A phonics-based reading curriculum in which students used an iPad to respond was created for students with developmental disabilities not able to verbally participate in traditional phonics instruction due to their use of augmentative and assistive communication. Time delay and a system of least prompts used in conjunction with text-to-speech software enabled students to participate in phonics instruction that included segmenting, decoding, sight words, and comprehension after reading a decodable short passage. Students were randomly assigned to a treatment group who received the phonics instruction or a control group who received sight word instruction on the iPad. A repeated-measures ANOVA found that students who received the iPad-based phonics curriculum outperformed the control students. Hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis supports a two-level model with a time by group membership interaction effect, the inclusion of student-level variables was not statistically significant.

The current research explored the use of a multimedia shared story to increase the number of correct English and Spanish vocabulary words used by an English language learner with a moderate intellectual disability. A 10-year-old elementary student in a self-contained special education classroom participated in this research. Utilizing the iBooks Author software, personalized shared stories were created on an iPad® for the participant in both English and Spanish. Each story incorporated pictures of items for which the student could not provide a corresponding vocabulary word in either language. The multimedia shared stories were then used to teach these vocabulary words in both English and Spanish. Results showed that the student initially acquired Spanish vocabulary words more quickly, but his English vocabulary words accelerated at a faster rate over the course of the investigation. To support the quantitative data, the students' teacher and paraprofessional were interviewed to determine their experiences and to discuss nuances that occurred over the course of the intervention. Results and implications for future research are discussed.

One foundational aspect within the essential skill of literacy is reading comprehension. While students can learn comprehension strategies in a variety of settings, students with disabilities have shown increased success in inclusive classrooms with instruction supported by both general education and special education staff. To address the needs to increase the reading comprehension outcomes for students with intellectual disability as well as increase the fidelity of use of evidence-based practices by school staff (general education teachers, special education teachers and paraprofessionals) within instruction, an interactive action research study was implemented in five schools in one school district in the United States. The study was designed to use action research to create a model of professional development with extensive coaching support surrounding evidence-based practices as well as the development of resources to support co-planning and adaptations within instruction in inclusive classrooms. Results indicated that both purposes were met within the study with several implications for practice as well as the development of a second iteration of the model using student outcomes and frequent educator feedback.