Sometimes, you just need to consult the professionals. The following is a small collection of recent, peer-reviewed academic journal articles that may be relevant and interesting to the caregivers and teachers of special needs students. 

 

Press On, Continue On: Rural Parents' Experiences of Transitions Within Early Intervention.pdf

This peer-reviewed journal article focuses on transitions that students with special needs undergo in the early years of their education. This includes transitions in providers, services, and intervention levels. To complete the study, the researchers interviewed parents and organized the results based on themes. A few important themes are collaboration between providers, communication (and lack thereof), preparation, and support during transitions. Three of the authors of this study are employed by Montana State University, with the fourth being affiliated with Eastern Michigan University. This article would be a good reference to include in the current project because parents of special needs students could use the information included to prepare themselves for what to expect and what support to ask for from professionals assisting their children in any of the many transitions they will face in elementary school and beyond.

 

Teaching Emotion Vocabulary to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.pdf

In this article, research was completed on the practice of using explicit instruction to teach emotion vocabulary to students with ASD in order to aid in reading comprehension. The authors claim that understanding narrative text is especially difficult for students with autism, and further, vocabulary is the best predictor of reading comprehension for ASD students. The two authors both hold PhDs and the article is published by the Division for Research of the Council for Exceptional Children. It was chosen to be included here because parents are often looking for ways to supplement what their child is learning at school with activities at home. Being aware of the techniques in the article could offer parents suggestions for reading with their children at home while building vocabulary.

 

Students' Perceptions of Instruction in Co-Teaching Classrooms: A Systematic Literature Review and Thematic Analysis.pdf

Co-teaching is a service often used in special education that involves pairing a special education teacher with a general education teacher. This peer-reviewed study was conducted to determine students’ thoughts on co-teaching classroom situations. According to the authors, students reported increased access to one-on-one help, interesting instructional arrangements, and higher academic success. Published by the Council for Exceptional Children, the article would be a good addition to the website project because it gives parents an explanation about co-teaching as well as a peek into the benefits as seen by the students themselves, the recipients of the service.

 

Developing Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Statements for IEPs

The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance statement (PLAAFP) is a section of the IEP that describes a student's strengths and weaknesses, as well as explains how the student's disability effects their academic performance. This journal article gives a detailed look into how a PLAAFP should be developed and what information goes into it. Written by five authors with Ph.D.'s who are affiliated with various school districts and universities, the article is beneficial and informative for parents and educators alike.