A Tale of Two Adaptations of a Special Education Advocacy Program.

Special education advocacy programs support families to secure services for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Although research demonstrates the efficacy of one such program (the Volunteer Advocacy Project), its effectiveness when replicated by others is unknown. Replication research is critical to ensure that programs can remain effective.

Applicants to a Special Education Advocacy Training Program: "Insiders" in the Disability Advocacy World.

Although social groups have "insiders," this construct has not been measured within the disability advocacy community. Examining 405 individuals who applied for an advocacy training program, this study examined the nature of insiderness within the disability advocacy community and ties to individual roles. Participants showed differences in mean ratings across 10 insider items.

Educating Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Is Teacher Certification Area Associated with Academic Outcomes?

Although typically taught by special educators, few studies have examined if certification area is associated with academic outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The purpose of this study was to determine whether students with ASD scored better on language arts and mathematics state assessments depending on teacher certification, and whether these associations varied by assessment type. We analyzed 3 years of state administrative data from students with ASD in grades 4-8 receiving special education services.

Families Requesting Advocates for Children With Disabilities: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Special Education Advocacy.

Because parents face barriers in advocating for their children within the special education system, some families request help from a special education advocate. In this study, we evaluated the perceptions of caregivers who requested advocacy support to understand why, for whom, when, and where the advocacy services were needed; how the advocate helped; and what the outcomes of the advocacy process were and which variables related to better outcomes. We conducted structured interviews with 36 families who had requested help and connected with an advocate over a 3-year period.

Effects of School-Home Communication With Parent-Implemented Reinforcement on Off-Task Behavior for Students With ASD.

School-home communication is highly valued for parents of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. However, parents report poor communication as a common barrier to developing partnerships with schools. Using a multiple baseline design, we evaluated the effects of a school-home note intervention with parent-implemented reinforcement for decreasing off-task behavior of students with ASD at school.

Correlates of Sustained Volunteering: Advocacy for Students with Disabilities.

Parents of students with disabilities often receive support from special education advocates, who may be trained through a variety of programs. Using a web-based survey, this study examined the post-graduation advocacy activities of 83 graduates of one such volunteer advocacy training program. In the 1-4 years after program graduation, 63.

Identifying the associated factors of mediation and due process in families of students with autism spectrum disorder.

Compared to families of students with other types of disabilities, families of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are significantly more likely to enact their procedural safeguards such as mediation and due process. However, we do not know which school, child, and parent characteristics are associated with the enactment of safeguards. For this study, 507 parents of students with ASD responded to a national web-based survey.