Biography

Dr. Amy Accardo is Director of the PhD in Education Program, a program focused on preparing students to become university faculty, leaders, researchers and policymakers that address persistent social justice concerns in education. Her scholarly activities focus on promoting equitable education opportunities leading to independence for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) grounded in the fields of neurodiversity and critical inclusion. She strives to eliminate the research to practice gap teaching students with ASD, and to increase access to postsecondary education and employment for the growing number of young adults with ASD-- now 1 in 22 males in NJ (CDC, 2018).

As a member of the Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education Department, Dr. Accardo teaches graduate coursework in the MS and PhD in Education programs. She also serves as a reviewer for national journals and presents at national and international conferences in the area of special education. Dr. Accardo’ s professional experience includes an extensive public school background, having served as a middle school special education teacher for fifteen years. In 2006, Dr. Accardo founded Bucks County Learning Connections LLC, providing access to developmental support for individuals with ASD and their families.  She received her Doctor of Education in Special Education degree from Arcadia University, and her Master of Science in Education and Bachelor of Science degrees from Drexel University.

Recent Publications:

Accardo, A. L., & Finnegan, E. G., Kuder S. J., & Bomgardner, E. M.  (2019). Writing interventions

              for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A research synthesis. Journal of Autism and

              Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03955-9 https://rdcu.be/bpHbN

Accardo, A. L., Kuder, S. J., & Woodruff J. (2018). Accommodations and support services

            preferred by college students with autism. Autism, 1-10. (Impact Factor 3.684)

            http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/10.1177/1362361318760490

Finnegan, E. G., & Accardo, A.L. (2018). Understanding character perspective:

            Strategies to support children with autism spectrum disorder. The Reading Teacher,

            1-10. (Impact Factor .69)

            https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1682

Accardo, A. L., Finnegan, E. G. (2018). Teaching reading comprehension to learners with autism

            spectrum disorder: Discrepancies between teacher and research recommended practices.

            Autism. (Impact Factor 3.684) https://youtu.be/Wk6l8YXPk4Q

            http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361317730744

Kuder, S. J., & Accardo, A. L., (2018). What works for college students with autism spectrum

            disorder, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Impact Factor 3.321)

            http://rdcu.be/BQHu

Finnegan, E. G., Accardo, A. L. (2018). Written expression in individuals with autism spectrum

            disorder: A meta-analysis, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. (Impact Factor

            3.321) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-017-3385-9

Accardo, A. L. (2017). College-bound young adults with ASD: Self-reported

            factors promoting and inhibiting success. DADD Online Journal: Research to Practice,

            4(1), 36-46. http://daddcec.org/Publications/DADDOnlineJournal.aspx

Accardo, A. L., Finnegan, E. G., Gulkus, S. P.  & Papay, C. K. (2017) Teaching

           reading comprehension to learners with autism spectrum disorder: Predictors of teacher

           self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, Psychology in the Schools, 54(3), 309-323. DOI:

           10.1002/pits.21994 (Impact Factor 1.19; citations 1) http://rdcu.be/pdqU 

Accardo, A. L. & Xin, J. F. (2017). Use of technology-based simulation to prepare teacher

            candidates for parental collaboration, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education,

            25(4). (Acceptance Rate 10.45%) https://www.learntechlib.org/j/JTATE/

Accardo, A. L. & Kuder, S. J., (2017). Monitoring student learning in algebra, Mathematics

            Teacher in the Middle School, 22(6). ow.ly/78zi308xLDV

http://www.nctm.org/Publications/Mathematics-Teaching-in-Middle-School/2017/Vol22/Issue6/Monitoring-Student-Learning-in-Algebra/

Accardo, A. L. (2017). Yoga as a school-wide-positive behavioral support. Childhood

           Education, 93(2), 109-113. DOI: 10.1080/00094056.2017.1300488

           http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2017.1300488 

Xin, J. F., Accardo, A. L., Shuff, M., Cormier, M., & Doorman, D. (2016). Integrating global

           content into special education teacher preparation programs. Teacher Education and

           Special Education, 1-11. DOI: 10.1177/0888406416631124 (Impact Factor .881; Citations 2)
http://tes.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/0888406416631124v1.pdf?ijkey=2evJtRwKAlymlyT&keytype=finite

Accardo, A. L. (2015). Research synthesis: Effective practices for improving the reading

           comprehension of students with autism spectrum disorder. DADD Online Journal,

           2(1), 7-20. (Citations 4)  http://daddcec.org/Publications/DADDOnlineJournal.aspx