Emily M. Lund

National Prevalence Rates of Bully Victimization Among Students With Disabilities in the United States

This study examined the prevalence rates of bully victimization and risk for repeated victimization among students with disabilities using the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 longitudinal datasets. Results revealed that a prevalence rate ranging from 24.5% in elementary school to 34.1% in middle school. This is one to one and a half times the national average for students without disabilities. The rate of bully victimization was highest for students with emotional disturbance across school levels. Findings from this study also indicated that students with disabilities who were bullied once were at high risk of being bullied repeatedly. Elementary and middle school students with autism and high school students with orthopedic impairments were at the greatest risk of experiencing repeated victimization. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Meta-analysis of PECS with individuals with ASD: investigation of targeted versus non-targeted outcomes, participant characteristics, and implementation phase.

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a widely used picture/icon aided augmentative communication system designed for learners with autism and other developmental disorders. This meta-analysis analyzes the extant empirical literature for PECS relative to targeted (functional communication) and non-targeted concomitant outcomes (behavior, social skills, and speech) for learners with autism, learners with autism and intellectual disabilities and those with autism and multiple disabilities. Effect size analyses were done using the Improvement Rate Difference method, an advanced metric. Effect sizes were independently analyzed for targeted and non-targeted outcomes, student age, learner disability, and number of phases in the PECS protocol acquired by learners. Results supported the judgment that PECS is a promising intervention method. Analysis also revealed that functional communication outcomes associated with the PECS protocol were most impacted, that preschool children and those with autism generally showed the strongest training effects, and that in general students who advanced through the most PECS protocol phases had the best outcomes.

Community-based services and interventions for adults with disabilities who have experienced interpersonal violence: a review of the literature.

This study provides a review of the peer-reviewed literature from 1995 to 2010 on violence-related service, prevention, and intervention programs for people with disabilities. A comprehensive literature search resulted in a total of 16 articles, 6 related to service programs and 10 related to intervention and prevention programs. The services articles revealed a noticeable disconnect between the violence services programs’ perceived accessibility and the perception of their accessibility in the disability community. Most of the intervention and prevention articles focused exclusively on abuse prevention for adults with intellectual disabilities and generally had small samples and lacked controlled conditions. Very few methods of abuse treatment for people with disabilities have been empirically evaluated. Efforts should be made to improve accessibility and increase cross-collaboration between domestic violence services and disability service organizations, and there is a need for accessible, culturally sensitive, and rigorously tested abuse interventions and prevention programs for women and men with diverse disabilities.

School Counselors' and School Psychologists' Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies: A Look Into Real-World Practices

A sample of 560 school psychologists and school counselors completed a Web-based survey regarding bullying in their schools, related training, and interventions used. Few school-based mental health professionals used evidence-based bullying interventions or were involved in the selection of interventions for their school, and administrators were often cited being in charge of selecting the antibullying program(s) to be used by a school or district. Although most respondents reported receiving some training in bullying assessment or intervention, most of this training occurred during in-service training or at professional conferences, suggesting that it may have been limited in intensity and duration. Specific implications are discussed, including the need to adequately assess and provide antibullying training for school administrators and provide training in evidence-based bullying interventions.

Predictors of Bully Victimization in Students With Disabilities: A Longitudinal Examination Using a National Data Set

Longitudinal data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) national data set were used to examine risk of bully victimization in a sample of 4,155 students in special education. Results indicated that prior history of victimization was the greatest predictor of victimization risk across time, followed by the display of elevated internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experienced the greatest risk of victimization compared with all other children with disabilities, followed by children with emotional disturbance (ED). Overall, the results suggest that all children with disabilities are highly vulnerable to bully victimization. Implications for educational policy and future research are discussed.

Effects of Peer-Mediated Implementation of Visual Scripts in Middle School.

Although research has investigated the impact of peer-mediated interventions and visual scripts on social and communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorders, no studies to date have investigated peer-mediated implementation of scripts. This study investigated the effects of peer-implemented scripts on a middle school student with autism, intellectual impairments, and speech-language impairment via a multiple baseline single-case research design across behaviors. The target student demonstrated improvements in three communicative behaviors when implemented by a trained peer; however, behaviors did not generalize to use with an untrained typically developing peer.

Impacts of a PECS Instructional Coaching Intervention on Practitioners and Children with Autism

Abstract There is a growing research literature on the potential benefits of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for individuals with autism; however few studies have investigated implementation of AAC within real-life contexts. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of training for practitioners in implementation of aided AAC, and to examine implementation of Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) in real-life contexts. In particular, this study involved the implementation of instructional coaching to increase opportunities offered by behavioral therapists for their preschool-aged clients to use PECS to make requests. Results indicated increases in therapist implementation of AAC and client use of AAC in trained contexts, with limited generalization to untrained contexts.

A Systematic Review of the Empirical Support for Check-in Check-Out.

Tier 2 interventions play an important role within the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework, bridging the gap between schoolwide Tier 1 interventions and individualized Tier 3 supports. Check-in Check-out (CICO) is a promising Tier 2 intervention for addressing mild problem behavior and potentially preventing the need for more intensive supports. In this systematic review, we synthesize the characteristics, methodological quality, and outcomes of 15 single-subject studies and one group design study examining CICO. The results suggest that CICO can be considered an evidence-based practice for students with problem behavior maintained by adult attention. Versions of CICO that were modified to address other functions (e.g., obtain peer attention, escape from tasks) demonstrated strong effects, but there were not a sufficient number of studies for modified CICO to qualify as an evidence-based practice. We discuss the implications of this review for practitioners as well as future research on CICO.

Relationship Between Suicidality and Disability When Accounting for Depressive Symptomology

We examined suicidality and disability status in 485 U.S. adults. Compared with participants without disabilities, participants with disabilities (n = 92) had significantly higher suicidality scores even when accounting for depressive symptoms. Participants with psychiatric disabilities had significantly higher suicidality scores than participants with other disabilities even when controlling for depressive symptoms.

Necessary But Not Sufficient: Sexual Assault Information on College and University Websites

The objective of our study was to investigate the availability, location, and content of sexual assault information presented on college and university websites. A random sample of 102 accredited, non-profit, bachelors-granting U.S. colleges and universities was selected for webcoding. Websites were coded for the availability and location of sexual assault information, including what resources and information were provided and whether topics such as date rape, consent, and victim blaming were addressed. Ninety (88.2%) of the 102 colleges and universities in our sample had sexual assault information available in their domains. University policy (83.3%) and contact information for law enforcement (72.2%) and other resources (56.7–82.2%) were often included, but most websites failed to provide information on issues related to sexual assault, such as discouraging victim blaming (35.6%) and encouraging affirmative consent (30.0%). Colleges and universities should consider updating the sexual assault information on their websites with the assistance of local, expert practitioners in order to provide more comprehensive, organized, useful, and user-friendly information on sexual assault prevention and intervention. Additional online materials for this article are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ’s website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental