Independent living is recognized as a marker of adulthood. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, however, the need for continued support in completing daily living tasks reduces the likelihood of achieving independence in this domain. Barriers to living independently include increased dependence on family and support staff and deficits in functional life skills. In this study, a multiple-baseline across behaviors design was used to examine the efficacy of an augmented reality intervention for teaching daily living skills to three young adults with disabilities in a residential postsecondary education program. Our results indicate the intervention was effective for increasing independence among all participants. Furthermore, the intervention was found to be a socially acceptable and nonstigmatizing method for supporting young adults in a residential postsecondary education program.

The ongoing shortage of special education teachers coupled with increasing attrition rate has caused for a further analysis into why teachers are choosing to leave the field. A quantitative (n = 363) study was completed on the factors that lead to attrition among special education teachers from 34 states in the United States. Canonical correlation analysis was used to determine if there was a statistical significance in job satisfaction (as measured by a set of teaching characteristics) related to teacher burnout (as measured by a set of burnout factors) among public school special education teachers. Results indicate that there was a statistically significant relationship between job satisfaction and burnout among special education teachers. Implications for pre‐service education programs, school districts and administrators are discussed as well as retention strategies such as mentoring and providing meaningful professional development opportunities.

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