Contact Information
Phone: 617-353-6419
Email: zsr@bu.edu

Educational History

Ph.D. Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 2007
Department of Teaching and Leadership: Special Education

C.A.S. Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 2005
Department of Cultural Foundations of Education: Disability Studies

M.Ed. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 2001
Department of Education: Special Education
Concentration: Severe Disabilities

B.A. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 1996
Major: Sociology; Minor: History

Profile

Zachary Rossetti is a former special education teacher and inclusion facilitator from New Hampshire. He was an Assistant Professor in the Elementary/Special Education program at Providence College for four years before joining the Special Education program at Boston University. His research emphasizes the belonging of people with disabilities, and it focuses on school and community inclusion, social relationships in schools, and augmentative and alternative communication methods. He is also interested in pre-service teacher perceptions of diversity (including disability), family/sibling experiences, autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and cultural representations of disability.

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Special Education
  • Teaching Students with Special Needs
  • Classroom and Behavior Management

Selected Publications

  • Rossetti, Z. (2011). “That’s how we do it”: Friendship work between high school students with and without autism or developmental disability. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 36(1-2), 23-33.
  • Rossetti, Z. (2011). Helping or hindering: The role of secondary educators in facilitating friendship opportunities among students with and without autism or developmental disability. International Journal of Inclusive Education.
  • Rossetti, Z., & Goessling, D. (2010). The role of paraeducators in facilitating friendships between high school students with and without autism or other developmental disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42:6, 64-70.
  • Rossetti, Z., Ashby, C., Arndt, K., Chadwick, M., & Kasahara, M. (2008). “I like others to not try to fix me”: Agency, independence, and autism. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 46, 364-375.
  • Tashie, C., & Rossetti, Z. (2007). Supporting friendships for all students. In M. F. Giangreco & M. B. Doyle (Eds.) Quick guides to inclusion: Ideas for educating students with disabilities, 2nd Edition (pp. 47-60). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
  • Tashie, C., Shapiro-Barnard, S., & Rossetti, Z. (2006). Seeing the charade: What we need to do and undo to make friendships happen. Nottingham: Inclusive Solutions UK Limited.
  • Biklen, D., & Rossetti, Z. (Producers and Directors). (2005). My classic life as an artist: A portrait of Larry Bissonnette [Video Documentary]. United States: The Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies, Syracuse University.

Selected Presentations

  • Rossetti, Z., & Goessling, D. (September, 2010). Facilitating social skills and friendship: Working one-on-one with students with autism. Webinar given for the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
  • Rossetti, Z., & Goessling, D. (June, 2010). Friendship facilitation strategies for high school students with and without autism or other developmental disabilities. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), Providence, RI.
  • Rossetti, Z. (April, 2010). Paraeducator strategies and implementation techniques for facilitating adolescent friendships. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Nashville, TN.
  • Rossetti, Z. (March, 2010). Strategies for facilitating friendships between students with and without Down syndrome. Invited presentation at the 26th Annual Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress Conference, Worcester, MA.
  • Rossetti, Z. (December, 2008). Learning to connect: Developmental disability and friendship in high school. Presentation at the TASH Annual Conference, Nashville, TN.

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students at the School of Education benefit from the community feel of a small school along with the resources of a large university. Our students are in the field in both urban and suburban schools as early as their first year at SED.

Graduate Students

Talented graduate students from around the world prepare to become teachers, counselors, administrators, and more in as little as one year at the School of Education. Our students engage in diverse aspects of education both in the classroom and the field.