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.

 

 

Disability Training Network (DTN-TIR)
Contact: Dalun Zhang, 979-862-6514
Improving the access, retention and success rates of college students with disabilities through faculty training, innovation and research.

  • 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.

Early Reading Intervention (ERI)
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 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 involved 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 were held in three states involving more than 100 teachers and 400 kindergarten children. Schools represented 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. Data from the multi-state research project are currently being analyzed to determine effects and conditions of instruction that most benefit early reading development.

 

Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text (PACT)
Contact: Deb Simmons, 979-845-8050
Improving the reading comprehension of 7th–12th graders through university and school collaboration.

With an aim to improve reading comprehension among students in grades 7–12, this five-year research grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) includes reading, measurement and cognition experts from multiple universities in Texas and Florida. This team will (a) conduct basic research on cognition and motivation related to reading comprehension by adolescents, (b) design and experimentally evaluate classroom-based interventions focused on improving comprehension of text in social studies and English language arts, and (c) investigate conditions associated with successful scale-up of interventions in middle schools and high schools.

 

Research and Education on Disability and Disaster (REDD)
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.

 

Texas AgrAbility | Contact: Cheryl Grenwelge, 979-845-3727
Connecting, assisting and empowering people in production agriculture.

An estimated 50,000 farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers in the state who have some type of disability. Texas AgrAbility’s focus is on connecting, assisting and empowering agricultural producers, their family members and employees with disabilities and chronic health conditions to stay engaged in production agriculture. This program, initiated in 2009 by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M University, is part of a nationwide network of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs.

 

  • We provide assistance through individualized consultation and
    assessment of agricultural work sites and tasks and make
    recommendations for farm equipment adaptation, home
    modifications and adaptive equipment.
  • We connect farmers, ranchers, their family members and farm workers to the disability community network of professionals and each other.
  • We seek to empower through education and resources the
    self-determination of individuals with disabilities to stay actively engaged in agriculture.

 

Texas Autism Collaborative | Contact: Jennifer Ganz, 979-862-2823
Improving outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorders through research, training and outreach.

Among the most critical needs among individuals with autism spectrum disorders is the need for accurate early diagnosis and intensive intervention services (during ages 2–5 prior to participation in a public school program). The lack of these services is especially acute for families living in rural communities and for Spanish speaking families. Based on conversations with families living in the Brazos Valley, early diagnosis and intervention will be among the initial services developed by the Texas Autism Collaborative initiative.