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Status of school children's hearing aids relative to monitoring practices.

Data concerning hearing aid monitoring practices and hearing aid malfunction were collected for three groups of mainstreamed hearing-impaired children: 248 children receiving services from itinerant teachers of the hearing impaired, 43 who participated in a study involving extensive psychoeducational evaluation, and 10 children who attended a 6 week residential treatment program in which hearing aid function was checked at least twice each day. Comparisons of the three data sets revealed that even conscientious parental and professional monitoring practices prove inadequate. As a result, it is hypothesized that children must take active roles in the monitoring process. A program to help children develop hearing aid monitoring skills is outlined.

Child↗

Evaluation of selected auditory tests in school-age children suspected of auditory processing disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the auditory function of normal-hearing children attending mainstream schools who were referred for an auditory evaluation because of listening/hearing problems (suspected auditory processing disorders [susAPD]) with that of normal-hearing control children. DESIGN: Sixty-five children with a normal standard audiometric evaluation, ages 6-14 yr (32 of whom were referred for susAPD, with the rest age-matched control children), completed a battery of four auditory tests: a dichotic test of competing sentences; a simple discrimination of short tone pairs differing in fundamental frequency at varying interstimulus intervals (TDT); a discrimination task using consonant cluster minimal pairs of real words (CCMP), and an adaptive threshold task for detecting a brief tone presented either simultaneously with a masker (simultaneous masking) or immediately preceding it (backward masking). Regression analyses, including age as a covariate, were performed to determine the extent to which the performance of the two groups differed on each task. Age-corrected z-scores were calculated to evaluate the effectiveness of the complete battery in discriminating the groups. RESULTS: The performance of the susAPD group was significantly poorer than the control group on all but the masking tasks, which failed to differentiate the two groups. The CCMP discriminated the groups most effectively, as it yielded the lowest number of control children with abnormal scores, and performance in both groups was independent of age. By contrast, the proportion of control children who performed poorly on the competing sentences test was unacceptably high. Together, the CCMP (verbal) and TDT (nonverbal) tasks detected impaired listening skills in 56% of the children who were referred to the clinic, compared with 6% of the control children. Performance on the two tasks was not correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Two of the four tests evaluated, the CCMP and TDT, proved effective in differentiating the two groups of children of this study. The application of both tests increased the proportion of susAPD children who performed poorly compared with the application of each test alone, while reducing the proportion of control subjects who performed poorly. The findings highlight the importance of carrying out a complete auditory evaluation in children referred for medical attention, even if their standard audiometric evaluation is unremarkable.

Adolescent↗

Observations on a child with cerebral palsy and her twin sister made in an integrated nursery and at home.

Observations were made on two twins attending the same integrated nursery. One of the children had cerebral palsy while her sister developed normally. Similar observations were also made in the twins' home while they played with their mother. Comparisons were made between the behaviour and experience of the two children in the nursery and also between the home and the nursery. The child with cerebral palsy was non-ambulant and her interactions in the nursery were limited in both quality and quantity compared with her sister and with opportunities presented at home. Despite this both children enjoyed attending the nursery. It is proposed that integration needs to have structured and monitored support for ensuring that children with special needs benefit from mainstream education.

Cerebral Palsy↗

The effect of social contact on college students' attitudes toward severely handicapped students and their educational integration.

Research on integration suggests that the major benefit of educational integrated programmes is the facilitation of intergroup contact between mentally handicapped and non-handicapped students. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of different amounts of social contact with severely handicapped students on attitudes and emotional reactions of college students towards such students and their integration into mainstream education. The study was carried out in a tertiary college which has a link programme with a local school for pupils with severe learning difficulties. The results indicated that those participants who had social contact with severely handicapped students held more favourable attitudes and emotional reactions toward such students than did those who had no social contact with this group. The study concludes that the educational integration programmes can positively modify attitudes and emotional reactions of college students towards severely handicapped students. However, in order to implement an effective link or integration programme and to foster attitudes more favourable towards severely handicapped students, the study recommends that more opportunities for intergroup contact and social interaction between non-handicapped and handicapped students need to be provided.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Can young people with autism refer to knowledge states? Evidence from their understanding of "know" and "guess".

A number of studies have reported that most individuals with autism have difficulty in attributing mental states. The primary aim of the present study was to compare the ability of children with autism to refer to knowledge states with that of mainstream school children and children with Down's syndrome. The second aim was to investigate the role of verbal mental age in referring to knowledge states. The third aim was to compare the ease with which the children referred to their own mental state and to that of others. The results suggest that some individuals with autism are able to attribute knowledge to themselves and others but that they need to have higher verbal skills than is necessary in normal individuals. The level of language skill predicted the performance of the individuals with autism, but not that of the children in the other groups. There was no good evidence that referring to one's own mental states was easier than referring to another person's, a finding which supports representational theory rather than the simulationist position.

Adolescent↗

Doctors, ethics and special education.

This discussion paper is drawn from a qualitative research project comparing the effect of special and ordinary schools on the lives of children, young people and their families. Special schools are recommended by health professionals who seldom know how ineffective these schools are. We question the beneficence and justice of health professionals' advice on education for children with disabilities and other difficulties. Cooperation with local education authorities (LEAs) plays a considerable part in the work of community paediatricians, clinical medical officers, therapists and other health professionals encountering children with "special needs". The "needs" range from physical disability and sensory impairment to learning difficulties and emotional or behavioural difficulties. This cooperation involves routine administrative problems, but it raises broad ethical issues too, particularly in respect of current tendencies in state schooling towards the integration or inclusion of these children in mainstream schools and classes.

Adolescent↗

Changing expectations for children with cochlear implants.

Seventeen students with cochlear implants who were between 5 and 11 years of age and attended the Moog Center for Deaf Education school program were tested just before exiting the program. The Moog program is an intensive oral program that provides very focused instruction in spoken language and reading. Children leave the program when they are ready for a mainstream setting or when they are 11 years of age, whichever comes first. All of the children demonstrated open-set speech perception ranging from 36% to 100%. On a test of speech intelligibility, all students scored 90% or better. On language and reading tests, compared with the performance of normal-hearing children their age, more than 65% scored within the average range for language and more than 70% scored within the average range for reading. These data demonstrate what is possible for deaf children who benefit from a combination of a cochlear implant and a highly focused oral education program.

Age Factors↗

Cooperative learning: does it improve the academic achievement of students with handicaps?

This article reviews the research on the effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of students with handicaps. Journal articles that included students with handicaps in the sample (achievement as a dependent variable and cooperative learning as an independent variable) were selected for inclusion. A limited number of studies (12) met the selection criteria, and the findings were inconsistent. More research is needed before teachers are encouraged to use cooperative learning methods to promote the academic achievement of mainstreamed special education students.

Achievement↗

Special education and the regular education initiative: basic assumptions.

The regular education initiative (REI) is a thoughtful response to identified problems in our system for educating low-performing children, but it is a not a detailed blueprint for changing the system. Educators must achieve consensus on what the REI actually proposes. The authors infer from the REI literature five assumptions regarding the roles and responsibilities of elementary regular classroom teachers, concluding that these teachers and specialists form a partnership, but the classroom teachers are ultimately in charge of the instruction of all children in their classrooms, including those who are not succeeding in the mainstream. A discussion of the target population and of several partnership models further delineates REI issues and concerns.

Child↗

Prereferral intervention: a prescriptive approach.

This investigation assessed effects of three increasingly inclusive versions of the Behavioral Consultation (BC) model on problem behavior of students in mainstream classrooms in an effort to develop an effective and efficient approach to prereferral intervention. Subjects were 43 general educators, their 43 most difficult-to-teach students (without disabilities), and 12 school consultants, representing seven inner-city middle schools. Teachers and students were assigned to three BC groups, representing least (BC 1), more (BC 2), and most (BC 3) inclusive variants of BC, and one control group. Preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up observations of student behavior indicated that more inclusive BC versions exerted stronger effects than the least inclusive variant in reducing problem behavior. Theoretical and practical implications for consultation-related activity are discussed.

Behavior Therapy↗

Classroom behavior of children and adolescents with learning disabilities: a meta-analysis.

Meta-analysis was used to review the results of 25 studies that compared the classroom behavior of children and adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) to children without learning disabilities. The data were analyzed from several different methodological perspectives. Results showed that both methodologically strong and weak studies demonstrated significant behavioral deficits of children with learning disabilities compared to their nondisabled peers in each of five overall areas: on-task behavior, off-task behavior, conduct disorders, distractibility, and shy/withdrawn behavior. Both observational and teacher rating data demonstrated these differences. Effect sizes for both groups of studies seemed to cluster around 1 standard deviation, suggesting noticeable and educationally significant impairment in the behavior of children with disabilities. Analysis of grade-level effect sizes suggests some explanation for the large number of referrals often witnessed during the elementary school years. Educational implications of these behavioral differences in terms of implications for mainstreaming are discussed.

Child↗

Co-teaching experiences: the benefits and problems that teachers and principals report over time.

This report describes a 3-year study of 18 elementary and 7 middle school teams involved in the development and implementation of building-level programs designed to support students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. All of the teams used co-teaching as an integral part of their service delivery models. During the investigation, 119 teachers and 24 administrators participated in 1 or more years of data collection. The emerging benefits and persistent problems that participants identified in the development of their models are described.

Administrative Personnel↗

Teaching secondary students with learning disabilities to self-manage classroom survival skills.

This multiple baseline study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral self-management training package on the consistent use of specific classroom survival skills. Participants were three adolescent males with learning disabilities in Grades 7 and 8. The training package involved a multicomponent strategy focused on the improvement, maintenance, and cross-classroom generalization of targeted classroom preparedness skills. Following intervention, the training procedures were systematically faded. Results demonstrated more consistent use of targeted classroom survival skills by all three students in both learning support and mainstream generalization settings. Long-term maintenance of the intervention effects was observed for two students in both settings. Three social validity measures revealed positive results. Implications for self-management in secondary education settings are discussed.

Achievement↗

Loneliness and coherence among preschool children with learning disabilities.

This study investigated loneliness and coherence among Israeli preschool children with learning disabilities, in an attempt to identify the sources of social deficits before academic failure was established. The sample consisted of 187 preschool children divided into three groups: (a) 60 children at high risk for developing learning disabilities (LD) in six mainstreamed preschool settings (47 boys and 13 girls), (b) 76 nonhandicapped peers from the same preschools (56 boys and 20 girls), and (c) 51 children (38 boys and 13 girls) at high risk for developing LD who were regular students at 17 preschools and received special help in the afternoons outside their educational settings, at a regional learning center for students with LD. The research instruments consisted of the Children's Sense of Coherence Scale, the Loneliness Scale, a peer nomination procedure, and teachers' ratings. Two-way MANOVAs demonstrated that the two groups of children (Groups [A] and [C]) with LD and with a high risk for developing learning disabilities experienced higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of coherence. A subgroup examination revealed that they were less accepted by nondisabled peers and had less reciprocal nominations. Furthermore, their teachers viewed them as showing more maladjustment.

Child↗

Preparing students with special needs for reintegration: curriculum-based measurement's impact on transenvironmental programming.

The original intent of special education pull-out services was to remove students from general education temporarily for intensive, individualized instruction in deficit areas. In many school districts, however, it seems that once students participate in pull-out services, there is little effort to return them to general education. One explanation for this is that not much is known about how best to prepare students for movement up the cascade of services, including reintegration into the mainstream. A promising reintegration approach is transenvironmental programming (TP). Research suggests that supplementing TP with continuous progress monitoring, specifically via curriculum-based measurement (CBM), better prepares students for reintegration than either TP or CBM alone. Findings from the present study provide a possible explanation: Results suggest that special educators using TP who receive CBM information about their students' academic progress are more likely to plan and implement academic interventions in preparation for students' transition than are those special educators who do not receive this information. This supports the hypothesis that the relatively greater success of TP + CBM is due to increased attention to academic preparation. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Adult↗

Children with specific language impairment: parental accounts of the early years.

Parent views of specific language impairment have received little attention in the literature, even though speech and language development is the single greatest area of concern for parents. This article examines parental views of events up to, and including, language unit admission for their children. A series of qualitative interviews was conducted with parents. Parents felt that, apart from speech and language difficulties, the children were developing normally. They placed a low value on speech and language therapy, and saw language unit admission as the only intervention that 'worked'. Initially, some children were placed in mainstream school, where their failure to keep up with peers resulted in transfer to a language unit. Parent views provide a unique understanding of the impact of specific language impairment on the child and family. Such information is essential for the early diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Analysis of the "Learning in Regular Classrooms" movement in China.

The Learning in Regular Classrooms experiment has evolved in response to China's efforts to educate its large population of students with disabilities who, until the mid-1980s, were denied a free education. In the Learning in Regular Classrooms, students with disabilities (primarily sensory impairments or mild mental retardation) are educated in neighborhood schools in mainstream classrooms. Despite difficulties associated with developing effective inclusive programming, this approach has contributed to a major increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities and increased involvement of schools, teachers, and parents in China's newly developing special education system. Here we describe the development of the Learning in Regular Classroom approach and the challenges associated with educating students with disabilities in China.

Child↗

Social role valorization insights into the social integration conundrum.

More and more persons with mental retardation and psychiatric disabilities are present in mainstream society, yet have little interaction and few relationships outside their own peer groups of devalued persons. Social integration remains a desirable yet elusive goal for most human service organizations, and there continues to be a certain amount of confusion about what constitutes social integration. Recent reviews in North America and Europe testify to the difficulty of achieving social integration, particularly for people with mental retardation and psychiatric disabilities. Social role valorization, with its use of the social role concept, provides useful insights and tools for analyzing the social integration conundrum. A social role conceptualization of social integration is proposed and an illustrative example is provided.

Humans↗