Anne M. Bauer

Levels of Awareness: A Closer Look at Communication between Parents and Professionals.

family is the real problem, they are demanding and unpredictable”; or “If the dad would get over his anger, we would be able to work together better.” Teachers or other professionals working with students with disabilities and their parents often say things like these. Denial, anger, and depression are all common reactions to challenges faced by family members of children with disabilities (see box, “What Does the Literature Say?”). This article can help professionals and parents learn and grow together as they work together for the children in their charge. Communication is a big part of the answer.

Children and Youth in Foster Care

Describes the challenges confronting children and youth in foster care and makes recommendations for working with these children

How Are They Really Doing? Observation of Inclusionary Classroom Participation for Children With Mild-to-Moderate Deafness

Direct observation was utilized to study how 5 children with mild-to-moderate deafness participated within inclusive classroom settings. Responses to practice and prompt opportunities, levels of prompting required to follow classroom directions, and engagement were analyzed across students with mild-to-moderate deafness and were compared to students with normal hearing. Similar responses to practice and prompt opportunities were observed across students, and engagement data indicated that 4 children with mild-to-moderate deafness had similar rates to their peers. However, children with mild-to-moderate deafness required higher levels of prompting and were less accurate at following classwide verbal prompts. Agreement data on variables ranged between 83% and 99%, with the exception of 2 prompting levels. Social validity judgments indicated that the information was useful and important. Potential uses for data include consultation with teachers regarding interventions to increase student engagement and research regarding inclusionary practices.

Reflections on 20 Years of Preparing Special Education Teachers

The preparation of special educators has changed dramatically since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was implemented. Special education teachers must deal with changes in the political contexts in which they work as well as changes in the children, youth, and families with whom they work. As a consequence of those changes, how we prepare teachers has become much more complex. Teacher education programs are being asked to demonstrate how their candidates impact childrens achievement in ways that we have never had to before. Although the need for research-based approaches is as critical as it was 20 years ago, the quality of research on teacher education has improved. The stakes are much higher: Unless we incorporate research-based practices into our programs and use that research to improve our preparation programs, alternative pathways to licensure and certification may become the norm.

PASSKey: A Model for Naturalistic Assessment and Intervention Design

Following a discussion of four approaches to childrens services and intervention design, a description of PASSKey, an ecobehavioral and naturalistic approach to intervention design, is presented. PASSKey stands for planned activity, systematic sampling, and keystone behavior, which represent the major components of the model. It has been developed for early intervention consultants to provide technical assistance for intervention planning with young children reported to have learning and/or behavioral problems. The intervention design method capitalizes on existing teacher or parent (or other direct-care providers) competencies and thereby may enhance acceptability and generalizability of interventions. The model is illustrated through an actual case, and implications for practice and research are discussed.Following a discussion of four approaches to childrens services and intervention design, a description of PASSKey, an ecobehavioral and naturalistic approach to intervention design, is presented. PASSKey stands for planned activity, systematic sampling, and keystone behavior, which represent the major components of the model. It has been developed for early intervention consultants to provide technical assistance for intervention planning with young children reported to have learning and/or behavioral problems. The intervention design method capitalizes on existing teacher or parent (or other direct-care providers) competencies and thereby may enhance acceptability and generalizability of interventions. The model is illustrated through an actual case, and implications for practice and research are discussed.

Unified Early Childhood Personnel Preparation Programs: Perceptions from the Field

Two complimentary data sets were collected to gain an understanding of unified early childhood (EC) and early childhood special education (ECSE) programs. The first data set, was obtained by interviewing 28 university faculty members who were key faculty administrating these unified programs. These data focused on the development and characteristics of unified EC and ECSE programs. The second data set was obtained from graduates from unified, dual, ECE, or ECSE Master programs. These data focused their perceptions regarding the knowledge base gained from their program of study. These data indicated that providing a unified vision of early childhood education is an on-going process. Respondents described many barriers and successes. All programs had course work from at least two different disciplines and collaboration among disciplines was prominent. Commitment and collaborative problem-solving were described as critical to on-going success. The data from program graduates provided some interesting trends that require further exploration and research. These data indicated that the trend towards unifying ECE and ECSE teacher preparation programs is to provide students with a broader set of competencies to address a diverse set of children and their families.

Drug and Alcohol Exposed Children: Implications for Special Education for Students Identified as Behaviorally Disordered.

Children who have been prenatally exposed to cocaine will soon be entering the educational system. This is occurring concurrently with a new awareness of the impact of fetal alcohol effects on childrens learning. In this article, the literature on children prenatally exposed to drugs and alcohol is reviewed. The potential impact on the educational and social services systems is discussed. And implications for programing for children identified as behaviorally disordered are presented.

Inclusion of Students with an Intellectual Disability in the General Education Classroom with the Use of Response Cards.

The passage of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act has highlighted the importance of all students having access to the general education curriculum. Because students with disabilities are being included in the general education classroom in greater numbers, teachers need to implement research-based instructional strategies. To extend research on one effective strategy, the authors used a single case ABAB reversal design to investigate the effects of using response cards on active student responding and on-task behavior for five students with intellectual disabilities during science and social studies lessons in the general education classroom. Results suggest increased active student responding and on-task behavior for all five participants. A discussion of study limitations, implications, and future research directions is included.

Facilitating Communication as a Basis for Intervention for Students with Severe Behavioral Disorders.

Current research in the role of teachers as problem solvers and emerging interest in pragmatics have increased the need to study student-teacher interactions and behaviors in context. In view of this recent work which addresses the equivalence of communicative and social competence, a facilitative rather than directive approach with students with autism and severe behavioral disorders seems appropriate for consideration. In this article, current approaches to working with students with behavioral disorders are reviewed. In response to this review, the facilitative approach is posited. The article concludes with a discussion of the research currently emerging from the facilitative approach.

Students Who Are Deaf with Additional Disabilities: Does Educational Label Impact Language Services?

Abstract With a high rate of additional learning needs in children with permanent hearing loss, this study sought to understand their educational and support needs. School information on 62 children with varying degrees of hearing loss attending an urban public school during a 5-year period was analysed to understand types and amounts of services over time. Individualized Education Programs and Multifactored Evaluation Plans reported the number of minutes provided by various providers, the types of services provided, and the goals set for each student. Although all students had a documented hearing loss, the services and intensity of services varied widely based on primary educational label. This is characterized by changes in goals, services, and intensity (minutes provided) from one year to the next if a child experienced an educational label change. Implications are far reaching for educators and administrators regarding determination of educational label for students with comorbid conditions.