This infographic summarizes key findings on children ages 3 through 5 years with disabilities in subsidized early learning and care in California. The data are from the Child Development Management Information System (CDMIS) from 2015 to 2019. Included in the analyses are children who participated in the California State Preschool Program, Alternative Payment, California State Preschool Full Day, California State Preschool Part Day, CalWORKS Stage 2, CalWORKS Stage 3, Family Child Care Home, General Child Care, General Migrant Care, Migrant Alternative Payment, and Severely Handicapped.
Disability and inclusion publications
Increasing State Leaders’ Collaboration to Support Families Experiencing Homelessness
SRI Authors Sarah Nixon Gerard, Denise Tunzi, Faith A. Scheibe Abstract State leaders have many opportunities to address the critical issue of family homelessness by supporting collaboration among diverse stakeholders; creating a culture of data sharing that facilitates discussion and action; and enacting policies across departments, agencies, and programs to support FCEH. State-level coordination should enhance and […]
Supporting young children with disabilities
What do we know about young children with delays and disabilities, and how can we help them succeed in prekindergarten through third grade?
To begin with, Kathleen Hebbeler and Donna Spiker write, identifying children with delays and disabilities to receive specialized services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act poses several challenges. First, even though eligibility is based on 14 disability categories listed in the law, each state determines its own criteria for those conditions. Second, young children—especially those with disabilities—are hard to assess. Third, deciding where to draw the line for eligibility along a continuum of functioning is a matter of policy rather than science. In recent decades, the authors note, the concept of disability has been moving away from a medical model that sees disability as an impairment that resides in the child and toward a framework that emphasizes children’s functioning and interaction with their environments.
The authors review effective ways to support development and learning among young children with disabilities, including language and social skills interventions, preschool curricula, instructional and other practices, and multi-tiered systems of support. Then they examine a critical policy issue: the inclusion of young children with disabilities in regular education classrooms. One critical finding is that high-quality instruction in general education classrooms is a major factor in good educational outcomes for children with disabilities, and for their successful inclusion from preschool to third grade. Moreover, improving the quality of general education benefits all children, not just those with disabilities.
Hebbeler and Spiker also examine what we know about the transitions young children with disabilities make from one setting to another—for example, from prekindergarten to kindergarten. Here they conclude that we need far more research if we’re to understand what makes such transitions successful.
Effect of Transition Planning on Postsecondary Support Receipt by Students with Disabilities
The authors of this article analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 to determine the effect of receiving transition planning education and having a transition plan that specified needed postsecondary accommodations on the receipt of disability-specific services and generally available supports at the postsecondary level by students with disabilities. Propensity model analyses indicated that both variables significantly increased the odds that students with disabilities would receive disability-specific and generally available supports at 2-year institutions. In addition, students with transition plans specifying accommodations were more likely to receive disability-related supports at career and technical education (CTE) schools, and CTE students who had received transition planning education in high school were more likely to receive generally available supports. The results provide important implications for policy and practice, and a strong foundation for further exploration of the linkages between transition planning experiences and receipt of disability-specific and generally available supports at postsecondary schools.
Supporting Parent-Child Experiences with PEG+CAT Early Math Concepts: Report to the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative (Full Report)
The study presented here addresses the question of how time spent viewing and playing with PBS KIDS educational, non-commercial media at home, in family settings, can foster positive outcomes for children and parents/caregivers. The study focused on PEG+CAT, a first-generation transmedia program designed to promote children’s mathematics and approaches to learning (ATL) skills. Target mathematics skills included patterns, geometry (2-D and 3-D shapes), ordinal numbers and counting, and measurable attributes and spatial relationships. Target ATL skills included problem solving, perseverance, and self-regulation. An executive summary and highlights of the report’s findings are also available.
An Analysis of Factors Related to Receipt of Accommodations and Services by Postsecondary Students With Disabilities
A secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2 examined the relationship between demographic, disability-related, secondary school preparation, and transition planning variables and receipt of accommodations and other disability-specific services at the postsecondary level for 2,470 postsecondary students with disabilities. The results indicated that secondary students who received transition planning education were more likely to receive accommodations and other disability-specific services in 2-year colleges and that those who had a transition plan that specified postsecondary accommodations and supports as a needed post–high school service were more likely to receive those types of services in 2-year colleges and in career and technical education schools. These findings suggest that secondary schools can influence the likelihood that students will seek out and receive postsecondary accommodations and other disability-specific services.
High school math and science preparation and postsecondary STEM participation for students with an autism spectrum disorder
Previous studies suggest that individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely than other disability groups and the general population to gravitate toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, the field knows little about which factors influence the STEM pipeline between high school and postsecondary STEM major. This study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2, a nationally representative sample of students with an ASD in special education in the United States. Findings suggest that students with an ASD who took more classes in advanced math in a general education setting were more likely to declare a STEM major after controlling for background characteristics and previous achievement level. Educational policy implications are discussed.
Model Demonstration Projects: Sustainability and Scale-Up (Presentation Abstract)
The aim of this presentation was to share SRI Education’s findings on sustainment and scale-up of model demonstration projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, conducted as part of the Model Demonstration Coordination Center. Some projects resulted in sustainment and scale-up, yet many did not. What factors facilitated or hindered sustainment and scale-up?
Learn more in the presentation abstract linked below.
The Effect of Transition Planning Participation and Goal-Setting on College Enrollment among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders
This study used propensity score techniques to assess the relationship between transition planning participation and goal-setting and college enrollment among youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Using data from Waves 1 through 5 of the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2, this study found that 2- or 4-year college enrollment rates were significantly higher among youth with ASDs who participated in transition planning and those who had a primary transition goal of college enrollment. Educational implications are discussed.
