellectual disability. The purpose of this study was to describe changes in literacy instruction of teachers…

A comprehensive search identified 42 court decisions from late 1996 to early 2014 concerning the primary modern meaning of child find under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)--whether the district had reasonable suspicion of eligibility and yet did not evaluate the child. The findings from a systematic analysis of these court…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disability for which prevalence rates continue to increase. Persons with ASD vary widely in both severity of disability and services required. Therefore it is important to identify trends in research and evaluate progress in the field. The current study uses a journal analysis to evaluate research over…