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166
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
July 2012 - present
July 2010 - July 2012
January 2004 - December 2006
Publications
Publications (166)
Before implementing individualized interventions for students exhibiting challenging behaviors, special education teachers must be equipped to assess behavioral functions. however, many school personnel have been found to be unprepared to conduct evidence-based functional behavioral assessments (FBA). this situation highlights a potential gap in pr...
This cautionary article urges general education preschool teachers to evaluate their responses to challenging student behavior. The manuscript delivers practical advice to improve teachers' responses to challenging behavior by refreshing their understanding of the various consequences that influence behavior recurrence. It highlights the need to av...
The experiences of special education teachers in Saudi Arabia are quite different from the experiences of their counterparts from other countries as they work in a unique culture and educational system. The educational system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated, and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education (MoE) provides an equal budget, salaries,...
Early childhood teachers receive some training related to overall classroom management but report receiving little training and support when working with children who engage in challenging behaviour. To alleviate the barriers to supporting students who engage in challenging behaviour, it may be helpful to implement a technology tool that provides e...
Caregivers of autistic children in low-to-middle-income countries experience many barriers to access resources to support their child's development. Caregiver training is considered an evidence-based practice and may be a cost-effective way to support caregivers of autistic children in such settings. This study focuses on the cultural adaptation of...
Autism is a lifelong condition characterized by repetitive and restrictive behaviors and differences in social communication. The reported prevalence of autism has risen exponentially in the past years. Early identification and subsequent early intervention are key to promoting better outcomes for autistic individuals. However, there is a dearth of...
This review aimed to (a) identify gaze metrics and behavioral assessments used in eye-tracking studies investigating social
communication skills of young autistic children and (b) examine the reported correlation between gaze behaviors and social
communication skills. We conducted a systematic search process following the PRISMA statement. A total...
Autistic children from heritage-language-speaking homes in the United States are a growing group that would benefit from tailored support that honors their linguistic heritage. Bilingual autistic adults share benefits of their bilingualism abilities and report childhood learning environments as necessary for facilitating language learning or mainte...
Autistic children from Spanish-speaking homes are part of a growing group of children at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Research suggests a “bilingual advantage” exists, similar to that experienced by neurotypical bilingual children, and autistic adults report positive social outcomes due to being bilingual. However, much les...
This meta-analysis examined correlations between eye-tracking measures of gaze behaviors manifested during dynamic salient social stimuli and behavioral assessment measures of social communication skills of young autistic children. We employed a multilevel model with random effects to perform three separate meta-analyses for correlation between soc...
In this convergent parallel mixed-methods study, we investigated the early impact of the COVID-19 stay-at-home mandate in Illinois on 16 caregivers of children with autism. Our goal was to understand contributors to caregivers’ stress by integrating qualitative and quantitative data. Through a joint display, we explored the intricate relationship b...
Students with mental health needs, behavioral support needs, and/or emotional disturbance can engage in internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, or both. Preservice and induction phase elementary general education teachers are reported to have limited education in providing evidence-based behavior management strategies, especially for stud...
Teachers in the induction phase (i.e., the first 3 years of teaching) can be underprepared to support students who engage in challenging behavior. This can be due to limited preservice education and ongoing professional development in behavior management. Yet, students who engage in challenging behavior are at an increased risk of being referred to...
This study examined caregivers' lived experiences during the initial weeks of stay-at-home mandates within the unique socio-cultural and healthcare context of the United States.To learn about the experiences of caregivers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted seventeen semi-structured interviewswith caregivers of young chil...
Preparing special education preservice teachers (PTs) to serve students with autism includes understanding theoretical foundations of teaching strategies and developing competency in applying the resulting knowledge and strategies within teaching settings. The current pilot study explored the Internet-Based Parent-implemented Communication Strategi...
Speech-language pathologists are familiar with eligibility criteria for school-based special education services under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In order for children with speech and language disorders to be eligible for services, they need to fit one of the thirteen categories of disabilities. However, these 13 categori...
Autistic children from heritage-language-speaking homes in the United States are a growing group that would benefit from tailored support that honors their linguistic heritage. Bilingual autistic adults share benefits of their bilingualism abilities and report childhood learning environments as necessary for facilitating language learning or mainte...
Compassionate care is integral to forming positive, collaborative relationships with caregivers. The field of behavior analysis has identified a need to integrate compassionate care into professional development and service provision practices. Taylor and colleagues (2019) proposed core skills with operationally defined subskills to teach compassio...
Students who engage in challenging behavior should receive preventive and intervening supports and services in general education settings based on their individual needs. These supports are necessary for students to be successful in school, yet preservice teachers receive limited education and training in both classroom and behavior management. As...
Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are considered one of the best practices for autistic children and their families. Most NDBIs include a component of providing training and/or coaching to caregivers to enhance skill acquisition and generalization. The procedures to implement these NDBIs are often clearly delineated in man...
Background
Students with behavioral support needs are educated in elementary classrooms daily. However, teachers receive limited training to support students, resulting in limited preventative and intervention services for such students. It is currently unclear what types of training preservice and inservice teachers receive, their perceptions of s...
The practice of coaching caregivers requires early intervention (EI) providers to build relationships using compassionate care while implementing coaching practices to increase outcomes for caregivers and children. Coaching with compassion is highly valued and studied within other disciplines, yet investigations focused on interpersonal skills with...
Cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions for children with developmental disabilities, including autism, is an effective way to increase the effectiveness and sustainment of intervention effects. Such uptake of interventions is especially needed for communities of marginalized and minoritized populations. However, there have been very li...
Active duty military families have unique life experiences that can affect individual members and also the family as a whole. While many benefits to the military lifestyle exist, previous research has described how children of active duty military families may also be more at-risk for emotional and academic difficulties as a result of parent absenc...
The transition to kindergarten (TTK) occurs at a stage in a child’s development when it can have a direct impact on later school success. For children with disabilities, TTK may be especially challenging, and federal policy provides limited guidance and mandates related to use of practices to support children with disabilities and their familes. Th...
The extent to which people maintain new skills and generalize those skills to new contexts without support are two aspects of intervention research that can be difficult to examine, especially over a sustained period of time and across a variety of contexts. In past research, we have explored teaching parents and caregivers to implement evidence-ba...
Parents of autistic children have historically reported hardships related to raising their children. However, the access to resources related to the childrearing of an autistic child is not equitable, therefore resulting in exacerbated difficulties for parents in low-resource settings. In these situations, peer support may be a protective factor fo...
Effective support for children with developmental disabilities or delays is dependent on the successful collaboration between families and professionals and among professionals. For years, researchers and professionals have been coaching caregivers and other professionals to implement evidence-based practices with children with disabilities. Howeve...
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a training and coaching program aimed to increase the use of the aided language modeling (ALM) strategy by siblings to support the social interactions of children with disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in the natural environment.
Method
A sing...
Many students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) engage in challenging behavior on a daily basis. Such behaviors can have negative impacts on students, teachers, and families. In an effort to support students with EBD, this article provides general and special education teachers with a five-step process for teaching replacement behaviors...
Cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions for children with developmental disabilities, including autism, is an effective way to increase the effectiveness and sustainment of intervention effects. Such uptake of interventions is especially needed for communities of marginalized and minoritized populations. However, there have been very li...
Purpose of Review
Parent-implemented autism interventions are considered empirically validated interventions and the use of telepractice in these interventions is reported as effective. However, little is known about the social validity assessments and outcomes of these interventions. The purpose of this review is to explore the current practices o...
The transition to kindergarten can be a memorable, yet stressful time for children and families. For children with disabilities and their caregivers, the transition to kindergarten can be especially difficult due to changes in environment, supports, and services that occur as part of the transition. The purpose of this article is to highlight speci...
Background
Parent-implemented interventions are reported to have positive outcomes for both children with autism and their parents. Online parent training and coaching have been increasingly used as an effective alternative or supplemental to traditional face-to-face services, especially after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this...
Caregivers from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds perceive and work to prevent challenging behavior exhibited by their children with disabilities in various ways. However, limited research has been conducted with caregivers across racially and ethnically diverse groups, to explore the parenting practices and preventative strategies used w...
Lay abstract:
Prevalence of autism is increasing all around the globe, but there is still great inequity in accessing evidence-based interventions. Although the field of autism research has made great strides in identifying and establishing evidence-based interventions, dissemination and implementation of these interventions have been reported as...
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a challenge in early intervention that the field has struggled for decades to adequately address: How do we implement evidence-based practices remotely while maintaining fidelity for the vast array of early intervention services? This is the core question that investigators sought to address in this Special Issue o...
Family-centered capacity-building practices have been shown to benefit children and families. However, limited research explores these practices for children who use augmentative and alternative communication. This study explored an intervention to teach family members to implement an Aided Language Modeling (ALM) strategy across natural activities...
Preschoolers and kindergarteners demonstrate rapid growth and change in motor skills, socio-emotional (SE) skills, and academic performance. Data on 250 children with disabilities (CWD) and 250 typically developing children (TDC) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) data set were analyzed to explore the relation between...
Challenging behaviors interfere with children's learning, prosocial interactions,
and family dynamics. Parents may benefit from receiving training in
behavioral principles to prevent and reduce challenging behaviors, especially
in low-resourced communities where services are scarce and scattered. This
study implemented an adapted online training on...
NCPEID Feature Article
Yang, H. W., Ostrosky, M. M., Meadan, H., & Cheung, W. C. (2022) Teaching Fundamental Motor Skills to Preschoolers with Disabilities or Developmental Delays: A Systematic Review. Palaestra, 36(1), 42-50.
Children with disabilities can have access to a variety of learning opportunities via motor play. Researchers have emphasi...
Purpose
The purpose of this review article was to (a) scope the literature related to coaching caregivers of children with autism to provide an overview of current practices for assessment and intervention conducted via telepractice in collaboration with caregivers and (b) examine commonly reported challenges related to telepractice and potential s...
The transition from Early Intervention (EI) to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) is a stressful time for caregivers of children with disabilities. Existing literature has provided some insights into the challenges parents face during the EI to ECSE transition. However, to date there is no existing summary of the literature in this area despi...
Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) exhibit challenging behaviors and social skills delays that can interfere with their ability to build relationships. Intervening early (e.g., in elementary school) can prevent short- and long-term consequences of these challenging behaviors. General educators serve as the primary educator of th...
Parents of children with autism in low-resource settings have reported exacerbated difficulties related to raising their children. In this single-case research using multiple probe design, four parent mentors and five parent peers and their children with autism in Mongolia participated in the parent peer coaching program. The intervention package,...
Challenging behavior exhibited by young children with neurodevelopmental disabilities is known to negatively affect their optimal development and families’ quality of life. Although some support exists for English-speaking parents of children with autism who live in high-resource countries, it is scarce for others. Such disparity may also be height...
Challenging behaviors exhibited by young children negatively affect development and may also prevent children from receiving appropriate education. These behaviors may also hinder positive family interactions and have a significant impact on parents and other family members. Although various parent training approaches exist to increase parents' cap...
Children in early childhood classrooms (i.e., preschool through early elementary) who engage in persistent challenging behaviors often show social-emotional delays and are at risk for grade retention, referral to intervention or special education, and long-term educational and societal consequences. The social-emotional delays children with persist...
Challenging behavior (CB) is a common occurrence in early childhood and frequently occurs in young children with disabilities. CB is also culturally perceived and includes differences in how caregivers understand and define the topography of CB. Despite the cultural interpretation, CB is known to impact the child and their family but there has been...
Adequately addressing the needs of families who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) goes beyond the simple translation of materials and supports. Some researchers have suggested use of a cultural adaptation framework or process to help determine what adaptations should be made to an intervention to make it culturally responsive. The pur...
Many students with autism have difficulties engaging with their classroom environments and forming friendships, which are mostly affected by deficits in social, communication, and motor skills. The Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS, 2000) data set was used, focusing on elementary age students with autism, to explore the longitu...
Although it is well-documented that families of children with autism in developed nations report hardships, few researchers have focused on families who live in less-developed, low-resource settings. Using five focus groups with 30 parents of children with autism in Mongolia, a low- resource setting, the purpose of this study was to provide detaile...
Education initiatives emphasize the need to use evidence-based practices (EBPs) in general and special education classrooms. To ensure effective teaching it is essential that teachers gain knowledge of EBPs and implement these practices with fidelity. Ongoing changes in teacher training programs (TTPs) such as the reduction in field experience hour...
The ways caregivers perceive and respond to challenging behavior (CB) could depend, in part, on their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Yet, limited research is available on the definitions, perceptions, and response strategies of CB across cultural groups, particularly among caregivers of young children with disabilities. In this exploratory multim...
As a global health concern, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is known to affect millions of people regardless of their demographics. Children with ASD and their families in many low-resource settings (LRS) around the globe are reported to experience a multitude of barriers. Parent-mediated interventions (PMI) may be a viable treatment model in these...
The importance of family engagement in their children’s education and treatment is emphasized by researchers, professional organizations, and legislatures. Providing services with caregivers via telepractice has gained more support and is becoming especially timely due to the current pandemic and social distancing requirements. Professionals, such...
A scoping review of studies carried out in the UK and the USA was conducted to explore the perceptions, experiences, and needs of culturally and linguistically diverse families of children with autism. Overall, 32 articles met the inclusion criteria, 25 studies were conducted in the USA and 7 studies in the UK. Four themes emerged including (a) kno...
Purpose
Family members are an integral support for children with complex communication needs (CCN). However, there is limited research exploring “whole family” intervention to support children with CCN, including evidence-based approaches such as aided language modeling and innovative delivery options such as telepractice. The purpose of this study...
Children with autism and their families often face challenges accessing early intervention and related services. African American children face additional challenges due to disparities in diagnoses and access to services. These disparities present a great need for parent advocacy to combat culturally insensitive service delivery and strained parent...
We conducted a single case research using multiple probe across 4 Parent Coaches (PC) who were trained and coached to provide coaching on naturalistic social-communication strategies with their own children with autism in Mongolia. A functional relation was demonstrated, and directions for future research were discussed.
בישראל כ-15,000 ילדים צעירים עם עיכובים התפתחותיים או עם אוטיזם הלוקים בתפקוד תקשורתי-חברתי. ילדים אלו זקוקים לתכניות התערבות התומכות בפיתוח של מיומנויות תקשורתיות-חברתיות וזאת על מנת לקדם הישגים אקדמיים, הסתגלות ארוכת טווח, קשרים בינאישיים ומכוונות עצמית. יעילותן של תכניות התערבות תלויה במידת היותן מבוססות-ראיות והפעלתן מוקדם ככל האפשר. הידע, ההכש...
Communication skills are critical for young children with developmental disabilities or delays (DD) to increase their inclusion in school and community settings. Thus, many early intervention (EI) services focus on improving children's communication skills. The involvement of the caregivers, the natural change agents, in EI sessions could significa...
Single-case research is a prevalent and useful method for evaluating the effects of interventions in special education research. A single-case graph “should make available all of the data that permit evaluation of the criteria for visual inspection, at the very least,” while not misleading inspectors (Kazdin, 2011, p. 335). Although this is widely...
Children with disabilities often experience gross motor delays. Adults, including parents, can play a crucial role in supporting children’s motor development. However, a limited number of research studies have focused on building parents’ capacity to support their young children’s motor skill development. The purpose of this study was to examine th...
The purpose of this paper is to explore issues and concerns related to academic redshirting in kindergarten and to discuss implications of this practice for children with disabilities. Although parents cite a variety of reasons for redshirting their child, only limited evidence of academic or social benefit can be found. A search was conducted to i...
Researchers have established a link between motor and social development. Power mobility devices (PMDs) can impact the social skills of children who are unable to move independently. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore the evidence on PMD interventions on social skills outcomes of young children with disabilities (CWD) and to provi...
Shared interactive book reading (SIBR) is a broad term used to describe the act of adults reading aloud to children, while encouraging interaction by asking questions and engaging in a discussion about the book. SIBR can be used to embed naturalistic communication teaching strategies, creating learning opportunities to promote a child’s language an...
Parental involvement in P-12 education could lead to social and academic success for students; however, parents often experience barriers to their involvement. Different or additional barriers exist for parents of children with a disability. School staff can positively influence parents to become involved in their children’s education. Family-cente...
Preschoolers demonstrate rapid growth in motor, cognitive, and socioemotional (SE) skills. The Early Childhood Longitude Study–Birth Cohort was used to investigate the discrepancy in fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and SE skills between children with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that, compared with typically developing children...
Paraeducators play an important role supporting children with developmental disabilities in early childhood settings, and the current educational system has come to rely heavily on paraeducator supports. Unfortunately, most paraeducators receive limited training prior to engaging in their classroom roles and responsibilities, and teachers receive l...
Researchers report that caregiver-implemented communication interventions are effective and feasible. However, limited information is available on training and coaching programs for families who speak languages other than English in their homes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a parent training and coaching program originally designed to...
The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature researching telepractice and parent-implemented language and communication interventions. A total of 12 studies met inclusion criteria and comprise the final study sample. A majority of the included articles were single-case research studies, and two were randomized controlled tr...
Developing communication skills is critical for all young children, especially for those receiving early intervention (EI) services. Thus, many researchers have investigated evidence-based practices for teaching social communication skills. In an attempt to minimize the gap between research and practice, research investigating training caregivers t...
Parents of children with autism report multiple hardships in raising their children. These hardships could be exacerbated in low-resource settings (LRS), where little resources are available for direct stakeholders of children with autism. Many nations attempt to ensure the rights of children with disabilities within the constraints of available re...
Developing communication skills is critical for all young children, especially for those receiving early intervention (EI) services. Thus, many researchers have investigated evidence-based practices for teaching social communication skills. In an attempt to minimize the gap between research and practice, research investigating training caregivers t...
Family-centered practices are a hallmark of early intervention (EI). Early intervention service providers are expected to engage in practices that emphasize family strengths, promote family choice and control, and develop collaborative relationships between professionals and families. In 2014 the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exce...
While the identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has stabilized at 1 in 59 children in the USA, and children can now be diagnosed reliably with ASD at 2 years old, African-American children are less likely to be diagnosed with ASD. Once African-American children with ASD are identified, there is a latency between diagnosis and access to s...
Teaching caregivers to support their young children’s language development is recommended as an effective early language intervention, and caregiver-implemented interventions are recognized as evidence-based. However, as the natural change agents for training and coaching caregivers, early intervention (EI) service providers are in need of professi...