What We Do
Research and Evaluation
To address the needs of our community, we conduct research on a variety of topics, including education and early intervention, disaster and community living.
Brazos Valley Employment Project
Enhancing work-based learning opportunities for students with disabilities in the Brazos Valley.
fact sheet (last updated 05/09) | Contact: Jackie Pacha, 979-845-4612
The Brazos Valley Employment Project (BVEP) is three-year employment initiative designed to create work-based learning and employment opportunities for high school students within the seven counties of the Brazos Valley.
Each year, project staff selects two secondary schools through an application process to become model demonstration sites. With technical assistance, training and financial support provided by the project, each school selects a program model to provide work experiences to youth with disabilities. To examine the effects of work-based learning on student employability skills, a pre-test and post-test are given to students involved in the program.
In its inaugural year of operation, BVEP held its first Disability in the Workplace seminar for employers. The seminar attracted 62 employers and increased employer awareness of the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities. BVEP also established a project advisory committee of 12 diverse members that represent the Brazos Valley.
The BVEP website provides updates on the status of each selected school’s programs as well as resources for youth, parents, educators and employers related to issues surrounding employment of individuals with disabilities.
Caregiver Support
Supporting the health, well-being and quality of life of families caring for loved ones with disabilities.
fact sheet (last updated 02/08) | Contact: Tim Elliott, 979-862-3095
Changes in access to health care and shortages of health care professionals have placed greater responsibilities on families for the health-related needs of family members with disabilities. When the provision of assistance to a family member with a disability becomes the primary responsibility of one family member, this family caregiver can be at increased risk of distress, social isolation, ill health and depression. These risk factors increase when the family caregiver’s employment is compromised or when the family lives in a rural/remote community with limited access to services and resources.
Center faculty are conducting several research studies to develop, implement and evaluate interventions that address the specific needs of caregivers. These studies use a combination of explicit problem-solving approaches, community and home-based services and various telecommunication strategies to (a) reach out to family caregivers in rural and non-rural communities, (b) help them identify and prioritize needs that are specific to their situation and their family’s situation and (c) teach them skills to identify and access resources aligned with their needs.
The results of these and other studies are shedding light on how explicit problem-solving training and telehealth delivery mechanisms can support the health, well-being and community quality of life of caregivers assisting family members with disabilities.
Disability
Training Network (DTN-TIR)
Improving the access, retention and success rates of college students with disabilities through faculty training, innovation and research.
fact sheet (last updated 03/09) |
Contact: Dalun "Dan" Zhang, 979-862-6514
- Training | The Disability Training Network (DTN) provides a brief introductory training to faculty at new faculty orientations; disseminates quarterly updates on policies, practices and issues; provides instructor-led seminars and self-paced online seminars on topics of importance; and offers train-the-trainer modules to faculty, staff and administrators during Summer Institutes.
- Innovation | To develop teaching innovations, DTN coordinates two activities: 1) Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) where faculty participate in professional development and work with each other to identify and field-test innovative strategies for teaching college students with disabilities; and 2) mini-grants awarded to faculty from different disciplines for developing, testing and disseminating new or applied instructional strategies.
- Research | DTN also focuses on quasi-experimental research to empirically examine the effectiveness of training on faculty competencies in teaching students with disabilities and to examine the effectiveness of implementing certain instructional strategies on student outcomes. Research findings and other project information and materials are widely disseminated.
Project Early Reading Intervention (ERI)
Developing early reading skills in kindergarten children.
fact sheet (last updated 03/09) |
Contact: Deb Simmons, 979-845-8050
The first years of schooling are a critical window of opportunity to develop children’s reading skills, which will be a foundation for all future learning. Faculty at the Center on Disability and Development have received four years of funding to examine the effects of different reading interventions and how to intensify instruction for children at risk of developing reading difficulties.
Project ERI involves researchers from Texas A&M University, the University of Connecticut and the University of Central Florida, who have partnered with school districts in their respective states to examine the efficacy, replicability and durability of the Early Reading Intervention.
Randomized field trials are in progress in three states involving more than 100 teachers and 400 kindergarten children. Schools represent a mixture of suburban, inner city and urban settings, and children come from demographically and ethnically diverse populations. Findings from the first year studies indicated that children most at risk of reading difficulties who received the Early Reading Intervention made greater gains on measures of letter names and sounds, phonemic awareness and word attack than students in children in typical practice classrooms. The project is in its third year and is currently examining how to make ERI more effective for students who do not show adequate reading growth in kindergarten. Data from the multi-state research project are currently being analyzed to determine effects and conditions of instruction that most benefit early reading development.
Project REDD (Research and Education on Disability and Disaster)
Providing research and training on the effects of disaster on individuals with disabilities and their families.
fact sheet (last updated 03/09) | Contact: Laura Stough, 979-845-8257
Project REDD was created in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
in response to the overwhelming needs of the over 400,000 individuals
with disabilities that were displaced to Texas following these disasters.
The mission of Project REDD is to:
1) conduct high-quality research and evaluation on how disasters affect individuals with disabilities and their families, and
2) provide training and workshops on the topic of disability and disaster for organizations, service providers and at professional conferences.
Project REDD collaborates with other researchers exploring psychological constructs related to the effects of disaster. Project REDD has produced the “Disaster Acronym Guide” and the “Texas Guide to Supports and Services for Individuals with Disabilities and Their Families Affected by Disasters.” Over 10,000 of these guides have been distributed to emergency management personnel, case managers, volunteer organizations, county extension agents and people throughout Texas. Project REDD faculty present at professional organizations and engage in ongoing research on the effects of disaster on individuals with disabilities and their families.
Project WORLD (Words of Oral Reading and Language Development)
Accelerating vocabulary development and background knowledge in at-risk preschoolers.
fact sheet (last updated 03/09) | Contact: Jorge Gonzalez, 979-845-2324
Children’s knowledge of vocabulary is critical to understanding spoken and written language. Yet, many children enter preschool with limited knowledge
of words and their meanings. Project WORLD is a three-year research project examining methods to accelerate the vocabulary development and background knowledge of ethnically/linguistically diverse preschool children identified as being at risk of language-related disabilities. Center faculty, in collaboration with preschool teachers, have designed a school and home intervention that uses story and informational books to build preschoolers’ vocabulary and background knowledge.
During this past year, the impact of the WORLD shared-reading curriculum was studied with preschoolers in general education classrooms, paying special attention to English language learners and other students at-risk for language difficulties. Three school districts participated in the English classroom intervention. Classrooms were randomly assigned to the WORLD curriculum or a “practice-as-usual” condition.
Findings indicated that children who participated in the WORLD intervention made significant growth on taught vocabulary. Center faculty have designed a Spanish version of the curriculum and have also developed lessons for use in children’s homes.
