REPLIES

Directions: For each classmate post below reply with 200 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge, and contain a minimum of 1 citation in current APA format to support assertions.

Post 1: Specific learning disability (SLD) is a disability category included in the federal definition of educational disabilities.  A learning disability is a disorder that generally includes the inability to use or understand language sufficiently enough to learn core academic subjects like reading, writing, or mathematics. The best practices for the identification, classification, and support of students in need of SLD services have been the focus of considerable research over the past century. The evidence-based practices schools have chosen to assess students who are at risk and identify SLD have ranged from the evaluation and comparison of test scores to more subject interventions and psychological assessments. As research uncovers more data regarding learning, each generation tries to improve how students are identified and classified (Fletcher, Stuebing, Morris, & Lyon, 2013). Currently, Multitiered system of supports (MTSS) is widely used in K-12 schools in the United States to identify and support students receiving SLD services. MTSS was intended to help all students by using a multifaceted approach to identifying students at risk or simply in need of additional support to be successful in a specific subject. MTSS includes evidence-based response to intervention (RTI) procedures (Barrett & Newman, 2018).

               Barrett & Newman (2018) evaluated the effectiveness of MTSS for the identification and classification of students in special education departments serviced under the SLD label as well as the level of achievement attained over a period of ten years. Examining MTSS Implementation Across Systems for SLD Identification: A Case Study describes the effect of MTSS implementation on the identification and achievement of students in a midwestern regional educational service agency (RESA). The authors found that a significant body of research conducted in local schools showed improvement in academic achievement and student behavior when MTSS or RTI frameworks were implemented. Decreases in special education placements and less misclassification of learning disabilities were also significant (Barrett & Newman, 2018). However, these positive findings were shown to be incomplete or inaccurate by a recent nationwide study conducted across 13 states by the Department of Education (2015). This study revealed either a negative or neutral effect of MTSS on students. Referencing this seemingly contradictory data, Barrett and Newman (2018) recognize that one evidence-based approach is insufficient to meet the multifaceted and individual needs of students. The authors suggest that the reliance on IQ test and achievement test discrepancies, or an attempt to identify an SLD through a series of interventions are inadequate. There are a multitude of factors that could and do interfere with a valid identification or classification of students as SLD. The article suggests that schools should focus on Tier I, classroom based, interventions for the identification and provision of support for students in need of SLD services. This would include teachers making data-driven decisions about each child, using differentiated instruction, and constantly monitoring and assessing the individual needs of the child.

 

References

Barrett, C. A. & Newman, D. S. (2018). Examining MTSS Implementation across systems for SLD identification: A case study. School Psychology Forum, 12(1) pp. 30-43. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1173179&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Fletcher, J. M., Stuebing, K. K., Morris, R. D., & Lyon, G. R. (2013). Classification and definition of learning disabilities: A hybrid model. In H. Swanson, K. Harris, S. Graham, & S. Graham (2nd ed.). Handbook for learning disabilities (pp. 33-50). New York: The Guilford Press.   

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance. (2015). Evaluation of response to intervention practices for elementary school reading (NCEE 2016-4000. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164000/

Post 2: The disability category that I selected from chapter one is Autism (ASD), in particular, students on the high-end spectrum in an inclusion setting. As described in O’Brien & Bettie (2017), the common characteristics of students on the autism spectrum include engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, and “resistance to environmental change” (p 7). The peer reviewed article by Banda, et al (2010)  “Impact of training peers and children with autism on social skills during center time activities in inclusive classrooms” reveals the practice of using typically developing peers during center time and academic activities in a 1st grade classroom to enhance the spontaneous responses of disabled peers. This particular interaction from peers in the classroom involved several strategies that gave particular focus to the problems related to social skills development categorized by students on the spectrum of autism such as making eye contact, beginning and sustaining conversation, and even developing lasting friendships.

There have been several social skills interventions for children with ASD including peer training, adult or peer modeling, script/script fading, priming, direct instruction, reinforcement, video modeling, group social skills training, etc. In this study, peer-mediated strategies that involved simultaneous training of children with ASD and/or their typical peers through direct instruction (e.g., modeling, reinforcement, prompting, fading) are reviewed.

Peer interventions typically involve training peers to initiate interaction and/or respond to social initiations made by children with ASD. Several studies have been conducted in which children with ASD and their typical peers were simultaneously trained to initiate, share, and respond to social skills (Goldstein et al., 1992; Odom & Strain). In the study Odom and Strain (1992) trained three preschool children with autism to initiate and share with peers. Also, the investigators trained four preschool children who were prompted by their teachers to initiate and play with students with autism. Teacher prompts increased initiations of students with autism and peer training enhanced social responses. In another study, Gonzalez-Lopez and Kamps (1997) investigated the effectiveness of several social skill training approaches involving typical peers (e.g., prompting, reinforcing, ignoring the disruptive behavior). The peers and students with autism were trained to initiate greetings, play, imitate, share, take turns, ask for help, and request things. Four children with autism participated in this study. Three of four participants increased social initiations and decreased problem behaviors at the end of the intervention enhance social skills in children with autism. Likewise, Nelson et al. (2007) investigated social skills using center time activities involving play groups with children with autism and their non-disabled peers in an elementary school. The investigators used a packaged intervention (‘‘Keys to Play,’’ a visual intervention strategy) in which peers were trained to interact with children with autism. In addition, target children were trained in social initiations through modeling and prompting.

The intervention package was successful in teaching children with autism to initiate entry into play groups. Also, the participants were drawn to specific play material in learning center which enhanced social initiations and time engaged in social play. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training both students with ASD and their typical peers to improve social initiations and responses during academic-related center time activities in the general education classrooms.

 

 Banda, D., Hart,S.L., & Liu-Gitz,L. (2010). Impact of training peers and children with autism on social skills during center time activities in inclusive classrooms. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4 (4), 619-625.

Goldstein, H., Kaczmarek, L., Pennington, R., & Shafer, K. (1992). Peer-mediated intervention: Attending to, commenting on, and acknowledging the behavior of preschoolers with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 289–305.

Gonzalez-Lopez, A, & Kamps, D. (1997). Social skills training to increase social interactions between children with autism and their typical peers. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 12, 2–14.

Nelson, C., McDonnell, A. P., Johnston, S. S., Crompton, A., & Nelson, A. R. (2007). Keys to play: A strategy to increase the social interactions of young children with autism and their typically developing peers. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 42, 165–181.

O’Brien, C., & Beattie, J. (2017). Teaching students with special needs: A guide for future educators. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.