Typically-developing Students Research Articles

Cognitive correlates of math abilities in autism spectrum disorder.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the contribution of different cognitive processes to specific math abilities in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) students. The study involved a group of students with ASD without intellectual disabilities (n = 26) and a group with TD students (n = 52). The two groups aged from six to 20 years old and were matched for age, sex ratio and visuospatial reasoning. To assess math abilities, four math tasks were administered: arithmetic facts, mental calculation, mathematical inferences and math problem solving. Concerning cognitive processes, participants were tested on vocabulary, verbal working memory, visuospatial working memory, response inhibition and interference control. The group with ASD showed lower scores on all specific math measures than the TD group; cognitive processes differently contributed to diverse math abilities, and vocabulary and verbal working memory were stronger associated to specific math abilities in the group with ASD than in the TD group. The current results suggest that students with ASD had lower math abilities that are generalized to different math tasks. Implications for research and clinical assessment and intervention were discussed.

텍스트 제시 유형에 따른 초등학교 2학년 발달성 난독 학생과 일반 학생의 읽기유창성 특성

Objectives Reading fluency is an important factor that connects decoding ability and reading comprehension ability. Given that fluent reading is essential for language classes in lower grades of elementary school in Korea, it is necessary to support not only the decoding ability but also student’s reading fluency. This study investigated the differences in reading fluency ability of two groups of children according to text presentation types.
 Methods Thirteen students with developmental dyslexia(DYS) and 13 typically developing students(TD) read two types of decodable texts, sentence-broken type and general type. Reading accuracy, speed and prosody were measured.
 Results DYS revealed lower accuracy and prosody scores than TD, while there were no differences in accuracy and prosody according to text presentation type. DYS took longer time to finish reading texts than TD, while only DYS took longer time to read general type text than sentence-broken type text.
 Conclusions When presenting a text that is decodable to a certain extent to DYS, the text presentation type didn’t seem to matter for reading accuracy, although reading speed was influenced by the presentation type. It seems very important to consider the visuo-spatial presentation format as well as the decodability of the texts to support DYS’s reading fluency meaningfully.

Homework Stress and Learning Disability: The Role of Parental Shame, Guilt, and Need Frustration

AbstractUsing a cross‐sectional design, this study examined the relationships between parental guilt, shame, need frustration, and homework stress in students with learning disabilities (LD) and typically developing students (TD) and their parents. One hundred and eight parent‐child dyads (54 LD, 54 TD) completed questionnaires to assess homework stress, parental need frustration, guilt, and shame. Parents of students with LD reported more stress, need frustration, shame, and guilt than parents of TD students. For the LD group, shame mediated the association between parental need frustration and parental and child stress whereas guilt mediated the association between parental need frustration and parental stress. The theoretical and practical implications for lessening homework stress for students with LD and their parents are discussed.

Improving Vocabulary in English as a Foreign Language among Students with Dyslexia Using Hybrid Technology

The study investigates the effect of hybrid technology (HT), which combine physical objects and virtual effects, on learning receptive-vocabulary in English as a foreign-language (EFL) among students with dyslexia. Participants included 106 students aged 9–12. The students with dyslexia were randomly divided into intervention groups that used either HT (the Osmo™ app) or traditional technology (TT; a PowerPoint presentation). The typically developing (TD) students served as a control group. Pre-intervention scores on an English vocabulary test were significantly higher among TD students, nevertheless did not differ between HT and TT groups. Post-intervention scores were significantly higher among students with dyslexia in the HT group compared to the TT group. Test scores decreased significantly 2 weeks post-intervention in both intervention groups, yet were significantly higher in the HT group. Moreover, no significant differences were found post-intervention and 2 weeks post-intervention between the HT and TD groups. The explained variance of the test showed that the score and the English achievements at school contributed to explaining the differences in test scores, consistent at the three assessments points. Results illustrate the positive effect of HT on achievements of students with dyslexia, thus exposing EFL and special needs teachers to an advantageous tool.

Segment-Unit Reading Comprehension Training for Japanese Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Disabilities

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities (LDs) often experience reading difficulties. In particular, reading long passages can cause comprehension problems. We examined whether 8 Japanese students with ASD, 7 students with LDs, and 13 typically developing (TD) students improved their reading comprehension through two types of repeated reading training: whole-sentence-unit reading (WSUR) training and segment-unit reading (SUR) training. Participants undergoing WSUR training read whole sentences repeatedly. In SUR training, they repeatedly read a segment of a sentence in its correct spatial location. Results indicated that students with ASD and LDs showed greater improvement in reading comprehension after SUR training than after WSUR training, whereas both procedures were equally effective for TD students. Moreover, students with ASD showed only negligible reading comprehension improvements, whereas students with LDs showed intermediate improvements after WSUR training. These results suggest that sequentially presenting word segments can improve the reading comprehension of students with ASD and specific LDs.

The suitability of dual language education for diverse students

Abstract Extensive research has evaluated the effectiveness of dual language (DL) programs in Canada and the U.S. The majority of that research has focused on typically-developing students who represent the majority ethnolinguistic group in the broader community. This article reviews research on the suitability of DL forms of education for students with diverse backgrounds and, in particular, students with personal, familial, or ethnolinguistic characteristics that are often associated with underachievement in school. The review begins by examining research evidence that speaks to young leaners’ capacity for learning more than one language during early stages of development. It then presents evidence from research that has examined the effectiveness of DL forms of education for diverse learners. Extant evidence indicates that young learners have the capacity to learn more than one language without jeopardizing their development and that DL education is suitable and effective for students with diverse characteristics.

Introduction of Indian Sign Language in Inclusive Education

Purpose: The predominant mode of human communication is speech, and whenever it is hindered, humans resort to the tactile-kinaesthetic mode. Use of sign language by persons with speech-hearing impairments is a classic example of such adaptation. The Demonstration School at the Regional Institute of Education in Mysuru, South India, undertook training of typically-developing students in Indian Sign Language (ISL), so as to facilitate communication and instruction of students with hearing impairment who are in mainstream learning environments. Method: Training in ISL was imparted to140 typically-developing students in higher primary classes. Twenty-four 40-minute sessions were conducted over a month. After theoretical orientation in logical bases of manual communication, practical training commenced with elementary manual alphabets, progressed through essential daily-life vocabulary necessary to construct simple sentences and carry out general conversations, and culminated in signing the Indian National Anthem. Results: Typically-developing students gained primary benefits such as improved awareness about non-verbal communication modes, mastery of basic skills in ISL, and positive attitudes towards sign languages. Conclusion: The UNCRPD 2006 authorises sign language as the linguistic identity of the Deaf, and encourages the use of sign language in learning environments. Future research should add to the findings on secondary benefits in the form of scholastic and sociometric advantages derived by students with hearing impairments who receive instructions in sign language in mainstream learning environments.

Writing and Revision Strategies of Students With and Without Dyslexia

Previous work suggests that written text produced by university students with dyslexia is scored lower than that produced by their peers. The present study used a digital writing tablet to examine the writing process and the quality of text written by university students with dyslexia. Revision behavior during and after writing was also investigated. Thirty-two university students with dyslexia (mean age, 20 years), were compared with 32 typically developing (TD) students matched by age. Students composed a written text in response to an expository essay prompt. In line with previous research, students with dyslexia made a higher number of spelling errors and their essays were rated as poorer than TD students. However, students with dyslexia were comparable to their peers on measures of time spent writing, amount of text produced, and the temporal analyses (handwriting execution, pause times). Students with dyslexia made significantly more revisions to spelling during and after transcription than their peers, although other revision behavior was similar across groups. Explanations for the finding of poor writing quality are explored. Importantly, the findings suggest that continued support with spelling and writing is needed for university students with dyslexia. Instruction directed toward effective revision strategies may also prove useful. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Teacher Professional Development and Student Reading Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects

Research-based instruction is necessary to support students’ reading development, and professional development (PD) is a critical avenue to ensuring high-quality instructional practices. To date, there has been no comprehensive review focused on the effects of teacher PD on student reading achievement. As such, the purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the impact of teacher PD on reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. A secondary aim was to determine whether study, program, or participant characteristics were potential moderators of these effects. A comprehensive search of published and unpublished research between 1975 and 2017 resulted in 28 studies that met prescribed criteria. Results indicate that teacher PD has a moderate and significant, positive average effect on reading achievement. However, moderator analyses did not explain the variance in the effects of PD on student outcomes. Primarily, studies represented typically-developing students in the elementary grades, with only three studies including middle school students and four studies including reading outcomes of students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. Recommendations for improved study designs that allow for more in-depth investigation of the characteristics of effective PD and mechanisms of change in student outcomes are discussed.

Unknown, Unloved? Teachers\u2019 Reported Use and Effectiveness of Classroom Management Strategies for Students with Symptoms of ADHD

BackgroundEffectiveness studies indicate various classroom management strategies (CMSs) that are helpful for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but little is known about teachers’ experiences with these CMSs in school practice.ObjectiveThis study examined primary and secondary school teachers’ reported frequency of use and the perceived effectiveness of evidence-based CMSs for students with symptoms of ADHD.MethodDutch primary (n = 89) and secondary (n = 51) school teachers completed a survey in which they reported how often they use and how effective they experience several CMSs for students with ADHD symptoms. The frequency of use of CMSs was also rated for typically developing (TD) students.ResultsTeachers reported applying antecedent-based CMSs most often and self-regulation CMSs least often, which was in accordance with the perceived effectiveness of these types of CMSs. Primary school teachers applied antecedent-based CMSs more often for students with ADHD symptoms than for TD students, whereas secondary school teachers did not adapt their use of CMSs especially for such students. Secondary school teachers with a more positive attitude towards ADHD reported that they use CMSs more frequently for students with ADHD symptoms. Other teacher characteristics did not play a significant role.ConclusionTeachers’ reported frequency of use and the perceived effectiveness of CMSs for students with ADHD symptoms do not conform to evidence-based effectiveness. Regarding the use of CMSs, secondary school teachers generally do not provide additional support for students with ADHD symptoms. These findings have important implications for the provision of adequate teacher training.

School inclusion of children with intellectual disability: An intervention program

ABSTRACT Background: This study evaluated the impact of a structured 10-didactic units intervention on promoting the school inclusion of elementary school students with intellectual disability (ID). Method: The intervention was devised for 152 Italian typically developing (TD) elementary school students that were randomly assigned to the experimental (EG) or to the control (CG) group. Specifically, we examined the positive and negative social behaviours that took place in naturalistic class settings between TD students and their classmates with ID and the positive and negative peer sociometric nominations that children with ID received from their TD classmates. Results: At post-test, the children with ID included in the classes randomly assigned to the EG, received more positive sociometric nominations and social behaviours than peers with ID of the CG, and adopted more positive behaviours towards TD peers. Conclusions: The study highlighted the potential of the intervention to promote the school inclusion of students with ID.

School refusal behaviour: Are children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder at a higher risk?

School refusal behaviour in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is poorly studied despite being considered a serious problem. This study assessed the frequency, duration, and expression of school refusal behaviour in students with ASD, aged 9–16 years, without intellectual disability. Further, the associations between school refusal behaviour and sociodemographic factors were explored. Teachers and parents assessed this behaviour over 20days in a cross-sectional study of 216 students, including 78 students with ASD and 138 typically developing (TD) students. School refusal behaviour was significantly higher in students with ASD as compared to TD students. Significant associations were found between school refusal behaviour and illness of other family members. The study concludes that school refusal behaviour is pervasive in students with ASD.

Comparing Students With and Without Reading Difficulties on Reading Comprehension Assessments: A Meta-Analysis

Researchers have increasingly investigated sources of variance in reading comprehension test scores, particularly with students with reading difficulties (RD). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine if the achievement gap between students with RD and typically developing (TD) students varies as a function of different reading comprehension response formats (e.g., multiple choice, cloze). A systematic literature review identified 82 eligible studies. All studies administered reading comprehension assessments to students with RD and TD students in Grades K–12. Hedge’s g standardized mean difference effect sizes were calculated, and random effects robust variance estimation techniques were used to aggregate average weighted effect sizes for each response format. Results indicated that the achievement gap between students with RD and TD students was larger for some response formats (e.g., picture selection ES g = −1.80) than others (e.g., retell ES g = −0.60). Moreover, for multiple-choice, cloze, and open-ended question response formats, single-predictor metaregression models explored potential moderators of heterogeneity in effect sizes. No clear patterns, however, emerged in regard to moderators of heterogeneity in effect sizes across response formats. Findings suggest that the use of different response formats may lead to variability in the achievement gap between students with RD and TD students.

Associated effects of automated essay evaluation software on growth in writing quality for students with and without disabilities

The present study examined growth in writing quality associated with feedback provided by an automated essay evaluation system called PEG Writing. Equal numbers of students with disabilities (SWD) and typically-developing students (TD) matched on prior writing achievement were sampled (n = 1196 total). Data from a subsample of students (n = 655) was used to investigate evidence of transfer to improved first-draft performance on a follow up writing prompt. Three-level hierarchical linear modeling was used. Findings indicated that SWD produced first drafts of lesser quality than TD students, but grew at a faster rate and were able to close the gap in writing quality after five revisions. However, these effects were moderated by school quality and the availability of internet-connected devices in schools. There was no evidence of transfer for either group of students. Results document a positive association between the use of PEG Writing and growth in writing quality for SWD, and underscore the importance of having sufficient technology resources for maximizing this growth.

Participant Roles in Bullying Among Dutch Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study investigated whether participant roles (i.e., bully, assistant, follower, defender, outsider, victim) identified in bullying among normative groups of adolescents educated in regular education could also be found among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) educated in special education classrooms. Relationships between the participant roles and three social status measures (social preference, social impact, and popularity) were also examined. There were 260 Dutch adolescents with ASD, ages 12–18 (M = 13.75, SD = 1.42; 224 boys, 36 girls), and 743 Dutch typically developing (TD) adolescents, ages 11–17 (M = 13.41, SD = 1.24; 380 boys, 363 girls) who filled out questionnaires during classroom testing sessions conducted by the first author and trained (under)graduate students. Participant roles could be distinguished, although role distributions differed across groups and across sexes. There were more outsiders and defenders, and fewer followers among boys with ASD than among TD boys. Among girls with ASD, there were more victims than among TD girls. Students with ASD could more often be assigned multiple roles and were less often uninvolved than TD students. The relationships between participant roles and social status measures also differed across groups and across sexes. Whereas bullying is considered a universal social phenomenon, the existence of participant roles in bullying situations might be considered universal, as well. Apparently, the social difficulties of students with ASD do not seem to prevent them from taking on various participant roles in bullying situations. Additional practical implications are discussed.

Physical activity during the segmented school day in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorders

The purpose of this study was to assess the intensity of physical activity (PA) that secondary school-aged students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) students exert during a school day, and to compare the percentages of students achieving the recommended guidelines between groups. The PA of 60 male students (ASD, n=30; TD, n=30) was recorded every 10s for up to 5 school days by performing uniaxial accelerometry. The main results are listed as follows: (a) daily PA was significantly lower among the students with ASD than among the TD students; (b) students with ASD spent significantly lower proportion of their time in moderate PA than TD students did during physical education (PE), recess, and lunchtime; and (c) fewer students with ASD than TD students achieved the PA guidelines during the school day and PE time. Schools should increase PA opportunities across the school day.

Contribution of equal-sign instruction beyond word-problem tutoring for third-grade students with mathematics difficulty.

Elementary school students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as an operational rather than a relational symbol. Such misunderstanding is problematic because solving equations with missing numbers may be important for higher-order mathematics skills including word problems. Research indicates equal-sign instruction can alter how typically-developing students use the equal sign, but no study has examined effects for students with mathematics difficulty (MD) or how equal-sign instruction contributes to word-problem skill for students with or without MD. The present study assessed the efficacy of equal-sign instruction within word-problem tutoring. Third-grade students with MD (n = 80) were assigned to word-problem tutoring, word-problem tutoring plus equal-sign instruction (combined) tutoring, or no-tutoring control. Combined tutoring produced better improvement on equal sign tasks and open equations compared to the other 2 conditions. On certain forms of word problems, combined tutoring but not word-problem tutoring alone produced better improvement than control. When compared at posttest to 3(rd)-grade students without MD on equal sign tasks and open equations, only combined tutoring students with MD performed comparably.

Evaluation of a Computer-Based Program on the Reading Performance of First Grade Students with Potential for Reading Failure

This study investigated the effects of a software-based early reading program on the early reading abilities of first grade students with disabilities or who had potential for reading failure. Balanced reading instruction was the instructional approach because of increasing evidence that effective reading instruction must strike a balance between opportunities to read and write connected text and instruction in word identification (including phonics/decoding instruction). The study included students from inclusive classrooms in six different states and was conducted during the 1998–1999 school year. Students in the experimental group evidenced a wide range of disabilities, but shared a common and identifiable problem with early literacy knowledge and skills. A group of typically-developing students served as the criterion group for the study. The results indicated that all the within-subjects main effects were statistically significant at an alpha of .01, and the test-by-group interactions were statistically significant for all measures except for two subtests. A perspective on the significant gains of the students in the experimental group and the need for additional research of longer duration is discussed.