Meeting the Needs of Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders During the COVID-19 School Closures

The COVID-19 global pandemic left many educators making an emergency transition to remote instruction when schools were initially closed. Although this transition was likely difficult for most students, it may have been particularly difficult for students with emotional or behavioral disorders who have complex and resource-intensive social, emotional, and behavioral needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which special educators and related service providers felt they were able to meet those needs in the context of the pandemic occurring in the Spring of 2020. Results indicated respondents’ perceptions of their ability to meet students’ needs and implement their students’ individualized education programs (IEPs) were moderated by policies on remote instruction and students’ access to technology. In addition, respondents suggested district- and school-level response strategies, professional development on remote instruction, access to the internet at home, and additional technology would be helpful in future school closures. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Targeting the Transition Goals of Teens Through Executive Function Support

Executive functions, which begin developing in early childhood, are necessary for the tasks of daily life, such as decision making and planning. Despite their early development, often without teaching, many teens with disabilities need explicit instruction to acquire and apply executive functions each day. Gaps in executive functions directly impact a teens ability to achieve post-secondary success, as executive functions support planning, goal setting, and organization. This article provides instruction on how to support teens with disabilities on three executive functions: (a) building habits that form routines, (b) utilizing sensory reminders to manage time, and (c) applying a planning tool. This article also instructs teachers on embedding executive function instruction within transition planning for individualized education programs.

Redesigning Deficit-Laden Assessments for Neurodivergent Students

In this chapter, the authors deconstruct the deficit views inherent in special education assessment wherein marginalized, neurodivergent students receive stigmatizing labels and are often deprived of opportunities for quality instruction. The authors examine how eligibility criteria based on deficit views of disability are culturally biased and scientifically invalid. Then, the deficit perspective of Individualized Education Programs are analyzed to demonstrate how neurodivergent students and their families are isolated and objectified through this legal process. Lastly, as an alternative to the current assessment system, universally designed assessment is recommended to provide more accessible and flexible platforms for demonstrating students' knowledge and skills and to restore the lost connection between assessments and daily instruction.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Remote Learning

For rural locations, the use of remote learning may provide schools the opportunity to meet student needs without the need for students to travel long distances to access services. It is critical that teachers of students with disabilities understand how to support learning and know how to use the accommodations, modifications, and assistive technologies listed in student Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in online classrooms. Students with language disabilities sometimes require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to effectively communicate. This article provides teachers with practical tips of teaching students to use AAC online and supporting its continued use in the virtual classroom.

Culturally Responsive Individualized Education Programs: Building Transition Bridges Between Families and Schools

Students with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds often experience barriers and inequities in transition supports and services due to the cultural mismatch of beliefs, values, and expectations between their families and their schools. Though transition planning was designed for students and families to provide input, there is often a lack of space for the family to share their voice and long-term goals in the decision-making process. Through culturally responsive transition individualized education programs, in combination with a person-centered framework, bridging partnerships between the student, family, communities, and schools can be accomplished and built for sustainability. In urban settings and communities, these boundary-crossing collaborations for students with disabilities and their families could be more complex, as additional factors in urban schools are presented. This article presents a practical tool that could guide educators and families from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds into depth and breadth in transition individualized education program (IEP) development.

Examining the Likelihood of Parents’ Homework Involvement With Elementary-Aged Students With Individualized Education Plans

Elementary-aged students with individualized education programs (IEPs) tend to experience more challenges and demonstrate lower homework completion as compared with peers without IEPs. Parent involvement in homework can significantly improve a child’s homework achievement, but little research has examined the factors associated with higher levels of homework involvement for parents of children with IEPs. Using the 2016 Parent and Family Involvement survey, weighted hierarchical ordinal logistic regression analysis was implemented to determine how a child’s IEP status, parents’ demographic characteristics, school-level variables, and parents’ expectations predicted parents’ odds of helping their child with homework. Results indicated parents’ race and income, along with school communication, parent satisfaction, and the interaction between a child’s IEP status with parents’ expectations predicted parents’ likelihood of involvement in their child’s homework. The implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

Special education for students with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Each day brings new challenges”

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disrupted how educators provided supports and services for students with autism spectrum disorder. School closures and related pivoting between learning modalities were difficult for all students, but especially for students with autism, who rely on routine and often require individualized instruction. There has been limited opportunity for teachers to share their experiences of rapidly changing educational circumstances. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate how special educators and school-based specialists adapted practices for such students in response to pandemic conditions. One hundred and six educators from 40 school districts completed a written survey inquiring about the modifications they made to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and their efforts to implement evidence-based practices. Participants reported adding individualized contingency learning plans to Individualized Education Programs, adjusting service minutes, and sometimes eliminating social goals. A thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) of educators’ written reflections identified four themes, highlighting a renewed importance on collaboration with parents, who helped deliver intervention and monitor progress in the home setting. While students with more intense needs struggled, others actually preferred virtual instruction. This raises concerns for what will happen in the future, when social expectations resume. Despite the overwhelming challenges posed by COVID-19, participants demonstrated remarkable resiliency and innovation. Lay abstract The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disrupted how special educators provided supports and services for students with autism spectrum disorder. School closures and the related pivoting between learning modalities (i.e. virtual, hybrid, and face-to-face) were difficult for all students, but especially for students with autism, who rely on routine and require individualized instruction. In this study, we surveyed 106 special education teachers, behavior specialists, and speech pathologists who work with autistic students to learn about how they adapted instruction to comply with the complex social distancing rules and changing expectations of the pandemic. Participants reported “making the best out of a bad situation” and “constantly using ‘trial & error’ to find the best way for our students to eLearn.” They emphasized the importance of collaboration with parents, who helped deliver intervention and monitor progress across settings. They made alterations to Individualized Education Programs, by adding individualized contingency learning plans, adjusting service minutes, and sometimes eliminating social goals. Participants were surprised that while students with more intense needs struggled, others actually preferred virtual instruction. This raises concerns for what will happen in the future, when social expectations resume. Despite the overwhelming challenges posed by COVID-19, participants demonstrated remarkable resiliency and an innovative ability to adapt instruction.

Narrating Parents/Guardians’ Experiences: Advocating for Students on Individualized Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to uncover the narratives of parents/guardians with students on IEPs to determine their needs and perceptions about the IEP process. The goal of this study was to answer three research questions: 1) How do parents/guardians’ educational experiences affect their ability to navigate the educational system for their child?, 2) What supports are needed by parents/guardians of students with IEPs to support/advocate for their child’s education?, and 3) What are parents/guardians' self-perceptions about their abilities to advocate for their students on IEPs? The researcher developed a narrative methodology design that involved interviewing participants who are parents or guardians of students currently on IEPs in in kindergarten to sixth grade. Participants in the study were mothers with at least one student on an IEP. They participated in two interviews between February and December 2020. Interviews took place during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to school closures. With the exception of the first interview with Participant 1, all interviews occurred after the school closures. This had some effect on the responses of participants and may have affected the conclusions made. Through the interviews, participants shared their personal school experiences as well as their experiences with the IEP process. The researcher determined the correlation between parents/guardians’ education and their experience with the IEP process, what supports are desired by parents/guardians when working through the IEP process, and what parents/guardians' perceptions of the process are. Parents/guardians’ overall were content with the IEP process as an overall system, but participants did share their struggles with the process and supports they wanted from their students’ schools.

Enhancing Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Features of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)

Individual education programs (IEPs) are the foundation for guiding speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to develop appropriate interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students who qualify for speech-language services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There is a growing number of CLD students with speech-language impairments who need special attention given to their culture and language. This article highlights key culturally and linguistically responsive features to aid SLPs in developing meaningful IEPs for this diverse group of students.