Zachary Rossetti

“That's How We Do It”: Friendship Work between High School Students with and without Autism or Developmental Disability

This is an interpretivist qualitative study that explores the contexts and dynamics of friendships among three groups of young adults; each group included an individual with autism or severe disability and high school students without disabilities. Data were collected through ethnographic methods where friends interacted together. Particular attention was paid to how friendships were enacted when one individual does not speak, struggles with initiation or movement, experiences anxiety, and/or uses a wheelchair. Students without disabilities tended to provide more of the help in these relationships to sustain their connection as friends and maintain opportunities to interact. The findings include examples and discussions of how the students with and without disabilities enacted their meaningful relationships.

Helping or Hindering: The Role of Secondary Educators in Facilitating Friendship Opportunities among Students with and without Autism or Developmental Disability.

This is an interpretivist qualitative study that explores the contexts and dynamics of friendships between three groups of young adults; each group includes an individual with autism or severe disability and nondisabled high school students. The most prominent finding identified in the data was that educators affected opportunities for social interactions between students with and without autism or severe disability. Educator influence on social participation included factors that decreased interactions, such as missed opportunities for social interactions and social consequences of academic supports. Educator influence also included factors that increased interactions, specifically four strategies to increase social interactions and facilitate possible friendships or maintain existing friendships between students with and without autism or severe disability.

The Development of Individualized Education Programs: Where Have We Been and Where Should We Go Now?

There are more than 6.6 million students with disabilities in U.S. public schools who receive special education services, which means that there are 6.6 million Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that have been developed and are being implemented at any given time. Each IEP represents real cost in educational opportunity, relationship building between families and schools, time, and resource allocation. Given this information, it is important to examine what we have learned from research on the development of IEPs, and to begin charting a new direction for research and practice related to IEP development. This literature review examines published, peer-reviewed research studies that have examined IEP development since the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The review concludes with a discussion of how findings from previous research on IEP development can inform future research agendas, educator practice, and federal and state policies.

Paraeducators' Roles in Facilitating Friendships between Secondary Students with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders or Developmental Disabilities.

In the cafeteria at East High School the two larger, circular tables to the left were apparently the tables informally designated for the students labeled with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Joshua sat in his wheelchair at one of the tables with another youtig man in a wheelchair, one male student and one female student each with Down syndrome, and three other students. Tlvo paraeducators sat at the next table over watching the students closely. The nearest students without disabilities were a few tables away. There seemed to be a barrier of empty or mostly empty tables between the two groups of students. Stephanie was the otily student without a disability to ventare close to the tables, high-ßvitig Joshua and telling him that she would see him after her next class. The students labeled with intellectual and developmental disabilities had all finished their lunches and waited quietly for the bell. The other students moved constantly, throwing food, laughing, smiling, and running by in pairs or small groups.

Parent Perceptions of Time Spent Meaningfully by Young Adults With Pervasive Support Needs

This article describes a qualitative study that examined how 23 young adults with pervasive support needs and limited functional communication spent their time and how their parents (n = 23) and direct support professionals (DSPs; n = 2) defined meaningfulness in relation to the young adults’ experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the parents and DSPs. Findings indicated that most of the young adults spent time in their communities, though typically without friends and not engaged in integrated employment. The participants defined meaningfulness according to three dimensions: community participation, individual indicators, and the nature of activities in the young adults’ schedules. They also described both episodic and ongoing challenges that hindered their ability to focus on time spent meaningfully. Finally, their definitions, which reflected basic care needs and community participation goals, raised questions related to the awareness, availability, and utilization of services and supports in the adult developmental disabilities system.

Parent Involvement in Meaningful Post-School Experiences for Young Adults With IDD and Pervasive Support Needs

Despite initiatives supporting young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to engage in post-secondary education and integrated employment, those with more intensive support needs are not as easily involved in these post-school experiences. In an effort to learn from positive examples, we examined parent involvement in meaningful post-school experiences by eight young adults with IDD and pervasive support needs. Secondary analysis of data from a prior interview study yielded this smaller sample of eight young adults with meaningful post-school experiences. Their parents were actively involved as fierce advocates and creative problem solvers. The active involvement of parents included: a) attitudinal facilitators, b) advocacy efforts and perceptions, and c) strategic actions. Implications for future research and practice are described.

Descriptors of Friendship Between Secondary Students With and Without Autism or Intellectual and Developmental Disability

This article reports findings from an interpretevist, qualitative study exploring the connections and dynamics of friendship among three groups of secondary school-aged young adults. Each group included an individual with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities who had extensive or pervasive support needs, and at least one high school student without disabilities. Data were collected through naturalistic observation and semi-structured interviews of the friends in two public high schools and one after-school dance program. Data were analyzed inductively to examine how the students enacted their friendships on a daily basis and how they made meaning of their friendships practically and conceptually. The thematic findings included (a) excitement and motivation, (b) shared humor, (c) normalized supports, (d) mutual benefits, and (e) differing conceptions of friendships. Implications of the findings, including descriptors of friendship and a broader conceptualization of reciprocity, are discussed.

The Nature of Friendship Between Students With and Without Severe Disabilities

Friendships are developmentally important and personally beneficial relationships for all children and youth. Despite emphasis from families and educators of students with severe disabilities on the importance of promoting and supporting friendships with their typically developing (TD) peers in inclusive settings, such relationships remain infrequent. We conducted an integrative thematic literature review of research that directly examined the nature of friendship between students with and without severe disabilities to better understand how researchers define friendship, identify participants, and confirm participants’ friendships. Implications for future research are discussed. We also sought to identify themes in extant research to guide future intervention. The thematic findings point to the importance of adults providing direct support while fading their proximity to students, and of TD peers negotiating the ongoing tension between the roles of helper and friend.

Parent and teacher perspectives on friendships and social interactions of secondary students with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Abstract Friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) remain infrequent, especially at the secondary level. However, when friendships between stud...

Peer Interactions and Friendship Opportunities Between Elementary Students With and Without Autism or Developmental Disability

Abstract This article describes a qualitative examination of the interactions between 2 students, 1 with autism and 1 with a developmental disability, and their peers without disabilities in 2 inclusive, public school elementary classrooms in the northeastern United States. Data were collected by naturalistic observation, semi-structured observation, and semi-structured interviews. Examining the quality and quantity of interactions, as well as the facilitating effects of educators, the goal was to identify conditions that support the development of friendship opportunities. The findings indicated that inclusive education and having classmates who accepted them were not enough to result in consistent friendship opportunities for the 2 focal students. Findings included (a) the identification of missed opportunities for educator intervention to support friendship opportunities, and (b) the success of several educator strategies to facilitate friendship opportunities. Implications and considerations to improv...