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College of Education

Dr. Kim Fisher

Associate Professor, SEAT Center Director
Office
DEG Degarmo Hall 533
Office Phone
(309) 438-8980office
phone
Email
kcwolow@ilstu.eduemail
  • About
  • Education
  • Selected Research

Biography

Kim Fisher is an Associate Professor and Director of the Special Education Assistive Technology Center in the Department of Special Education. Prior to academia, she was an inclusion specialist, learning behavior specialist, and an assistive technology consultant.

Current Courses

SED 482.001 Seminar In Special Education Research

SED 344.004 Teaching Secondary Content to Students with Disabilities

Teaching Interests & Areas

Dr. Fisher’s teaching interests include preparing general educators to teach all students, Universal Design for Learning, and research methods.

Research Interests & Areas

Dr. Fisher studies how technology access, knowledge, skills, and use promote social networks, social capital, and community participation for adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Fisher uses both quantitative survey methods (e.g., egocentric network analysis, structural equation modeling, linear and logistic regression) including secondary data analysis and qualitative interviews and focus group methods (e.g., rapid qualitative analysis, grounded theory) to do this work.

Most recently, her collaborative work with public health researchers and disabled community members has centered around the social and civic participation of youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities using technology. Her research team has several publications, presentations, and invited talks exploring technology access and use for social inclusion and digital citizenship of young adults with and without intellectual disability.

PhD Special Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois

MA Special Education

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

BS Leisure Studies

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois

Grants and Contracts

Going Home Coalition Advocates' Experience Using Technology
Kim Fisher.
The Arc of Illinois. December 2021 - May 2021
Who’s connected to whom and how do we measure it? A systematic review of egocentric network methods for adults with IDD
Kim Fisher.
University Research Grant. May 2021 - June 2021

Journal Article

Digital citizenship: Technology access and use for youth with and without intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
Kim Fisher, Heather J. Williamson, Nichole, Scott Kup.
(2021)
Technology and social inclusion: Technology training and usage by youth with IDD in the National Longitudinal Transition Study of 2012
Kim Fisher, Heather H Williamson, Nichole Guerra.
Inclusion, 8 (1), 43-57, (2020), https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-8.1.43
#ADA25 campaign: Using social media to promote participation, social inclusion, and civic engagement of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability
Heather J Williamson, Kim Fisher, Devanshi Mahdvani, Lori Talorico.
Inclusion, 7 (1), 24-40, (2019), 10.1352/2326-6988-7.1.24
Promoting upstander behavior to address bullying in schools
Juliet Hart Barnett, Kim W. Fisher, Natasha O'Connell, Kimberlee Franco.
Middle School Journal, 50 (1), 6-11, (2019)
Exposure to literacy for students eligible for the alternate assessment
Andrea L. Ruppar, Kim Fisher, Amy J. Olson, Ann-Marie Orlando.
Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, (2018)
Teacher’s Corner: Promoting upstander behavior to address bullying in schools. DADD Express
Kim Fisher, Juliet Hart Barnett, Stanley H. Zucker, Natasha O'Connell, Franco.
(2018)
Research informed practice in autism, intellectual disability, and developmental disabilities
Stanley H. Zucker, Kim Fisher, Meaghan McCollow, Elizabeth A. West.
(2017)
Internet-based parent implemented intervention for young children with autism: A pilot study
Hedda Meadan, R., Lori E. Meyer, Kim Fisher, Moon Y. Chung, James.
(2016)
Participation and intellectual disability: A review of the literature
Evan Dean, Kim Fisher, Karrie A. Shogren, Michael L. Wehmeyer.
(2016)
Bringing instructional strategies home: Reaching families online
Sarah L. Curtiss, Jamie N. Pearson, Yusuf Akamoglu, Kim Fisher, Melinda R. Snodgrass, Lori E. Meyer, Hedda Meadan, James W. Halle.
(2015)
The influence of academic tracking on adolescent social networks
Kim Fisher, Karrie A. Shogren.
(2015)
Increasing an AAC user's classroom community membership through peer social networks: An ecological intervention
Kim W. Fisher, Karrie A. Shogren.
(2013)
Keep your eye on the prize: Implementing AAC within the broader context of communicative competence
Laura DeThorne, Kim Fisher, King.
(2013)
Integrating augmentative and alternative communication and peer support for students with disabilities: A social-ecological perspective
Kim W. Fisher, Karrie A. Shogren.
Journal of Special Education Technology, (2012)

Technical Report

Arizona Comprehensive Review and Analysis
Erica S. McFadden, Kim Fisher, Sang Eun Lee, Kovacs, Maria.
(2016)
The Graduation Cliff: Improving the Post-High School Outcomes of Students with Disabilities
Erica S. McFadden, David Daughtery, Sang Eun Lee, Kim Fisher, Anthony Hack.
(2015)

Presentations

Universally Designed: Effectively Instructing Future Teacher Educators for an Inclusive Classroom
Allison M Kroesch, Kim N Fisher.
Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities 2022 Annual Conference, Clearwater Beach, FL., January, 2022
Reaching All Learners: Lesson Planning UDL Style!
Kim Fisher, Allison Kroesch.
Illinois Council for Exceptional Children (ICEC) Annual Conference, Online, November, 2021
Minoritized Youth and the Digital Divide: Exploring Digital Access, Use, and Participation
Kim Fisher, Heather J. Williamson, Scott Kupferman.
Annual Meeting of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Washington, D.C., June, 2021
State of the Science: Research Trends in Technology and Cognitive Disability
Shea Tanis, Kim Fisher.
Annual Meeting of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Washington, DC, June, 2021
Technology enhanced participation
Kim Fisher.
Bridging the Digital Divide for HCBS Beneficiaries (Part II), Washington, D.C., April, 2021
Technology enhanced community participation: Why supporting digital citizen activity of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is critical
Kim Fisher, Heather J. Williamson, Scott Kupferman.
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Webinar Series, Washington, DC, February, 2021

Additional Links

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