College Access, Success and Equity for Students on the Autism Spectrum.

College may be considered a gateway to success, yet access to college is limited for young adults with autism. Given the research recommendations to elicit student experiences and to communicate among universities to improve college access, success, and equity, the present study examined the questions: What factors are perceived as pathways to success or barriers to success by college students on the autism spectrum? What university provided accommodations and/or support services do they prefer? Participants from four universities completed surveys and semi-structured interviews. Findings from the multi-university study suggest the need to provide transition planning and systematic non-academic social and emotional supports from the start of the college experience as well as specific training for faculty, staff, and peers.

Writing Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Research Synthesis.

Building on previous research in the area of written expression for individuals with ASD a research synthesis was conducted to identify (1) writing interventions that have been studied and their effect in improving writing skills of individuals with ASD, (2) intervention features that influence the writing skills of learners with ASD, and (3) the quality of the research. A total of 62 participants were represented across the 24 single case design studies meeting inclusion criteria. Nine interventions emerged with a majority focused on self-regulated strategy development.

Accommodations and support services preferred by college students with autism spectrum disorder.

This 2-year study investigated the accommodations and support services preferred by college students with autism spectrum disorder using sequential mixed methods non-experimental survey and semi-structured follow-up interviews. Students with autism spectrum disorder reported using both academic and non-academic supports with frequency (e.g.

What Works for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This article reports the results of a systematic review of the emerging research on programs and services designed to meet the needs of students with ASD. For the purposes of this review, only articles that included data on program outcomes were included. A total of eight studies that met this criterion were identified.

Conversational topics of staff members and institutionalized individuals with mental retardation.

The conversational topics, and responses to these topics, used by staff members and residents in two settings within an institution for people with mental retardation were examined. Ten residents were observed in the classroom and residential environment for a total of 5 hours. All instances of spoken communication were analyzed for conversational topic and nature of the conversational opener.

Language abilities and progress in a direct instruction reading program for students with learning disabilities.

Direct instruction reading programs have been found to be a successful way to teach reading to many, but not all, students with learning disabilities. This study investigated whether reading improvement for students with learning disabilities receiving reading instruction through a direct instruction reading program might be related to their language abilities. The reading progress of 26 students (19 male, 7 female), 7 to 10 years old, was measured over 2 years.

Prolonged nursing-habit caries index.

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of a new index designed to assess prolonged nursing-habit caries (PNHC) in the primary dentition. The labial surfaces of maxillary primary incisors of 2389 nursery-school children (age range 12-53 months) were examined for the severity of PNHC, graded from 0 to 5. Intra-examiner reliability was assessed by twice examining 51 children across a 1-month interval.

Effectiveness of the DISTAR reading program for children with learning disabilities.

The reading achievement of students with learning disabilities who received reading instruction through the DISTAR program was compared to that of similar students using basal reader materials. The overall reading scores of the groups were not significantly different following 1 and 2 years of instruction, although students in the DISTAR program had somewhat better word attack skills.

Traumatic dental injuries in nursery schoolchildren from Baghdad, Iraq.

The purpose of this study was to determine, by age and sex, 1) the prevalence of traumatic injuries to primary incisors and canines, and 2) their distribution according to type in nursery schoolchildren from the city of Baghdad. The sample consisted of 2389 children aged 1-4 yr enrolled in 39 nursery schools. The prevalence of injuries was 24.