A large body of research indicates that early intervention leads to better outcomes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); yet, research on parent factors that influence intervention engagement is sparse, though emphasized in recent literature that examines the impact of receiving a child's diagnosis on parents' mental health and…

Cross-cultural research has claimed that there are cultural influences on narratives; however, most of the research has empirically confounded "language" and "culture." So, narrative differences can be attributed to linguistic differences or cultural reasons or both. Thus, it is unclear whether culture influences the…

Research suggests spending time outdoors and with natural materials can benefit all young children across different areas of development. However, children with developmental disabilities often have fewer opportunities to engage with nature as a result of the limited understanding and negative views about nature expressed by their caregivers and…

The first manuscript consisted of a systematic and quality review of studies that used telehealth to support caregivers of children exhibiting challenging behaviors. A summary of training components, procedural fidelity, social validity, and evidence of impact was reported. While there exists a great deal of information on remote implementation of…

Reading aloud is an important instructional activity for helping young children learn early literacy skills and develop content knowledge. When teachers ask questions during a read aloud, they can help students notice and think more deeply about information in the book. Despite the benefits of read alouds, some teachers do not engage students in…

Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) require intensive supports to make progress on literacy goals. These supports must often include methods to decrease challenging behaviors and increase engagement during instruction. In this study, I investigated whether computer-assisted instruction (CAI) may be one effective method…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that children with disabilities be provided with individualized supports to maximize their overall development and learning. Caregivers of children ages birth to 5 years play an integral role in determining what supports are most beneficial for the child and their family. Research related to…

This study explored the many layers involved in young children's meaning-making as they digitally compose. Utilizing a multimodal, social semiotics theoretical framework to analyze children's digital compositions using a composing app, this study was designed around one research question: What is the nature of three and four-year-old children's…

Nonword repetition (NWR) tasks have become popular in recent years as measures of phonological short term memory (PSTM) in research settings, and as potential markers of language impairment in clinical settings. This has increased interest in the subskills that potentially NWR performance. The current study investigated the influence of PSTM,…

In the United States, when a child turns five years of age, he or she is eligible to enroll and attend five-year old kindergarten. Parents and caregivers are often tasked with making the decision on whether or not to enroll their child when eligible to attend kindergarten or if the child should be held back another year (redshirted) and attend…

This dissertation is comprised of three interlinked studies investigating young children's authentic inquiry practices. The first article provides a literature synthesis of over two hundred and fifty in-depth cases of K-6 facilitated authentic inquiry learning environments. These cases reveal the wide-ranging authentic inquiry practices that are a…

Little research about fathers with young children with developmental disabilities or delays and their participation in early intervention/Part C programs is available. This study adds to existing scholarship through a narrative inquiry into the experiences of six fathers with children who have participated in early intervention services. Emergent…

"Many kindergarteners struggle to master the foundational behaviors that enable them to successfully engage in classroom learning" (Cameron, et al., 2012, p 1229). As a school-based occupational therapist, there has been a noticeable rise in concerns from kindergarten teachers regarding the fine motor, visual motor, self-help, and…

Kinder Tools was developed as a Response to Intervention approach (RTI) to help students in kindergarten improve and develop their fine motor and visual motor perceptual skills within the first three months of entering kindergarten. Some students enter kindergarten ready to learn, while other students struggle with skill development and learning…

In this study, the author examined the effects of training four parents from low-socioeconomic environments to use Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) with their young children with language impairment. The investigator used a modified Teach-Model-Coach-Review method to teach parents to use the following EMT strategies during 8-10 individualized,…