Issue: 1 , 12/29/25

Year: 2025

Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis

Review

Research Article

Special Education and Disabled Education, Mental Disability Education

Anadolu Journal of Research in Developmental Disabilities (AJRlDD) is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to publish scientific studies in the fields of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.
The journal accepts single-subject, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research, as well as review papers, meta-analyses, and practice-based studies conducted in the field of special education and developmental disabilities. AJRlDD seeks to bridge theory and practice by contributing to scientific knowledge production and fostering collaboration among teachers, researchers, and policy makers.
The journal is published twice a year and welcomes manuscripts written in both Turkish and English.

Intervention activities in the field of developmental disabilities, including but not limited to the areas listed below, are accepted, such as assessment systems, personnel training, and family work directly related to children with special needs.

AUTHOR GUIDELINES FOR THE ANADOLU JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (AJRIDD)

General Principles of the Journal

Authors preparing manuscripts for publication in AJRIDD are expected to review this guide carefully.

AJRIDD is a peer-reviewed journal published twice a year. The journal includes review articles as well as quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research conducted in the field of special education. It is freely accessible online.

AJRIDD publishes manuscripts written in both Turkish and English. Manuscripts written in Turkish must include an English abstract, and manuscripts written in English must include a Turkish abstract.

Manuscripts must comply with the Turkish Language Association (TDK) Writing Guide and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (APA-7).

This guide is intended to assist authors; however, for any details not specified herein, authors should refer to APA-7 and the TDK Writing Guide.

At the submission stage, authors are required to upload the Ethics Committee Approval Form, when applicable.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity using a plagiarism detection software.

The maximum acceptable similarity index is 15%.

Manuscripts exceeding this limit will be returned to the authors for revision.

Manuscripts that remain above the limit after revision will be rejected.

The AI-generated content similarity rate must be 0%.

Authors must upload the Copyright Transfer Form, signed by all authors and scanned, through the DergiPark submission system.

General Principles for Manuscript Preparation

Page layout: Manuscripts must be prepared on A4-sized pages with 2.5 cm margins on all sides, fully justified.

Font: The entire manuscript must be written in Times New Roman, 10-point size.

Paragraph format: Paragraph indentation must be 1.25 cm (one tab), except in the Turkish and English abstracts. Paragraph spacing should be 6 pt before and 0 pt after. Line spacing must be single.

Word count: Excluding abstracts, the full Turkish and full English versions of the manuscript must each contain a minimum of 6000 and a maximum of 8000 words, including references. Both language versions must be consistent.

Titles (TR/EN): The manuscript title must not exceed 12 words, written in 14-point, bold, Times New Roman, single-spaced and centered.

Turkish Abstract and English Abstract:

A Turkish abstract summarizing the manuscript must appear above the Turkish full text.

Abstracts must be 10-point, fully justified, a maximum of 250 words, and must not contain citations or abbreviations.

The same rules apply to the English abstract placed above the English full text.

Keywords: Beneath both the Turkish and English abstracts, 5 to 7 keywords must be provided, written in lowercase, separated by commas, and ending with a period. Keywords must correspond exactly between languages.

References (TR/EN): The reference list must begin on a new page, and APA-7 rules must be applied both in-text and in the reference list.

Journal Headings Format

The manuscript may include multiple levels of headings, beginning with first-level headings.

All headings, except the section heading centered at the beginning of the text, must be left-aligned.

A spacing of 6 pt before and after each heading must be included.

Each new major section must begin on a new page with a new heading.

All headings must be written in Times New Roman.

Heading Formats

First-Level Heading (section heading):

Centered, bold, uppercase, Times New Roman, 12-point.

Second-Level Heading:

Left-aligned, bold, each major word capitalized, Times New Roman, 10-point.

Third-Level Heading:

Left-aligned, bold, only the first word capitalized, Times New Roman, 10-point.

Fourth-Level Heading:

Left-aligned, italic + bold, only the first word capitalized, Times New Roman, 10-point.

Fifth-Level Heading:

Left-aligned, italic, only the first word capitalized, Times New Roman, 10-point.

Figure and Table Guidelines

Data may be presented as tables or figures.

Tables display numerical or textual information in rows and columns.

Figures include graphics, drawings, diagrams, photographs, maps, images, and similar visual elements.

Within tables and figures, the font size must be 8-point, Times New Roman (i.e., 2 points smaller than the main text).

The table/figure number and title must appear above the table or figure, left-aligned, in bold, without paragraph indentation.

Text wrapping must be disabled; single spacing must be used.

Each table/figure must be numbered and titled in accordance with APA-7 (10-point Times New Roman).

Table and figure titles must follow these rules:

“Table” or “Figure” with the number in bold and regular type

The title in italic, with major words capitalized except conjunctions

Before the table/figure title, one blank line must be inserted.

A 6-pt space must appear between the title and the explanation, and between the explanation and the table/figure content.

After the table/figure, a 6-pt space must be inserted before continuing with the text.

Notes or sources placed below the table/figure must be written in 8-point, Times New Roman, single-spaced, and include page numbers when possible.

Figures must be prepared in TIFF, EPS, JPEG, or PNG format.

Reference Formatting Guidelines

All sources cited in the manuscript must be listed in the reference list in alphabetical order based on the authors’ surnames.

If a reference extends beyond one line, subsequent lines must be indented 1.25 cm using a hanging indent, single-spaced, with 0 pt before and 6 pt after.

References must follow APA-7 rules exactly.

Sources with a DOI must include the DOI.

When multiple works by the same author exist, they must be listed chronologically from the oldest to the most recent.

When the same author has multiple works and one of them is co-authored, the co-authored work must be listed after the single-authored work.

When the same author(s) publish multiple works in the same year, the works must be ordered alphabetically by title and designated as (2023a, 2023b, 2023c, …).

Authors with the same surname must be distinguished using initials.

Authors with identical names must be differentiated using brackets.

Works with more than 20 authors must list the first 20 authors, followed by an ellipsis (…) and then the final author's name.

Journal titles must be written in full, without abbreviation.

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
The Anadolu Journal of Research in Developmental Disabilities (AJRIDD) aims to maintain the highest level of accuracy in the content it publishes. Ethical principles play an important role in the publication policy of the AJRIDD Journal. Therefore, the ‘AJRIDD Ethical Principles and Publication Policy’ has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to ensure that published works are impartial and ethical. Works that violate COPE principles will not be published in this journal.

Ethics Checklist
• Has official permission been obtained prior to the use of any unpublished tools, methods, or data to which others may claim rights?
• Are the names of all authors included in the article and the online submission form?
• Have all materials included in the text been referenced clearly and completely?
• Have the data been carefully checked and all supplementary data required by the journal been included?
• Has any conflict of interest relating to the journal been declared?
• Has (written) permission been obtained for the reuse of any figures, tables, and data sets?
• Has the article been submitted simultaneously to only the AJRIDD Journal?
Finally, inform all authors after submitting the article.

Responsibilities of the Author(s)
· AJRIDD expects that the work is original and current. All sources used must be properly and accurately cited, as clearly stated in the writing guidelines.
· Articles submitted to AJRIDD must state that they have not been submitted to any other journal or journals, and the ‘Copyright Transfer Form’ must be completed.
· Individuals who have not contributed to the content during the planning, implementation, and writing processes of the work should not be listed as authors. Any situations or relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest in the work submitted for publication must be disclosed.
· The names and addresses of the institutions/organisations to which the authors of the study belong must be stated correctly and completely.
· Raw data related to the study may be requested from the authors while the article is being evaluated by the reviewers. In this case, the author(s) are expected to submit the raw data to the Editorial Board upon request. Furthermore, the author(s) are obliged to retain the data related to the study for a period of five years.
· The author(s) are obliged to inform the Editorial Board if they discover an error in their work during the peer review or publication process. They should also contact the Editorial Board for corrections or retraction processes.

Reviewer Responsibilities
· Reviewers should only agree to evaluate studies related to their area of expertise.
· They should not investigate the identity of the author(s), and if they discover the identity of the author(s), they must terminate the evaluation process.
· They should evaluate the submitted work impartially, independently, and without bias.
· Reviewers should not take any action that reveals their identity in the work they are evaluating. For example, their names should not appear in the evaluation file.
· Reviewers must inform the journal of their acceptance, rejection or revision decisions regarding the submitted work and the reasons for these decisions using the reviewer evaluation form.
· Reviewers may use accepted works from the studies they have reviewed after the publication process. They must not share any information about rejected works.
· It is important to use scientific and polite language when evaluating. No insults, slander or derogatory comments should be made towards the author(s) or the work.
· They must provide their comments and decisions on the studies they accept for evaluation in a timely manner, taking into account the ethical responsibilities outlined above.

Editorial Responsibilities


1. General Responsibilities
· The editor is responsible for all articles published in the AJRIDD Journal and accepted for the publication process.
· They are responsible for enhancing the quality of the journal and contributing to its development.
· They are responsible for implementing processes aimed at improving the quality of the works published in the journal.
· They are responsible for maintaining ethical principles throughout the entire process and protecting intellectual property rights.
· They are responsible for supporting freedom of thought.


2. Reader Relations
· The editor is responsible for taking reader feedback into consideration and providing explanatory and informative responses to this feedback.
· The editor is responsible for publishing work that is in line with the journal's purpose, which is the reason readers access the journal.

3. Relations with Authors
· The editor must keep track of any information and innovations that authors may need during the submission and evaluation process. Where necessary, updates should be made on the journal's website.
· The editor must evaluate the works submitted to the journal within the framework of the established rules. If a decision to reject is made during the initial submission process, the editor must communicate this decision to the author(s), explaining the reasons for it. If a situation is encountered that does not comply with the writing rules or article template, the editor must explain the situation to the author(s) and allow time for corrections.
· The editor should take positive referee feedback into account unless they identify a serious problem in the submitted work.
· When authors wish to obtain information during the article evaluation process, they should provide information in a way that does not compromise the blind review process.


4. Relations with Referees
· The editor should assign works submitted for publication to referees according to their areas of expertise.
· The editor should provide reviewers with the information they require during the evaluation process.
· The editor should remove reviewers from the reviewer list who use inappropriate language, provide comments lacking in substance, or provide late feedback.
· The editor should continuously expand the reviewer list by following current topics and considering areas of expertise.
· The editor should control situations that reveal the identity of reviewers in a manner that does not compromise the blind review process.
· The editor should plan measures to improve the performance of reviewers.


5. Relations with the Editorial Board
· Plans should be made to ensure that board members evaluate submissions impartially and independently.
· Regular communication should be maintained with the board.
· The editor and board members should hold meetings at regular intervals to support the development of the journal.

Ethical Principles
1. Plagiarism and Unethical Behaviour
Authors must upload a plagiarism report to the system for all works submitted to the journal for publication. Articles exceeding a certain percentage (15%) will not be included in the evaluation process. Works with a plagiarism rate above the specified threshold are examined in detail and, if deemed necessary, are returned to the author(s) for review and correction. If unethical conduct is detected, the work is rejected outright.
2. Ethics Committee Approval Certificate
It is essential that human and animal rights are not violated in works submitted to the AJRIDD Journal. For all research involving humans or animals in this journal, ethical committee approval must be obtained in accordance with the research method. This approval must be obtained from authorised institutions such as universities, institutes or the Ministry of Health. For all studies requiring ethical committee approval in the AJRIDD Journal, it is mandatory to obtain the approval certificate and upload it to the system. In these studies, it is mandatory that all authors mentioned in the study are listed on the document. In addition, the methods section of the study should include a statement regarding informed consent, the name of the ethics committee, the date and number of the ethics committee approval.
3. Relations with the Journal Owner and Publisher
The relationship between the editor and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. The editor conducts all decision-making processes independently of the publisher and journal owner.
4. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
AJRIDD Journal undertakes to protect the intellectual property rights of published articles. In any attempt to infringe upon these rights, the journal and author(s) will pursue and defend their rights to the fullest extent.
5. Protection of Participants' Personal Data, Rights and Interests
The confidentiality and personal information of participants in the study must be guaranteed. Therefore, the article should not contain any statements that clearly identify the participants and their personal information.
6. Conflicts of Interest
All stakeholders involved in the publication process of AJRIDD Journal, such as authors, editors, or referees, are responsible for considering conflicts of interest. The journal guarantees that the publication process is conducted independently and impartially.
7. Author Changes
Authors who have contributed to the study should be carefully reviewed and added to the article.
Author changes can only be made during the submission stage. During submission, authors' names and order must be correctly added.
8. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors are responsible for ensuring that the content of their submitted articles meets rigorous scientific and academic standards of evaluation, research, and verification, and that this content is created by the authors. The use of artificial intelligence in studies submitted to the AJRIDD Journal is acceptable if it does not affect the content and originality of the text, such as during proofreading or reading processes carried out during literature searches. Beyond this (e.g., writing a specific section using artificial intelligence tools), the use of artificial intelligence for unethical purposes is not acceptable. If the author(s) use an artificial intelligence tool in their work, they are responsible for informing our journal of this during the article submission stage. All responsibility for the use of artificial intelligence lies with the author(s).

Journal Policy
1. Article Review Process
· To ensure that submitted works are evaluated objectively, AJRIDD Journal employs a blind peer review process. Any information that could reveal the identities of the author(s) and reviewers is concealed.
· The review process will not be initiated for works that do not comply with the journal's writing rules and template. Authors must make the necessary revisions for the re-evaluation process. Therefore, authors should carefully review the writing guidelines and template files.
· After the initial submission, decisions may be made that the work is suitable for peer review, requires revision before review, or is not suitable for the journal's purpose and scope.
· For works suitable for peer review, the evaluation process is initiated. After completing their evaluations, reviewers may request minor or major revisions for the works or reject them, stating their reasons.
· Decisions regarding the status of the work are made by the editor based on the reviewers' comments.
2. Similarity Rate (Plagiarism) Screening
The responsibility for obtaining a similarity report for studies submitted to the journal lies with the author. The acceptable similarity rate for the journal is a maximum of 15%. The editor has the right to directly reject studies that exceed the specified similarity rate.
3. Open Access Policy
AJRIDD is an open access journal and makes published works directly available to readers. The journal aims to support the open access policy for published scientific content.
4. Publication Fee
AJRIDD Journal does not charge any fees at any stage of the article submission, acceptance, or publication process. No fees are charged to authors or institutions under any name.

Hiçbir ad altında yazar veya kurumundan ücret alınmaz.

Baş Editör

Veysel Aksoy
Prof. Dr. Veysel AKSOY ANADOLU UNIVERSITY
Special Education and Disabled Education, Mental Disability Education

Editör Yardımcısı

Default avatar
Asst. Prof. Dr. Şerife ŞAHİN ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Special Education and Disabled Education, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education

Editörler Kurulu

Default avatar
Asst. Prof. Dr. Şerife ŞAHİN ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Special Education and Disabled Education, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education
Default avatar
Prof. Dr. Onur KURT ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Education for Autistic Children, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education
Education for Autistic Children, Special Education and Disability (Other)
Serhat Odluyurt
Prof. Dr. Serhat ODLUYURT Anadolu University
Education, Education for Autistic Children, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education
Default avatar
Asst. Prof. Dr. Melih ÇATTIK ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education, Special Education and Disability (Other)
Default avatar
Asst. Prof. Dr. Erkan KURNAZ ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ ENGELLİLER ARAŞTIRMA ENSTİTÜSÜ
Education for Autistic Children, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education, Disaster and Emergency Management
Default avatar
Asst. Prof. Dr. Cem TÜMLÜ Anadolu Üniversitesi, Engelliler Araştırma Enstitüsü
Family Counseling, School Counseling, Psychological Counseling Education, Psychological Counseling and Guidance (Other), Psychological Foundations of Education, Social and Humanities Education (Excluding Economics, Business and Management), Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education, Family Psychology , Experimental Psychology
Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education
Default avatar
Prof. Dr. Mehmet YANARDAĞ ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Multi Disabled Education, Physical Training, Sports and Physical Activity For Disabled, Physiotherapy
Ayten Düzkantar
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayten DÜZKANTAR ENGELLİLER ARASTIRMA ENSTİTÜSÜ
Learning Theories, Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators, Child Development Education, Multi Disabled Education, Gender, Sexuality and Education
Default avatar
Prof. Dr. Nurgül AKMANOĞLU ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ENGELLİLER ARAŞTIRMA ENSTİTÜSÜ
Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators, Education for Autistic Children, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education, Special Education and Disability (Other), Gender, Sexuality and Education

Teknik Editör

Ahmet Alperen Yavuz
Res. Assist. Dr. Ahmet Alperen YAVUZ ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ENGELLİLER ARAŞTIRMA ENSTİTÜSÜ
Education for Autistic Children, Mental Disability Education, Autism and Spectrum Disorder Education

Yazım Editörü

Sultan Kaya
Res. Assist. Sultan KAYA ANADOLU ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ENGELLİLER ARAŞTIRMA ENSTİTÜSÜ, ZİHİN ENGELLİLER ANABİLİM DALI
Mental Disability Education, Special Education and Disability (Other)

AJRIDD