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Universal design for learning (UDL) has become a popular instructional topic in special education that gained prominence in the 1990s with the growing awareness of the need to provide individuals with disabilities access to the general curriculum.

This study sought to examine the effects of Tier 2 intervention in a multitiered model on the performance of first- and second-grade students who were identified as having mathematics difficulties. A regression discontinuity design was utilized. Participants included 126 (Tier 2, n = 26) first graders and 140 (Tier 2, n = 25) second graders. Tier 2 students received 15-min intervention booster lessons for 18 weeks in early mathematics skills and concepts. Results showed a significant intervention effect for second-grade Tier 2 students on the Texas Early Mathematics Inventories—Progress Monitoring (TEMI-PM) total standard score. The effect was not significant for first-grade Tier 2 students.

A systematic approach for addressing the support needs of persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities is presented and a new scale to measure individual differences in support needs described. The process employed in developing the scale is explained, including the establishment of a typology of support areas that was drawn from a review of the professional literature, a validation process using Q-sort methodology, and a pilot field test. Critical issues and practical challenges associated with efforts to measure and address the support needs of individuals are discussed.