Sarah Hansen

Georgia State University | GSU · Learning Sciences

Given the continued changes in demographic diversity of students in the United States, it is important to ensure that participants included in special education research reflect the diversity of the classroom. We examined 16 years of intervention research across 12 special education journals to evaluate the extent to which diverse student populatio...

The extant literature on social communication interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been well reviewed. However, current reviews of the literature indicate more research is needed on advanced social skills for young children with ASD. These more complex social skills, such as sustaining a conversation, showing emp...

Changes in legislation have led to an increased push for children with autism spectrum disorder to be educated in classrooms with typically developing peers. This systematic review of the literature between the years of 2005 and 2012 aimed to identify effective interventions to support the children with autism spectrum disorder in the inclusive pre...

Parents have been trained to implement many of the most common early interventions used with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Parents have unequaled access to their children and, in many cases, may be the most efficient and natural intervention agents. However, parent implemented interventions have also been identified as a source of s...

The current study is a systematic review on the available evidence on language development, assessment, challenging behavior, and instruction for children dually diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and deafness. Results indicate a strong need for additional research in these areas, especially in the areas of evidence-based practices.

Research supports the positive association between mathematics vocabulary knowledge and mathematics procedural and conceptual knowledge. Students, especially those with mathematics difficulty, may require explicit mathematics vocabulary instruction. However, many special education teachers do not receive adequate preparation to provide explicit mat...

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare genetic developmental disability that presents with high rates of co-occurring sleep difficulties. Most existing research has focused on the pathophysiology of sleep problems in people with AS, and suggests that sleep problems are the result of genetic and neurobiological factors. However, little is known about the...

Inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs support adults with intellectual disabilities' participation in higher education. Students in IPSE programs may have limited knowledge of sexuality, relationships, and social skills, which can be addressed through sexuality and relationship education (SRE). This project evaluated the effect of the P...

Objectives The purpose of this review is to describe the variety and effectiveness of instructional technologies used in the early childhood setting. Methods A systematic review of three databases was completed, and studies were reviewed by two independent coders to determine if they met inclusion criteria. Studies were excluded from this review i...

Joint attention, or shared attention to an object or event, is a pivotal skill for the development of social interactions and social communication. Joint attention typically develops in natural contexts within the first year of life. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related developmental disabilities often experience difficulty deve...

Purpose Applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions are considered an evidence-based practice for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, behavior analytic professionals quickly pivoted ABA therapy to the telehealth modality to ensure continuity of services. In particular, this modality has been reported to b...

While abduction remains a rare occurrence in the United States, many parents and caregivers have concerns about children’s reactions to strangers and other safety-related behaviors. Abduction is a risk for all children, but may be of specific concern for people with disabilities due to social skill and communication deficits. Behavior analytic inte...

Numerous developmental difficulties differentiate children with autism from typically developing children, including delays in social communication skills. In this study, we used a multiple baseline design across three behaviors (i.e., imitation, behavioral requests, and response to joint attention) for two parent–child dyads to investigate the eff...

Sleep problems of varying kind and severity, including both insomnias and parasomnias, are a commonly reported clinical problem among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, it is estimated that approximately 50–80% of children with ASD and their families are affected by such problems. Without effective treatment, these sl...

Children on the autism spectrum often experience difficulty generalizing social skills across environments and contexts, which can make developing friendships challenging in early childhood. This means that, in addition to initial social skills instruction, children with autism may need specialized supports to promote the generalization of newly le...

Adaptive skills are practical, everyday skills that are necessary to live independently in society. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) may be at risk to fail to develop critical skills, and thus fail to be successful in natural environments. Natural change agents like parents, teachers, and staff can be instrumental...

Background Behavioural skills training (BST) has demonstrated effectiveness in training teachers in evidence‐based interventions to increase communication for children with limited repertoires. However, research has yet to extend to youth with developmental disabilities who are learning to communicate using speech‐generating devices. The emergent u...

Lay abstract: Sleep problems are commonly reported among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Without effective treatment, such problems are unlikely to resolve. To date, we know very little about how and why parents of children with ASD seek help for sleep disturbance. Via an online survey, we gathered information about how pa...

Although a sizable minority of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is little research examining teachers’ feelings of aptitude for working with these students, nor the instructional strategies used with this population. This study reports results from a researcher-designed sur...

Paraeducators are ideal candidates for delivering communication interventions to children with developmental disabilities and delays (DD) because they spend a significant amount of time with these children. However, professional development is often inadequate and limited research supports best practices. Additionally, paraeducators work with multi...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with social skills difficulties, which can create barriers for them to develop friendships with their peers. Playdates are a common way that young children practice play and friendship skills in home and community environments. Few studies have trained parents to embed social skills instruction i...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display social-communication deficits and present with rigid and repetitive patterns of behavior and/or interests (RRBIs). Compared to interventions for social-communication skills, less attention has been given to RRBIs, especially with regard to interventions for young children. We surveyed 128 behavio...

Sleep is an essential activity for human development. Often, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are affected by a lack of sleep due to various types of sleep problems. We identified and analyzed studies that were aimed at utilizing sleep interventions for children with ASD. A systematic search of databases, reference lists, and ancestral...

Children need opportunities to practice social skills outside of school, and a common means for this is through playdates. There are few studies examining methods to teach children with ASD social skills during playdates and have included children with advanced language skills, such as the ability to ask questions to peers. In the current study, we...

A concurrent randomized multiple baseline across three mother-child dyads single-case design was employed to evaluate the effects of a brief mindfulness-infused behavioral parent training program. The program included strategies embedded within the context of natural family routines. Three mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder pa...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with social skills difficulties, which can create barriers for children with ASD to develop friendships with their peers. Playdates are a common way that young children practice play and friendship skills in home and community environments. Few studies have trained parents to embed social skills...

Dialogic reading is an instructional strategy that has shown promise for supporting the reading development of children both with and without disabilities. Specifically, there may be positive effects of vocabulary knowledge, morphological knowledge, participation during reading, and emergent literacy skills. However, the knowledge base on the effic...

Instructive feedback (IF) is an effective strategy for increasing the efficiency of targeted instruction. Although effective, the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of secondary targets via IF are unknown. In the current investigation, two forms of IF were compared to determine if indiscriminable contingencies were responsible, in part, for the...

Fingerspelling and its relationship with literacy skills among deaf and hard of hearing children who use American Sign Language is an increasingly popular research topic. However, there is limited research on whether reading interventions that systematically include fingerspelling are more effective for improving literacy skills than reading interv...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities are at risk of isolation from same-aged peers. Furthermore, research indicates that even in inclusive settings, children with ASD benefit from targeted interventions and support. Among the social communication skills that are frequently absent in children with ASD is...

Although many children live in healthy, supportive environments, far too many are exposed to or experience biological and/or psychosocial risk factors (e.g., infectious diseases, maternal depression). To evaluate the effectiveness of early childhood programs that are established to support these vulnerable children, funding agencies and nongovernme...

Joint attention is a pivotal social communication skill often absent or impaired in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Joint attention is the shared and alternating attention of two individuals on an object or event, and has implications for later communication and social communication skills. This study used a concurrent multiple -basel...

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience unique challenges in performing their caregiving roles, often experiencing greater levels of parental stress than other parents. A systematic review of the literature on interventions to improve parental well-being among parents of children with ASD was conducted using three electro...

Several early social communication skills are theorized to be important for later more complex social behaviors. These skills, such as joint attention, social referencing, and social engagement, emerge very early in young children who are typically developing. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental delays, these sk...

We identified and analyzed studies that were aimed at teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) manding skills using behavior chain interruption strategies. A systematic search of databases, reference lists, and journals identified 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Included studies were then summarized in terms of (a) particip...

In this concurrent multiple baseline single-case research study, we investigated the effectiveness and generalization of a parent-implemented joint attention intervention response to joint attention skills of three young children with autism and parents’ treatment fidelity of implementation. Results indicated that parents were able to implement the...

Child development occurs within the context of the child's family, neighborhood, and community environment. Early childhood providers support positive outcomes, not only for the children with whom they directly work with but also for their families. Families of children with developmental delays often experience unique challenges. A family resilien...

Background: Practices to facilitate self-determination have not received appropriate attention in research concerning parents with intellectual disabilities (ID). Likewise, parenting interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities have seldom observed both parent and child behavioural outcomes. Methods: This study evaluated the effective...

A review of existing literature revealed only two studies investigating play date interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. This pilot study trained one father to teach his four-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder to mand to a typically developing peer during a simulated play date at a university-based clinic setting. The fat...

Despite the growing body of literature on social communication interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder, there is a significant lack of studies programming for generalization to natural environments and agents. Appropriate assessment of generalization is critical to ensure that clinic based interventions have utility in natura...

Joint attention is a critical and pivotal early social communication skill often still missing in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Intervention on this skill in natural environments such as the classroom is important. There is limited research available on teacher supported joint attention intervention, despite the impo...

The current article provides an overview of developmental screening tools and their usefulness for early intervention and early childhood special education. Research shows that systematic screening can lead to earlier identification of children in need of services. Early identification and intervention leads to better outcomes for young children at...