Collaboration is an expected responsibility of special education teachers in the United States because they coordinate their efforts with others, including paraprofessionals, service providers, administrators, and families (Pfeiffer et al., 2019). Collaboration is also an integral facet of student success. High-quality collaboration improves…

This article presents the rationale, evidence base, and strategies for teachers and related service personnel to implement peer-assisted Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) modeling with their students with complex communication needs within inclusive settings across the school day. Specific steps for teaching the student's same-age…

In education, the field of implementation science is a discipline dedicated to supporting educators' use of evidence-based practices (EPBs) to improve school and student outcomes. As highlighted in previous columns in this series, school teams must thoughtfully consider how EBPs align with the school/district core values and fit the local context…

Parents, teachers, and administrators report concerns and challenges related to the transition from early intervention (EI) to preschool for children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing. The goal of the current article is to assist teachers, administrators, and specialists involved in the transition of a young child who is deaf/hard-of-hearing from EI…

As schools seek to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap between special educators and students at the intersections of learning and language, the case described in this article illustrates how educators can continue to apply one of the key tenets of special education, the strengths-based approach. The hegemony of English has become so pervasive…

Students' language skills are a foundational component to their overall success, indicating the importance of rich language environments in classrooms. It is critical for teachers to understand how to create an environment aimed at maximizing language as they're likely to have students with language disorders in their classroom. Typically,…

This article describes a process for the incidental teaching of conversation skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive settings. The incidental teaching of conversation skills is an effective naturalistic intervention for assisting students with ASD to improve their social communication skills. Special educators and other…

Students may benefit from evidence-based interventions to support their classroom learning (Carmago et al., 2016). Additionally, laws and policies, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (2006), mandate the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes in schools.…

Adolescents with disabilities experience co-occurring mental health needs at higher rates than their peers without disabilities (Blake, 2017; Milligan et al., 2015; Poppen et al., 2016; Thornton et al., 2017). Mental health needs often become more prominent as individuals with disabilities transition from childhood to adolescence (White et al.,…

Central to positive learning outcomes for students with disabilities is the ability of the individualized education program (IEP) team to work collaboratively. Within the IEP team, effective service delivery involves direct and related service providers working in an interdisciplinary capacity as they share professional responsibilities to…

Dialogic reading (DR) is an intervention that aims to further students' expressive language development (Flynn, 2011; Towson et al., 2017). Specifically, DR occurs in small groups to afford students the opportunity to engage in active discussion and uses the same book for multiple readings and retellings. Because multiple research studies have…

Peer relationships are just as important for students with autism, intellectual disability, and other developmental disabilities. Through their interactions with peers across the school day, students develop new skills, encounter new perspectives, access needed supports, find camaraderie, develop social capital, learn prevailing norms, and elevate…

All student populations require support from school staff during times of grief and loss. The grief process is highly personalized and depends on multiple factors, including the type of bond and relationship with the person, the student's prior experience of loss, and the age and developmental stage of the student (Quinn-Lee, 2014). Grief…

The purpose of this article is to discuss major substantive errors that school personnel may make when developing students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). School IEP team members need to understand the importance of the procedural and substantive requirements of the IEP, have an awareness of the five serious substantive errors that IEP…

For many students, the transition from high school to adult independent life is one of the most exciting times in their lives. However, that same transition can be daunting, particularly for students with disabilities. Studies have shown the majority of high school students--including an increasing number of students with disabilities--indicate…