Teaching academic skills to students with significant intellectual disabilities: A systematic review of the single-case design literature.

Students with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve access to instruction on academic skills in addition to functional skills. Many teachers, however, report challenges with identifying appropriate evidence-based practices to teach academics to these students. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize and analyze literature on academic instruction for students with significant disabilities. Two hundred twenty-two articles with 225 experiments utilizing a single-case design and published between 1976 and 2018 were included in the review. Visual analysis indicated that, in most cases, interventions enabled students to make progress on targeted academic skills. The majority of studies focused on basic reading skills and included participants with moderate disabilities. Most studies used a combination of three or four evidence-based practices, with modeling, prompting, visual supports, time delay, and reinforcement being the most frequently used combination across studies.

Improving Social and Play Outcomes for Students With Significant Disabilities During Recess.

For students with autism, recess is often a missed opportunity to develop social competence and relationships. Although interventions have been developed to promote interactions and social skills for students with average or above-average intellectual functioning, there has been less focus on students with autism who have below-average intellectual functioning or who meet the criteria for intellectual disability. In this single-case design study, we tested the efficacy of a combined peer-mediated and social skills instruction intervention on the interactions, play, and social skills of three students with autism who met their state's criteria for alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Social skills instruction featured video models that portrayed same-aged peers demonstrating individualized social skills on the playground. For all three students, there were substantial increases in interactions, play and social skills, and students and their peers provided positive feedback about the intervention.

Trends in the Educational Placement of Students With Intellectual Disability in the United States Over the Past 40 Years.

In 1975, federal law mandated that children with disabilities be educated in their least restrictive environment, or alongside peers without disabilities in general education classrooms to the maximum extent appropriate. More than 40 years later, I investigated how national trends in educational placement have changed over time for students with intellectual disability. Specifically, I examined the degree placements have trended toward less restrictive environments. I found historical trends of incremental progress toward less restrictive settings, but no evidence of such progress in recent years. Furthermore, most students were educated predominantly in segregated settings every year. I discuss how these findings relate to previous studies, as well as implications for individualized education program teams and advocates for educational inclusion.

Brief Report: Improving Social Outcomes for Students with Autism at Recess Through Peer-Mediated Pivotal Response Training.

Many students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) struggle to appropriately interact and play with their peers at recess. In this pilot feasibility study, we tested the efficacy of practitioner-implemented, peer-mediated Pivotal Response Training (PRT) with 11 elementary and middle school students with ASD. Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. We measured outcomes at multiple time points, and analyzed data using multi-level modeling with time nested within student. We demonstrated large and statistically significant increases in peer interaction (d = 1.13). Appropriate play with peers also increased substantially (d = 0.89). Practitioners and students provided positive feedback. These findings suggest school staff can feasibly facilitate peer-implemented PRT that improves social outcomes for students with ASD at recess.

Efficacy and Social Validity of Peer Network Interventions for High School Students With Severe Disabilities.

This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of peer network interventions to improve the social connections of 47 high school students with severe disabilities. School staff invited, trained, and supported 192 peers without disabilities to participate in individualized social groups that met throughout one semester. Compared to adolescents in the "business-as-usual" control group (n = 48), students receiving peer networks gained significantly more new social contacts and friendships. Although many peer relationships maintained one and two semesters later, their spill over beyond the school day was limited. Students and staff affirmed the social validity of the interventions. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at improving the implementation and impact of peer network interventions in secondary schools.

Comparing Children with ASD and Their Peers' Growth in Print Knowledge.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with reading. An increased focus on emergent literacy skills-particularly print knowledge-might improve later reading outcomes. We analyzed longitudinal measures of print knowledge (i.e., alphabet knowledge and print-concept knowledge) for 35 preschoolers with ASD relative to a sample of 35 typically developing peers. Through multilevel growth curve analysis, we found that relative to their peers, children with ASD had comparable alphabet knowledge, lower print-concept knowledge, and acquired both skills at a similar rate. These findings suggest that children with ASD are unlikely to acquire print-concept knowledge commensurate to their peers without an increased emphasis on high-quality instruction that targets this skill.

Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Review.

The purpose of this study was to identify evidenced-based, focused intervention practices for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. This study was an extension and elaboration of a previous evidence-based practice review reported by Odom et al. (Prev Sch Fail 54:275-282, 2010b, doi: 10.1080/10459881003785506 ). In the current study, a computer search initially yielded 29,105 articles, and the subsequent screening and evaluation process found 456 studies to meet inclusion and methodological criteria. From this set of research studies, the authors found 27 focused intervention practices that met the criteria for evidence-based practice (EBP). Six new EBPs were identified in this review, and one EBP from the previous review was removed. The authors discuss implications for current practices and future research.