Special Education Services Research Articles

A influência do capacitismo no Decreto n° 10.502/2020 e no texto da PNEE 2020

Abstract The fight for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Brazilian regular schools intensified when Brazil ratified the Convenção Internacional sobre os Direitos das Pessoas com Deficiência and issued the Lei Brasileira de Inclusão. However, the struggle for advancements and improvement in the Brazilian inclusive teaching system retreated after the Política Nacional de Educação Especial: Equitativa, Inclusiva e com Aprendizado ao Longo da Vida (PNEE 2020) was established by Decreto n° 10.502/2020. The reason is that it proposed significant changes in the conception of inclusive education when it considered the possibility of special education services, centers, or schools to meet specific disabilities, determining that students and/or their families would be free to choose between an inclusive, regular, or bilingual school. The normative instruments were compared, and a policy segregating students with disabilities in the school environment is hidden between the lines under this alleged right. Such policy is discriminatory and ableist as it reproduces the notion that, according to a hierarchical corponormativity paradigm, these students are inferior, thus, conceiving that they are excluded from regular school due to their disabilities. Even though Decreto n° 11.370/2023 revoked Decreto n° 10.502/2020, the discussion proposed here remains relevant, considering the need to effectively implement inclusive education in Brazil.

Prevalence of Educationally Significant Disabilities Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students.

Deaf and hard of hearing (d/DHH) students are often labeled with one or more educationally significant disabilities in addition to their hearing loss. According to the Gallaudet Research Institution's most recent Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth (2013), almost 40% of d/DHH students nationwide receive special education services for one or more comorbid disabilities. However, relatively few prevalence rate estimates have been published over the last decade. Knowledge regarding the current prevalence of educationally significant disabilities among d/DHH students is therefore limited. The present study surveyed teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing (TODHHs) in a midwestern state regarding the number of d/DHH students on their caseloads with one or more comorbid disabilities. Within the sample population (N = 451), nearly 65% were reported to receive special education services for disabilities other than deafness or hearing impairment.

Increasing the Independence of Students With Disabilities in the Classroom Through Indirect Paraprofessional Support

Paraprofessionals are a crucial component of special education services and can be vital to promoting inclusive learning opportunities. Although intentions behind utilizing paraprofessional support may be good, students with disabilities may become over-reliant on paraprofessionals, thus limiting student independence in the classroom. This paper intends to shift the traditional paradigm to focus on increasing student independence through indirect paraprofessional supports. Practical recommendations for fading paraprofessional support to promote student independence are included.

Qualitative Investigation of Educator and Parent Experiences of Education Services During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a worldwide disruption of education service systems. A significant gap has emerged in understanding the impact of these changes to both educational services and child development. The current qualitative study presents interviews with early childhood educators and parents to capture their experiences with educational service delivery for young children with disabilities during the pandemic. The study included nine early childhood educators and nine parents with children between the ages of 3 and 6 who received preschool special education services during the pandemic. Themes that emerged from the interviews include changes to the modality and intensity of services, barriers and challenges related to service delivery, and benefits resulting from shifts to educational services. All findings will be discussed with an eye toward informing future practice related to family-centered services.

International comparability of reference unit costs of education services: when harmonizing methodology is not enough (PECUNIA project)

ABSTRACT Background Health problems can lead to costs in the education sector. However, these costs are rarely incorporated in health economic evaluations due to the lack of reference unit costs (RUCs), cost per unit of service, of education services and of validated methods to obtain them. In this study, a standardized unit cost calculation tool developed in the PECUNIA project, the PECUNIA RUC Template for services, was applied to calculate the RUCs of selected education services in five European countries. Methods The RUCs of special education services and of educational therapy were calculated using the information collected via an exploratory gray literature search and contact with service providers. Results The RUCs of special education services ranged from €55 to €189 per school day. The RUCs of educational therapy ranged from €6 to €25 per contact and from €5 to €35 per day. Variation was observed in the type of input data and measurement unit, among other. Discussion The tool helped reduce variability in the RUCs related to costing methodology and gain insights into other aspects that contribute to the variability (e.g. data availability). Further research and efforts to generate high quality input data are required to reduce the variability of the RUCs.

Fixed effect estimates of student-teacher racial or ethnic matching in U.S. elementary schools

We used student fixed effects and statistical controls to investigate whether U.S. elementary students (N = 18,170) displayed greater academic achievement, social-emotional behavior, or executive functioning and were more likely to receive gifted or special education services when taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity. We observed mostly null effects for student-teacher racial or ethnic matching across the study's 12 dependent measures in analyses adjusting for Type 1 error. Matching resulted in lower science achievement (effect size [ES]= -.03 SD) for the full sample. Matching resulted in fewer internalizing problem behaviors (ES = 0.18 SD) for Black students. We observed null effects for Hispanic students. Robustness checks including those stratified by race or ethnicity and biological sex or by prior levels of low or high level of achievement, behavior, or executive functioning largely supported the study's null findings. Exceptions were that matching resulted in fewer externalizing problem behaviors (ES = 0.22 SD) for Black girls and lower academic achievement (ES range = -0.04 to -0.14 SD) and fewer externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors (ES range = 0.24 to 0.33 SD) for students who had previously displayed low levels of academic, behavioral, or executive functioning. Collectively, the analyses provide limited support for student-teacher racial or ethnic matching as a school-based policy to address educational disparities in U.S. elementary schools.

Securing School-Based Mental Health Services for Students With Disabilities: An Illustration of the Six-Component Approach

The IDEA requires schools to evaluate and provide services to students who have a mental health issue that is deemed an educational disability or a mental health issue that is comorbid with an educational disability. Etscheidt and colleagues (this issue) propose a six component approach to securing school-based mental health services for students with disabilities. This article illustrates the six component approach using two vignettes. The first vignette involves a preschool student referred due to aggression who has not been previously identified as eligible for special education. The second vignette involves a 5th grade student who was receiving special education services under the category of SLD who’s academic progress had plateaued.

Effects of an Explicit Decoding Plus Frequency Building Intervention on Word Reading Fluency for Students With Disabilities in an Urban Elementary Setting

Students with disabilities in upper elementary grades who read well below grade level often require one-to-one intensive intervention. The following study examines the effects of a combined explicit decoding plus frequency building intervention on consonant–vowel–consonant (CVC) word reading fluency. Participants were two third-grade students and one fourth-grade student receiving special education services from an urban U.S. elementary school. Delivered during the intervention block, the students practiced 5 to 8 min per day over 8 to 9 days per word list. The multiple probe design demonstrated an experimental effect for all three participants, with significant gains revealed on individual word lists, curriculum-based assessment, and curriculum-based measurement.

Secondary Students Receiving Special Education and English Learner Services: Identity Informed Transitions

ABSTRACT Secondary students’ identity development is multidimensional, informed by distinct sociohistorical, cultural, structural, and individual forces and factors. For students who receive both special education and English learner services, identity development may also be connected to being categorized as needing both types of support services. Understanding how students receiving both services perceive themselves, and how they leverage identity while planning their futures could inform the field of transition, yet this is an infrequent subject of inquiry in special education transition research. We interviewed 26 students, all of whom received both services in a high school in a large school district in the northeastern United States. The development of language and learner dimensions of identity emerged from the data as a key factor informing participants’ perceptions and experiences as they prepared for the transition into adulthood. Implications and recommendations for researchers and practitioners supporting students’ language and learner dimensions of identity during postschool transition are shared.

Healthcare Disparities in Early Childhood Brain Injury

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> While healthcare and educational disparities are known to impact minoritized groups, few research studies have been conducted to examine disparities after childhood acquired brain injury (ABI). The purpose of this study was to explore child factors associated with referral (i.e., race, socioeconomic status, type and time since injury, length of hospital stay), parent education, and long-term need for children who experienced an early childhood ABI. <h3>Design</h3> Secondary-analysis of data collected through retrospective cohort chart review and prospective caregiver phone surveys. <h3>Setting</h3> Large, urban Trauma 1 pediatric hospital in the Midwestern US. <h3>Participants</h3> 29 caregivers of children who experienced an ABI before five years of age and currently in elementary or middle school. <h3>Interventions</h3> Not applicable. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Medical records and a 10-min phone survey that included a series of yes/no and short open-ended questions. <h3>Results</h3> Logistic regressions indicated a significant association between child factors and 1) referral to services at hospital discharge (p = .004) and 2) caregiver-reported long-term need for special education services (met and unmet; p = .009). The models for caregiver-reported receipt of education on ABI and caregiver-reported unmet need for special education were not significant. For both significant models, there were no significant individual predictors, but some factors appear to have stronger associations than others. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Differences in acute and long-term service provision and need after childhood ABI are likely influenced by a complex interaction of individual, injury, and social-environmental factors. Future research should consider how healthcare and education practice and policy might account for these interactions to support more equitable access to and utilization of services to improve long-term outcomes for all children with ABI. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> Jessica Salley Riccardi and Jennifer Lundine have no financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.

Analysis Of The Pattern Of Education For Persons With Disabilities In Law Number 20 Of 2003 Concerning The National Education System

Inclusive education has many different meanings and interpretations. There is still some uncertainty about the difference between inclusive and special education for individuals with disabilities, sometimes known as special schools (SLB). Meanwhile, the term inclusive education is not known in the National Education System Law, which uses the term "special education and special services," which is explained in Article 32 of Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System: (i) Special education is education for students who have difficulty levels. Participating in the learning process due to physical, emotional, mental, social, intellectual potential and special talents. (ii) Special service education is education for students in remote or underdeveloped areas, remote indigenous peoples, and experiencing natural disasters, social disasters, and economically disadvantaged. This research's problem approaches are conceptual, statutory, and case approaches. Based on this, we found that the ambiguity of norms affects the pattern of providing education for persons with disabilities, namely the dualism of providing education for persons with disabilities with a special and inclusive approach which has an impact on legal uncertainty in norms, concepts and implementation.

The hidden (overlooked) impact of living through a pandemic: How parents of children with disabilities fared during COVID-19?

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of families of children with disabilities and the mediating roles of perceived social support, perceived parental self-efficacy, psychological health, psychological resilience, and perceived family burden on this relationship.BackgroundChildren with disabilities and their families are among the most affected populations from the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus, as the special education and rehabilitation services they had been receiving were interrupted.MethodA correlational survey design was used to collect data from 824 parents of children with disabilities in Turkey. Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on family quality of life.ResultsResults indicated that COVID-19 had a significant total effect on family quality of life and perceived social support, parental self-efficacy and psychological resilience had a mediating role on the relationship between impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and family quality of life. Perceived social support was found to the strongest mediator of the relationship between the impact of COVID-19 and the family quality of life, while perceived family burden did not have a statistically significant association with these variables.ConclusionFamily quality of life for children with disabilities decreased as the impact of COVID-19 pandemic increased. Perceived social support, parental self-efficacy and psychological resilience had mediating roles in the relationship between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and family quality of life.ImplicationsCOVID-19 has resulted in disruption of special education and rehabilitation services for children with disabilities and their families. Changes in daily routines have brought up additional responsibilities to parents of children with disabilities. These additional responsibilities may adversely affect and increase the burden and stress families of children with disabilities experience. The high levels of stress in families negatively affect the welfare and quality of life and result in decreased parental attention to support their children. Findings of this study show the mediating link of perceived social support, parental self-efficacy and psychological resilience in the relationship between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and family quality of life. Policymakers and service providers should develop and implement specific care actions to support children with disabilities and their families during and after the pandemic.

Effects of COVID-19 on children with autism.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects all countries and populations worldwide, significantly impacting people with autism with a high risk of morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Approximately 25% of children with autism have an asymptomatic or symptomatic immune deficiency or dysfunction. In addition, they frequently have various comorbid conditions that increase the severity of COVID-19. In addition, severe COVID-19 during pregnancy may increase the risk of autism in the offspring. Furthermore, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 could target human nervous system tissues due to its neurotrophic effects. The COVID-19 pandemic intensely impacts many patients and families in the autism community, especially the complex management of autism-associated disorders during the complete lockdown. During the complete lockdown, children with autism had difficulties coping with the change in their routine, lack of access to special education services, limited physical space available, and problems related to food and sleep. Additionally, children with autism or intellectual disabilities are more liable to be abused by others during the pandemic when the standard community supports are no longer functioning to protect them. Early detection and vaccination of children with autism against COVID-19 are highly indicated. They should be prioritized for testing, vaccination, and proper management of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss the various effects of COVID-19 on children with autism, the difficulties they face, the increased risk of infection during pregnancy, how to alleviate the impact of COVID-19, and how to correct the inequalities in children with autism.

Understanding the impacts of floods on learning quality, school facilities, and educational recovery in Indonesia.

This research is among the first pieces of work to use the comprehensive school safety (CSS) framework to assess the impacts of floods on quality learning and education infrastructure. The CSS framework is employed here to identify the level of disruption to education services following floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2013. The paper poses three key questions, concerning: (i) disruption to children's access to quality education during the flood emergency in 2013 and the early recovery phase; (ii) the impact of the floods on a school's physical infrastructure; and (iii) the effectiveness and level of success of the 2013 flood responses by relevant stakeholders. Combining quantitative and qualitative strategies, the paper examines the experiences of 100 schools in Jakarta. The findings suggest that the CSS framework offers a more nuanced approach to assessing post-disaster education needs. Moreover, it is also relevant for examining the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and relative losses in the education sector.

Cognitive profiles of students with hearing loss as a pathway for differentiated instruction

"Hearing loss can disrupt a child’s cognitive abilities and academic growth in areas such as reading, writing, math, social studies, and sciences. Yet educational interventions to enhance the cognitive performance of students with hearing loss remain uncertain because researchers have not holistically mapped the cognitive profiles of this opulation. The goal of the study was to compare the cognitive profiles of elementary, middle, and high school students with hearing loss to determine typical patterns of cognition. The participants included diagnosticians in a targeted school district who responded to a survey about the cognitive profiles of students with hearing loss who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The study employed heat maps to visually chart the strengths and weaknesses of the sample and render the results accessible to general practitioners. The findings of this study revealed that almost all students in the population were functioning in he below-average to average range on all cognitive abilities. Patterns of performance indicated that if a student scored below average on one cognitive ability, they likely performed below average on the other cognitive abilities. The study indicates that interventions should be designed to address each student’s individual profile. "

The Effects of Community Preschool Characteristics on Developmental Outcomes for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study examined factors associated with 9-month outcomes of 78 preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder ([ASD]; 66 males, mean age = 44.8 [7.0] months) receiving preschool special education services. Use of recommended intervention practices was observed in each student’s primary educational setting: autism-only ( n = 28), mixed-disability ( n = 25), and general early education ( n = 25). Recommended practice use across setting types and developmental changes were compared using generalized estimating equations. Autism-only settings had the highest implementation of classroom structure, classroom environment, and curriculum and instruction. General early education had greater implementation of practices to support social and peer relationships. Supporting social and peer relationships was the largest predictor of gains, controlling for setting type; the association was greater for children with lower initial receptive language or developmental skills. These findings highlight the importance of supporting and promoting peer engagement in students with ASD across preschool placement types.

Special education teacher’s need of alternative teaching materials for distance learning for students with special needs

Teachers play an essential role in developing material for distance learning for students with special needs, fulfilling the practical principle, flexibility, the ability to accommodate the learning requirements, and the ability to ease students to understand the material through independent learning. However, many obstacles still hinder teachers in the execution. Through a survey of 115 special education teachers in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, this study is aimed at describing teachers' needs in developing distance learning material from the aspect of physical forms, teaching material delivery, and obstacles faced by teachers. The data were obtained through an open questionnaire and analyzed with a descriptive quantitative approach. In addition, the data were presented with presentations, figures, and narrative interpretations. The result shows that 87% of teachers require learning material in the form of a module, and 93.81% of teachers require teaching material content about understanding the concept of daily activities for students' independence. Teaching materials in the form of practical activities delivered with colored pictures are required by 16.28% of teachers. 23.33% of teachers are faced with obstacles to accommodating the diversity of students' characteristic conditions and learning needs. In conclusion, distance learning management and teaching material development to ease students with special needs in learning is an urgent matter in special education services. In addition, it requires preparation through teacher competency improvement.

Rural educational leader perceptions of online learning for students with and without disabilities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the temporary closing of many brick and mortar school buildings in fall 2020 while substantially changing the delivery of instruction for students with and without disabilities in rural schools. This article describes the qualitative results of an online study completed between August 2020 and October 2020 that investigated rural educational leaders’ perceptions of the use of online instructional technologies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rural educational leaders also shared how special education services were delivered and how parents felt about their children’s learning. The early school year in fall 2020 was a critical period for rural educational leaders as they were managing persistent and evolving issues related to providing quality educational opportunities to all students. This article provides a unique portrait of that crucial moment for educators, students, and parents.

Parent perspectives on student IEP involvement

As key members of the Individualised Education Program (IEP) team and strong child advocates, parents play a critical role in special education. In this study, we sought to understand a crucial, yet underexamined, aspect of special education – parent perceptions regarding student participation in IEP development. Specifically, we asked parents how schools could better support student involvement in the IEP process, including IEP meetings. Participants included 646 parents of students with disabilities aged 5–21 years currently receiving special education services across the United States. Constant comparative analysis was used to code data. Qualitative coding revealed four major themes, including: (1) promoting an active student role, (2) supportive school staff, (3) making changes to IEP meetings and (4) considerations and concerns regarding student participation. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Latina Mothers of Young Children With Special Needs: Personal Narratives Capturing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Latino community has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unique challenges. This paper explores the lived experiences of five Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of young children receiving early childhood special education (ECSE) services during the pandemic. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) What barriers have Spanish-speaking Latino families encountered in ECSE service delivery during this pandemic? (2) How have families overcome those barriers? Latina mothers describe how despite encountering numerous barriers to ECSE service delivery during the pandemic, they also experienced key areas of support and strength. We discuss how ECSE professionals can leverage these sources of support and strength in a culturally responsive manner to better support the Latino community through the pandemic. By presenting interviews with Latina mothers, this paper offers a unique interpretation of their experience which is often left out of educational research.