Autism & Developmental Disabilities

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teacher showing happy and sad faces to student with autism

Supporting individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism, as well as their caregivers and service providers, is central to the work of FPG. Understanding developmental trajectories and the impact of a developmental disability on the individual, family, and broader community informs both theory and practice. High-quality intervention across the age range can ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families fully participate in their community in ways that are meaningful to them. FPG investigators have identified central features of high-quality intervention, such as family-focused programming, early childhood inclusion, and the use of identified evidence-based practices. They lead the field in translating scientific knowledge into practical information for teachers and service providers, and actively join their colleagues from implementation science in promoting adoption and use of effective intervention practices in schools, homes, and community settings.

Featured FPG News Story

A collaboration among a group of passionate parents and several UNC-Chapel Hill faculty led to the HEELS 2 Transition program providing young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities the chance to experience college life and build skills for the transition to adulthood.

Featured Publication

Despite an increase in policies and funding to support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in finding competitive integrated jobs, they still face employment inequalities. Employment is crucial for their well-being, and they have strong aspirations for it. This publication reviews current employment outcomes, service experiences, and the factors that help or hinder job success. And builds upon existing literature to promote a socioecological framework to guide future research and improve services, aiming to achieve better employment outcomes for adults with IDD.

Featured Person

Brian Boyd is the William C. Friday Professor of Education in the School of Education and director of FPG. Boyd is engaged in research that involves the most vulnerable and marginalized populations. His more recent work has focused on how issues of implicit bias and race affect the outcomes of children with and without disabilities.

Current Projects

The purpose of this project is to deploy a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and program assessment strategy to support a deeper understanding of the current landscape of disability inclusion, along with unique challenges, opportunities, perspectives and relevant factors impacting states, tribes, and territories as well as children with disabilities and their caregivers.
The dual increases in the prevalence of students with autism needing special education services and the number of paraeducators providing instruction in special education had created a need for preparing paraeducators to use evidence-based practices (EBPs) with autistic students in educational settings. The AFIRM for Paraeducators (AFP) program is a professional development program for paraeducators to be delivered by special education teachers in authentic educational settings. The purpose of this project is to examine the promise of the AFP program, through a pilot randomized control trial (RCT), for increasing paraeducators use of EBP with high fidelity of implementation and resultant goal attainment by autistic students receiving instruction.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2018), among students ages 3 through 21 served in special education, less than one-fifth are Black/African American (17.7 percent), but Black/African American students with disabilities account for more than one third (36.6 percent) of individuals who experienced disciplinary removal. Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) practices have been found to mitigate the effects of such discrimination on children’s development. Yet, little is known about what these practices may look like for Black children with disabilities as ERS practices have typically been studied among typically developing, able-bodied children. This mixed-methods study aims to explore: 1) What types of ERS practices, and how frequent, do Black/African American parents/caregivers engage in with their children? 2) What is the relation between parents/caregivers’ ERS practices and children’s academic engagement, school disciplinary, and mental health outcomes? 3) What are the purposes and goals of Black/African American parents/caregivers engaging in ERS practices among their children with disabilities? and 4) What are some challenges that arise for Black parents/caregivers who communicate ERS practices to their children with disabilities?
This model demonstration seeks to increase family uptake of developmental screenings and service enrollment of traditionally underserved populations by centering family and cultural voice throughout the implementation process.
The Early Childhood Inclusion Professional Learning Program led by Chih-Ing Lim, PhD. at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Elena Soukakou, PhD., is committed to support the Community Psychology Hub, Singapore in ensuring that the InSP program is implemented effectively to serve young children with disabilities.
This project is grounded in a science education partnership between Kidzu Children’s Museum and FPG’s STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education Center (STEMIE). The project will include sharing resources and spaces to develop and implement playgroups for pre-K children with a variety of abilities and their caregivers with specific STEM related goals and activities through the sequence of playgroups.
The study presented in this proposal is a collaborative effort between the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The intended outcomes of this program are to positively impact inclusion in early childhood classrooms and kindergarten readiness for children with disabilities. Consisting of a 4 day, in-person, professional development (PD) opportunity, virtual/in-person coaching, and Networked Improvement Community (NIC) meetings that are targeted to meet the individual support needs of the participants, we propose a three-phase process. Phase 1 includes targeted observations of inclusive STEM practices. Phase 2 includes a 4-day in-person PD opportunity, planned and facilitated by UMBC and STEMIE. PD sessions will be designed to provide participants with the opportunity to learn and expand their knowledge and sharpen their skills on inclusive STEM teaching. Phase 3 sessions will be developed based on observed needs of the participating teachers and support participants in using STEMIE resources (e.g. learning trajectories) within the scope of their own curriculum. This will be done via a series of individual coaching and NIC meetings to allow for collaborative problem solving with investigators serving as facilitators. The final phase (Phase 4) will include targeted observations of participants to assess progress.
The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) is conducting a systematic review of the current intervention literature targeting individuals on the autism spectrum. NCAEP is a continuation of the evidence review that was completed by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate two group-based treatments: (1) the Program for Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), which targets social skills, and (2) Unstuck and On Target (UOT), which targets executive function skills. The interventions are two 45-minute sessions per week across 16 weeks and will be implemented by school-based staff in middle schools in North Carolina and Southern California (San Diego area).
Persistent, and quite pervasive, racial disparities have been found between Black, autistic children and their white, autistic peers. These disparities range from notable inequities in the timeliness of diagnosis to receipt of substandard services to their under-representation in research studies. While key disparities have been documented, there is a need for increased attention on potential underlying drivers of these disparities that are rooted in the Black experience. We know from existing research on Black health and wellness that racism is linked to some poorer physical and mental health outcomes. This project will examine the impact of racism and resulting racial trauma on the mental health outcomes of Black parents of autistic children (ages 3 -9) as well as the downstream consequences that parental racial trauma has on child behavior and development.
The proposed study will employ several methodologies including single-case design and qualitative methods to explore processes and drivers necessary to support early intervention (EI) providers in using online modules with embedded coaching supports to: (a) increase their own knowledge and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and (b) support EI providers to coach caregivers to use EBPs. The study will examine factors that lead to effective EI services empowering caregivers of toddlers with autism to embed EBPs into their everyday routines and activities. We will collaborate with EI providers and caregivers of toddlers with autism to examine the extent to which online EBP modules with ongoing implementation support: •are perceived as useful and relevant to EI providers •effectively support EI providers and caregivers to embed EBPs with fidelity We also intend to: •determine if and how provider and caregiver use of EPBs impacts child coordinated joint engagement •explore provider and caregiver perceptions related to EBPs and implementing them By examining perceptions and outcomes related to implementing EBPs, the study may enhance the quality of EI professional practice and improve outcomes for children with autism and their caregivers.
The goal of this project is to validate the Early Communication Indicator for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ECI-ASD) using a robust and representative multi-site sample of well-characterized children with autism spectrum disorder to determine the psychometric features of this instrument and its ability to detect change over time.