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Research-Based Resources on Specific Disabilities 
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Table of Contents
Starting with Disability Research, in General

Finding Research Connections for...
  • AD/HD
  • Autism
  • Intellectual Disabilities
  • Learning Disabilities

    • Launched February 20, 2004
    Updated     December 3, 2007
    Approx. 5 pages when printed

    Authors
    Dr. Barbara Smith & Kyrie Dragoo
    Research Analysts, NICHCY

    We're working to create individual pages connecting you with research on specific disabilities, so you can expect this particular list of resources to grow and grow! For the moment, however, here are a few educational research connections you might find useful as you plan and deliver services to children with specific disabilities such as AD/HD, learning disabilities, or autism.

    We look forward to adding to these links and providing you with stand-alone pages devoted to research findings on specific topics. Bear with us as we gather, organize, and review this information!

    If you are looking for educational research basics--what makes for good research, what good researchers consider when they do their work, and what we, as consumers and decision makers, need to keep in mind when we review research and base decisions upon it--you can use our ever-growing collection of pages designed to make sense of research. At the moment, we offer these basic introductions:

    Starting with Disability Research, in General

    • Check out NICHCY's Research-to-Practice Database!
      http://research.nichcy.org/search.asp
      NICHCY's Research-to-Practice Database connects you to structured abstracts, which describe some of the most well researched interventions in special education and what we have learned about their effectiveness. Each structured abstract provides an overview of a meta-analysis covering a number of studies on a particular special education practice. Interventions for students with many specific disabilities have been explored in these meta-analyses, including autism, attention deficit disorder, behavioral disorders, emotional disturbance, hearing impairments, learning disabilities, mental retardation/intellectual disabilities, and visual impairments.

    • Find effective teaching techniques for different disabilities.
      http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/sped/projects/ose/information/
      interventions.html
      Students studying special education at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and East Tennessee State University College of Education have read and summarized scores of research articles about methods for teaching specific skills to individuals with disabilities. Take advantage of their work in the areas of: reading, spelling, handwriting, writing, math, content instruction, behavioral challenges, language skills, social skills, vocational skills, and functional skills.

    • How the special needs brain learns.
      http://www.corwinpress.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book230717
      This book presents the latest brain research to discuss teaching strategies for students challenged by: ADHD/ADD, speech disabilities, reading disabilities, writing disabilities, math disabilities, sleep disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, autism, and Asperger’s Syndrome. Read about the book at the link above, and order by calling 1.800.818.7243, or by visiting online at: www.corwinpress.com.

    • Learning and the brain.
      www.nichcy.org/resources/brain101.asp
      Recent brain research is giving us insight into how the brain works, how we learn, and how our brains are alike and different. We've organized this "starter" pack of resources on brain research, because it's more than merely fascinating. It has direct connections to the classroom and our educational practices with all students.

    • Teaching for understanding in inclusive classrooms.
      www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=1309
      Traditional lectures, exercises, and drills may help students memorize facts and formulas and get the right answers on tests. But they don't help students achieve the depth of understanding they need to understand complex ideas and apply knowledge in new settings or situations. What does work, particularly with students who have disabilities? Read NCSET's Research to Practice Brief on the subject, at the link above.
    Back to top

    AD/HD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

    • Children's Health Topics: ADHD.
      An extensive series of pages and publications devoted to ADHD,
      from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
      Visit and help yourself, at: www.aap.org/healthtopics/adhd.cfm

    • ADHD: A Complete and Authoritative Guide.
      From the American Academy of Pediatrics.
      Read a description online at: www.aap.org/

    • Identifying and Treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
      A Resource for School and Home.
      A publication from the U.S. Department of Education.
      Available online at:
      www.ed.gov/teachers/needs/speced/adhd/adhd-resource-pt1.doc

    • A Review of the Research on Interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
      What Works Best?
      (2002, Spring).
      Review of Educational Research, Vol. 72, No. 1, 61–99.
      Not available online. Visit the journal Web site at: www.aera.net for details of how to order.

    • Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
      Instructional Strategies and Practices.
      A publication from the U.S. Department of Education.
      Available online at:
      www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/adhd/adhd-teaching_pg3.html
    Back to top

    Autism

    • Autism---medically speaking.
      What's scientific investigation revealing about autism? Find out, beginning with these three sources:

    • Specific areas of the brain linked to autism.
      Using advanced imaging technology, a research team headed by Dr. Martha R. Herbert of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School in Boston has identified specific portions of the brain's white matter that are abnormally large in children with autism and developmental language disorder. Read more at:
      www.responsetrack.net/lnk/massgeneral/?10XLM053EE6

    • Largest study ever launched.
      The National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) has launched the Autism Genome Project, the largest study ever conducted to find the genes associated with inherited risk for autism. The project is using DNA array technology to scan the human genome and includes 1,500 families. Read more at:
      http://www.autismspeaks.org/inthenews/naar_archive/largest_autism
      _genetics.php

    • More on autism.
      http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/research/autism-research.htm
      The Child Development Institute also offers connections to the scientific research on autism, including brain function, causes, and treatment.

    • For parents looking for research on autism.
      www.researchautism.org/uploads/parents%20guide.pdf
      This guide, entitled Life Journey Through Autism: A Parent's Guide to Research, is intended to help parents become "savvy" about finding and consuming information on autism, with special emphasis upon examining the research. Sources of this information are presented. The science model is then explained, along with a framework for evaluating research studies and the current state of autism research.

    • And what about educating students with autism?
      www.nap.edu/catalog/10017.html
      The Committee on Educational Inverventions for Children with Autism, National Research Council, offers Educating Students with Autism, which examines the scientific knowledge underlying educational practices, programs, and strategies for children with this disability.

    • What's the research say about pivotal response training (PRT) for young children with autism?
      www.evidencebasedpractices.org/bridges/bridges_vol2_no4.pdf
      This research synthesis focused on the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) as a behavioral intervention for young children with disabilities.

    • Rett Syndrome is on the autism spectrum--with specific medical findings emerging.
      www.responsetrack.net/lnk/sickkids/?10XLM053EE6
      Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the University of Toronto have identified an alternate form of the disease gene and protein for Rett syndrome, a major cause of mental retardation among girls.
    Back to top

    Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

    Back to top

    Learning Disabilities

    • Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students
      with Learning Disabilities: A Review of Research.
      (2001, Summer).
      Review of Educational Research, Vol. 71, No. 2.
      Not available online. Visit the journal Web site at: www.aera.net for details of how to order.

    • Keys to Successful Learning.
      www.ncld.org/content/view/445/389/
      A must! Read the research syntheses prepared for the 1999 Keys to Successful Learning summit by leading researchers in the field of LD, available online at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). You'll find articles that summarize research findings on many aspects of educating students with learning disabilities, including:

    • Alerts: Keep up to date with what LD research is finding.
      www.teachingld.org/
      TeachingLD is a service of the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for Exceptional Children. The Alerts series is a joint initiative of DLD and CEC's Division for Research (DR). Learn more about the Alerts initiative and the instructional practices that have been examined so far at: www.teachingld.org/ld_resources/default.htm

    • Dyslexia--which is a learning disability.
      http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/research/dyslexia-research.htm
      Find brief descriptions of, and connections to, current scientific research on dyslexia on this Child Development Institute Web page.

    • More on LD research.
      Visit NICHCY's Connections to...Learning Disabilities for a longer list of research on LD and for ongoing sources of LDresearch info, online at:
      www.nichcy.org/resources/ld1.asp


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    NICHCY thanks our Project Officer, Dr. Judy L. Shanley, at the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education.

    Publication of this Web resource page is made possible through Cooperative Agreement #H326N030003 between the Academy for Educational Development and the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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