This dissertation focuses on sensory-based strategies at schools for students on the autism spectrum, with a focus on the degree to which these approaches might be effective for reducing interfering behaviors or promoting on-task behaviors. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and brief background information related to the subsequent chapters.…

Audiovisual (AV) integration, identified as a pivotal factor in comprehending speech in noisy environments, is a complex phenomenon. Understanding speech perception, even within a single modality, presents various nuances due to language specificity. When consolidating information from multiple modalities, it is imperative to understand how the…

Autistic students are faced with ableism and oppressive practices daily in their school environments. Special educators can mitigate this problem by celebrating the neurodiversity of the students in their classroom. Utilizing a critical disability theory lens, I conducted an instrumental case study through observations and interviews with six…

The cultural and linguistic diversity of our nation continues to grow and the skills needed by speech-language pathologists to address the needs of their existing caseload continue to be vast. According to the ASHA (2016) Schools Survey, only 8% of speech-language pathologists (n=1689) reported feeling very qualified to address cultural and…

The number of individuals with comorbid visual impairment and autism spectrum disorder is growing rapidly. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of teachers who strategically create active learning culture for tactile-defensive students who have autism and visual impairment. Little research…

As a result of increased academic rigor and limited movement opportunities during the school day, students may have more limited focus and difficulty in maintaining attention in the classroom (McMurrer, 2007; Stark, Rentner, & Kober 2014; Common Core State Standards 2014). As students have more difficulty maintaining attention, their learning…

Successful spoken language comprehension depends upon both sensory and cognitive processing. Since older adults often experience declines in one or both of these domains, and perform worse on some language processing tasks than younger listeners, an important question is how declines to both auditory perception and cognitive abilities affect…

This study resulted from monitoring and observing the engagement of five second grade students both before and after participating in a sensory integration movement process known as "MINDS-In-Motion", MAZE. The purpose of this action research study was to explore student engagement and purposeful movement of students utilizing "MINDS-In-Motion",…

Classroom teachers frequently use movement and sensory integration to assist their students' learning but little research exists to support its use. Although research is limited, it suggests that the use of alternative seating may provide students with an opportunity to move just enough therefore assisting children in learning more…

Advocates of students with ADHD in the school system are usually parents who must become advocates in response to the child's need for support and a call for parental involvement from the school. Parent advocates are confronted with many challenges, the primary being the daunting, often solitary task of advocating for a child who is often viewed…

This action qualitative study with a case research design investigated the impact of facilitated communication (FC) on the educational lives of high school students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The effect of FC on nonverbal students and schools' reactions to FC were also examined. The results from the four case studies indicate that FC…

Students with the most severe disabilities have special needs that cannot be addressed with general education curriculum modifications in a traditional prekindergarten-12th grade environment (Heward, 2006). It is essential that expert teachers with specialized educational background and training are prepared to adapt daily lessons to accommodate…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potentials and effects of an embodied instructional model in abstract concept learning. This embodied instructional process included haptic augmented educational simulation as an instructional tool to provide perceptual experiences as well as further instruction to activate those previous…

This discussion focuses on literary works written by individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a Pervasive Developmental Disorder that causes severe impairment in social development. Individuals with AS have trouble understanding their own emotions as well as the feelings of others; they are not able to read social cues and facial expressions;…

This dissertation explores the hypothesis that language processing proceeds in "windows" that correspond to representational units, where sensory signals are integrated according to time-scales that correspond to the rate of the input. To investigate universal mechanisms, a comparison of signed and spoken languages is necessary. Underlying the…