Judith R. Harrison

Judith Harrison holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Special Education and Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) from Texas A&M University. Through her 20 years of experience as a counselor and teaching special education, she has primarily worked with children with ADHD and Behavioral Disorders. Harrison’s dissertation allowed her to use large databases to look at children with ADHD and see exactly which behaviors were perceived as discriminatory. Through her work, she discovered that for young children there was an atypicality and for older children in high school it was academic problems. As a result, she began to focus her research on middle school-aged children with ADHD.

Harrison’s most recent research looks closely at comparing the effectiveness of interventions and accommodations for children with behavioral disabilities. She discovered that when implementing an intervention you have the opportunity to teach the child a skill, whereas accommodation does not allow for this. She explains that accommodation is the most common application that happens for children with behavioral disabilities, and there is not a lot of research supporting it. Further, Harrison co-published the article “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders and Classroom-Based Interventions,” which goes into depth about her research on the effectiveness and value of learning interventions.

Harrison’s work can be viewed as social justice, as she tries to bring light to the fact of rather than teaching children with behavioral disabilities the skills they need to function in society, we are giving them accommodations which hurts them in the long run. She believes it is crucial that children with ADHD and behavioral disabilities are not taught a “watered down” version for the learning material. Her main focus is finding an effective way to teach children with ADHD and behavioral disabilities the everyday skills they need to succeed in life.

Additionally, Harrison is on the GSE teacher education committee where she helps build the five-year program and focuses primarily on the special education component. She is eager to make sure students get everything they need before going into the classroom, whether it is general education classes or self-contained environments.

• Expertise & Research Interest

  Accommodations and Interventions for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, including ADHD – Inclusive Practices

• Recent & Selected Publications

  Harrison, J. R., Soares, D.A., & Evans, S. W. (2023). The Educator’s Guide to ADHD Interventions: Strategies for Grades 5 – 12. London: Taylor and Francis.

  Harrison, J. R., Schultz, B. K., & Evans, S. E. (eds; 2017). School mental health services for adolescents. New York: Oxford University Press

  *Bussanich, G., Harrison. J.R., Peltier, C., *Patel, A, *Mehta, P, *Patel, K. (2025). School-Based Social Skills Interventions for Youth With ADHD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Attention Disorders. doi: 10.1177/10870547251364578. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40905635.

  *Maxcy, L. E., Soares, D. A., & Harrison, J. R. (2025). Technology based self-monitoring for a student with EBD to improve academic engagement. Contemporary Educational Technology, 17(2), ep563, https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/15864

  *Zatz, J. C., & Harrison, J. R. (2025). K-12 life skills education, independence, and employment of autistic individuals: Giving voice to autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06304-7 (IF = 4.2)Soares, D. A., Harrison, J. R., Peltier, C., & *Press, K. (2024). Academic and behavioral strategies in inclusive settings for students with EBD: A meta-analysis. Behavior Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01987429241261382

  Lovett, B., & Harrison, J. R. (2023). Ensuring test access for students with disabilities. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 49(1), 3-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/15345084231205314

  *Belmonte, C., & Harrison, J. R. (2023). Multi-tiered systems of support: A pilot study of teacher interpretation and application of graphed behavioral data. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 39(2), 151-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2022.2113945

  Harrison, J. R., Evans, S. W., *Zatz, J., *Mehta, P., *Patel, A., *Syed, M., Soares, D., *Swistack, N., *Griffith, M., & Custer, B.A. (2022). Comparison of four classroom-based strategies for middle school students with ADHD: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26(11). https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547221081108

  *Coleman, M., & Harrison, J. R. (2022). Cultural diversity in children’s braille books. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 116(2), 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X221090261

  Soares, D. A., Harrison, J. R, Melloy, K., *Baran, A., & *Mohlmann, M. (2022). Practice-to-research: Responding to the complexities of inclusion for students with emotional and behavioral disorders with recommendations for schools. National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Bulletin, 106(2), 77-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/01926365221097434

  Harrison, J. R., Evans, S. W., *Baran, A., *Khondker, F., *Press, K., *Wasserman, S., *Noel, D., *Mallory. A., *Belmonte, C., & *Mohlmann, M. (2020). Comparison of accommodations and interventions for youth with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of School Psychology, 80, 15-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.05.001

  Harrison, J. R., *Kwong, C., Evans, S. W., Peltier, C., Mathews, L., & Chatman, T. (2020). Game-based self-management: Addressing inattention during independent reading and written response. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 36(1), 38-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2019.1660748

  *Joyce, J., Harrison, J. R., & Gitomer D. (2020). Modifications and accommodations: A preliminary investigation into changes in classroom artifact quality. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(2), 181-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1453876

  Harrison, J. R., Soares, D. A., *Rudzinski, S., & *Johnson, R. (2019). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and classroom-based interventions: Evidence-based status, effectiveness, and moderators of effects in single case design research. Review of Educational Research, 89(4), 569-611. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319857038

  Spiel, C. F., Evans, S. W., & Harrison, J. R. (2019). Does reading standardized tests aloud meet the scientific definition of an accommodation? Journal of Applied School Psychology, 35(4), 380-399. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2019.1601145

  Kern, L., Harrison, J. R., Custer, B. E., & Mehta, P. D. (2019). Factors that enhance the quality of relationships between mentors and mentees during Check & Connect. Behavioral Disorders,44(3), 148-161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742918779791

  Harrison, J. R., Soares, D., & Joyce, J. (2019). Inclusion of students with emotional and behavioural disorders in general education settings: A scoping review of research in the US. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(12), 1209-1231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1444107

• Honors & Awards

  Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award (DFL). Rutgers University Graduate School of Education Alumni Association (GSEAA), 2024

  Research Challenge Award (2013), Ohio University, 2013

  Research Challenge Award (2012), Ohio University, 2012