Yun-Ju Hsiao

Unwrapping Academic Standards to Increase the Achievement of Students With Disabilities

Over the past 15 years, students with disabilities have been included in the general education environment at markedly higher rates; however, their achievement is not increasing at the same pace. One reason for this lack of increased achievement may be that academic standards lay the foundation for instruction in this environment, but standards fail to address the component academic skills needed for academic mastery. This article presents a method for analyzing the academic standards and then unwrapping them to their component skills using a lattice task analysis. After employing this analysis, educators will be able to systematically plan instruction in the component skills to ensure achievement and growth for all students in the classroom environment.

Educating Students With Learning Disabilities in Taiwan

In East Asia, Taiwan is one of only a few countries that has a clear definition of learning disabilities (LD) as well as operational criteria for the identification of LD (Hung, 2006). In Taiwan, special education services for students with LD are mandated in the Special Education Act of 1984 (Tzeng, 2007). According to the official statistics from the Taiwanese Special Education Transmit Net, Ministry of Education (MOE; 2010), there are 96,220 students with disabilities (K–12) receiving special education services in Taiwan. Within this group, students with LD compose 21% of the total population, which is second only to students with intellectual disabilities (31%). Education in Taiwan is moving forward in meeting the needs of this unique group of students. However, overall there is a low prevalence rate of students with LD in Taiwan (Hung, 2006; Tzeng, 2007; H. Wang, n.d.). Therefore, in spite of the recognition of learning disabilities as a category, there still are areas for improvement in the education of this population of students. To gain a clearer understanding of the education of students with LD in Taiwan, a description of the definition of LD, the procedure for identification and diagnosis, provision of services, and educational placement (i.e., special education and general education) is presented.

An Observation Tool for Monitoring Social Skill Implementation in Contextually Relevant Environments

Skills related to social-emotional learning (SEL) are essential for college and career readiness. Failure to use appropriate skills for SEL in school is often linked to several negative academic outcomes, including rejection by school community members, academic deficits, and higher rates of problematic behavior. Social skills interventions are commonly used to address deficits in SEL. To be most effective, these interventions must be culturally and contextually relevant to the student. The Social Skills Observation Tool (SSOT) was developed to (a) identify the social skills commonly used within natural school environments and (b) determine specific student deficits in the appropriate use of these skills. Implications for practice are discussed.

Parental Stress in Families of Children with Disabilities.

Parents of children with disabilities often experience a higher level of stress than parents of children without disabilities, regardless of categories of disabilities. Understanding parental stressors can lead to appropriate interventions and supports for these parents and their children with disabilities. This article discusses issues of parental stress by exploring what is known about parental stress in raising children with disabilities and examining factors that may result in parental stress for practitioners to work on so as to help parents reduce their stress. This article focuses on three strong predictors of parental stress in families of children with disabilities: (a) problem behaviors of the child, (b) coping strategies of parents, and (c) parenting support for families. Implications for practitioners to help parents reduce their stress are discussed.

Parental stress, family quality of life, and family-teacher partnerships: Families of children with autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND Reducing parental stress and improving family quality of Life (FQOL) are continuing concerns for families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Family-teacher partnerships have been identified as a positive factor to help parents reduce their stress and improve their FQOL. However, the interrelations among parental stress, FQOL, and family-teacher partnerships need to be further examined so as to identify the possible paths to help parents reduce their stress and improve their FQOL. The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelations among these three variables. METHOD A total of 236 parents of school children with ASD completed questionnaires, which included three measures: (a) the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale, (b) the Parental Stress Scale, and (c) the Beach Center Family-Professional Partnerships Scale. The structural equation modeling was used to analyze the interrelations among these three variables. RESULTS Perceived parental stress had a direct effect on parental satisfaction concerning FQOL and vice versa. Perceived family-teacher partnerships had a direct effect on FQOL, but did not have a direct effect on parental stress. However, family-teacher partnerships had an indirect effect on parental stress through FQOL. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Reducing parental stress could improve FQOL for families of children with ASD and vice versa. Strong family-teacher partnerships could help parents of children with ASD improve their FQOL and indirectly reduce their stress.

Evidence-Based Practices Provided in Teacher Education and In-Service Training Programs for Special Education Teachers of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders:

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the identified 25 evidence-based practices were provided in teacher education and in-service training programs for special education teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder. A total of 63 participants completed the online questionnaire. The number and percentage of responses in the type of training on each evidence-based practice and all 25 evidence-based practices (total) were reported. Overall, about 60% of the participants reported that the identified evidence-based practices were either taught through direct instruction or discussed in their teacher education programs and in-service professional development. Twenty percent of the identified evidence-based practices that were addressed (i.e., “mentioned and discussed” or “mentioned and taught through direct instruction”) or not addressed (i.e., “never mentioned and never taught” or “mentioned incidentally”) for participating teachers were the same in these two training programs. In total, these two training programs addressed only 40% of the identified practices.

The Impact of Culture on Parental Perceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorders: Striving for Culturally Competent Practices

Abstract Despite the increasing number of children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds in the United States, limited research exists synthesizing what is known about the prevalence and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in these communities. Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are disproportionately diagnosed with ASD and, there is a need for practitioners and educators to be culturally competent at addressing challenges and practices related to ASD for children and youth. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature related to parental perspectives on ASD, in children from a wide range of culturally diverse backgrounds to provide information and resources to practitioners about the importance to strive for cultural competence in practice-related work.

Designing Culturally Responsive and Relevant Individualized Educational Programs

Developing culturally responsive and relevant individualized educational programs (IEP) is becoming increasingly more important as the student population becomes more diverse. Current supports available for IEP teams primarily address the technical aspects of the IEP (e.g., writing goals that are measurable) but offer little assistance in designing culturally responsive and relevant IEPs. This article provides a tool and process for integrating culturally responsive and relevant aspects into the IEP document and process. The Culturally Responsive and Relevant IEP Builder (CRRIB) was developed to guide IEP teams through this process and could be used to conduct assessments, evaluate current practices, and guide the development of interventions, strategies, and supports for students. The CRRIB helps maintain the team’s focus on enhancing the student’s cultural competence, incorporating the student’s prior experiences, and valuing the family’s frame of reference. A sample of the CRRIB with student information is included.