This article describes a method for identifying test items as disability neutral for children with vision and motor disabilities. Graduate students rated 130 items of the Preschool Language Scale and obtained inter-rater correlation coefficients of 0.58 for ratings of items as disability neutral for children with vision disability, and 0.77 for…

This article investigates the relationships between play and language development in students with multiple disabilities and visual impairments or deaf-blindness. The findings indicate that students with higher levels of communication demonstrate more advanced play skills and that the use of play-based assessment and exposure to symbolic play are…

These two studies assessed adapted orientation technology for promoting correct direction and room identification during indoor traveling by persons with multiple (e.g., sensory, motor and intellectual/adaptive) disabilities. In Study I, two adults were included who had severe visual impairment or total blindness and deafness and used a wheelchair…

This study extended the assessment of a newly developed computer-aided telephone system with two participants (adults) who presented with blindness or severe visual impairment and motor or motor and intellectual disabilities. For each participant, the study was carried out according to an ABAB design, in which the A represented baseline phases and…

The main goals of this study were to determine the prevalence, frequency and severity of challenging behaviour in people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). Because in the literature several health problems and sensory impairments are associated with the onset and existence of challenging behaviour, this relationship was…

This study investigated the effectiveness of training workshops in braille literacy for teachers of students who are visually impaired and have additional disabilities. Participants in the training workshops in the Individualized Meaning-Centered Approach indicated general satisfaction with the training. Most reported using the approach with…

This review examines practices for building effective communication strategies for children with visual impairments, including those with additional disabilities, that have been tested by single-subject design methodology. The authors found 30 studies that met the search criteria and grouped intervention strategies to align any evidence of the…

Using data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SRI International, 2002), this study estimated reading growth trajectories in a nationally representative sample of 3,421 students with disabilities ages 7 to 17 representing 11 federal disability categories. Reading achievement in all disability categories increased with age,…

It is widely recognized that the 12 percent of all youth in American public schools who have disabilities comprise a set of students with distinct capacities and needs. Federal legislation, including the most recent updates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, identifies different disability groups and mandates that…

The National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) is the third in the series of NLTS studies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to examine youth with disabilities receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a long-standing federal law last updated in 2004. Under IDEA, youth with…

It is widely recognized that the 12 percent of all youth in American public schools who have disabilities comprise a set of students with distinct capacities and needs. Federal legislation, including the most recent updates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, identifies different disability groups and mandates that…

Shared stories have been shown to help increase emerging literacy skills in students with significant intellectual disabilities. One important literacy skill is the development of listening comprehension. In this study, least-to-most prompt system was used to promote listening comprehension during shared stories for two students with significant…

Every year, under the federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), millions of children with disabilities receive special services designed to meet their unique needs. Early intervention services are provided through the state to infants and toddlers with disabilities under three years of age and their families. For…

Background: This study addresses the question to what extent visual impairment leads to additional disability in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Method: In a multi-centre cross-sectional study of 269 adults with mild to profound ID, social and behavioural functioning was assessed with observant-based questionnaires, prior to expert…

This article draws upon data from a large scale project called "Network 1000". Network 1000 seeks to survey the changing needs and opinions of visually impaired adults. Data have been collected from 1007 visually impaired people across Great Britain. This analysis focuses upon a sub-sample of approximately 250 adults aged between 18 and…