About this session

Friday, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Research Addressing Pandemic Challenges to Improve Developmental and Learning Outcomes for Children with Disabilities

When schools and services shut down and shifted online with little preparation during the COVID-19 pandemic, children had limited access to these needed systems. Concern over the widely reported learning loss was particularly heightened for learners with or at risk for disabilities, who were missing in-school and in-home supports and services in addition to content-area instruction. Further, many children were unable to receive services because of limited access to the diagnostic assessments required for them to qualify. As children returned to in-person learning, additional challenges were created by the growth in social, emotional, and behavioral problems as students coped with pandemic-related stressors. In response to these challenges, researchers in special education and early intervention focused their research activities on ameliorating the pandemic’s effects. This symposium will highlight some of these studies aimed at pandemic recovery for learners with or at risk for disabilities. They share the overarching objectives of rapidly improving outcomes for learners and creating actionable results for districts, schools, or early intervention systems. Presentations will cover research-based solutions to address a myriad of these pandemic-related challenges across a range of age groups and systems—extended wait times for toddlers to receive autism diagnostic assessments needed to access early intervention services; professional development to help teachers better support students with or at risk for disabilities in catching up in academics, including mathematics and text-based writing; and the emotional and behavioral challenges for middle-school students with or at risk for disabilities in transitioning back to school.

Paper #1
Title	Reducing the Wait: The Development and Evaluation of a New Autism Diagnostic Pathway
Presenting author	Megan Roberts, Northwestern University, United States

Paper #2
Title	Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness for Improving Text-Based Writing in Children with and At Risk for Disabilities
Presenting author	Dr. Alyson A. Collins, Texas State University, United States

Paper #3
Title	Mathematics Professional Learning and Coaching for Teachers in Grades 4 and 5
Presenting author	Sarah Powell, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, United States

Paper #4
Title	Preventing Emotional and Behavior Problems in Middle School Youth at Risk of Disability Post Pandemic
Presenting author	Beth Stormshak, Ph.D., University of Oregon, United States

View all paper details

Session chairs
Amy L. Sussman, Ph.D., Institute of Education Sciences, United States; Courtney Pollack, , United States

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