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Current technology offers many possibilities for remote communication. Nevertheless, people with cognitive and communicative disabilities have limited access to common communication technology like text messaging via a mobile phone. This study is part of the project Text messaging with picture symbols ‐ possibilities for persons with cognitive and communicative disabilities. Semi‐structured interviews were used to investigate the experience of using Windows mobiles with adapted functions for text messaging by three men and four women. The participants' opinions about the content and organisation of the project were also evaluated. All participants except one experienced increased possibilities for remote communication via text messaging. Increased participation was another relevant finding. Technical aids and interventions were individually tailored and the majority of the participants thought that Talking Mats for goal setting and repeated interviews during the project had been successful methods.

The purpose of this paper is to describe specific features of a Victorian (Australia) state-wide hub and spoke model of speech pathology provision established for adults with complex communication needs (CCN). Two case studies highlighting successful examples of services developed to enhance community inclusion will be described and the challenges discussed.

The route to community inclusion is described through a case study illustration of one communication accessible community site and one disability service study. The disability service research involved focus groups, survey and interview data and demonstrated the efficacy and sustainability of a support worker training model.

Sustainable change in the community and in disability services can occur through partnerships, training, and long-term commitment. Support workers who can facilitate interactions for people who have cognitive and communicative disabilities are an essential component of building the capacity of communities to include people with CCN. Collaboration between community members, specialised supports and people with disabilities enhances active community participation.

This innovative, state-wide model has the capacity to be replicated elsewhere. On-going speech pathology services are integral to support adults with CCN providing both short-term individualised services, sustainable staff training and community engagement.

This article seeks to describe online tools for surveying and improving quality of life for people with disabilities living in assisted living centers and special education service organizations.

Ensuring a decent quality of life for disabled people is an important welfare state goal. Using well‐accepted quality of life conceptions, online diagnostic and planning tools were developed during an Institute for Education, University of Zurich, research project.

The diagnostic tools measure, evaluate and analyze disabled people's quality of life. The planning tools identify factors that can affect their quality of life and suggest improvements.

Instrument validity and reliability are not tested according to the standard statistical procedures. This will be done at a more advanced stage of the project. Instead, the tool is developed, refined and adjusted in cooperation with practitioners who are constantly judging it according to best practice standards.

The tools support staff in assisted living centers and special education service organizations.

These tools offer comprehensive resources for surveying, quantifying, evaluating, describing and simulating quality of life elements.

Individuals with disabilities may not be aware of their communicative, academic, social, and/or vocational needs. Over the last 20 years, self-advocacy has been referred to as a goal for education, a civil rights movement, and a component of self-determination (Test, Fowler, Wood, Brewer, & Eddy, 2005). As a measurable skill, self-advocacy can be specifically defined as a skill that helps “individuals communicate their needs and stand up for their own interests and rights” (Yuan, 1994, p. 305). Individuals diagnosed with a variety of disabilities (learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, language disorders, etc.) experience difficulty in achieving success in situations where they are required to communicate their needs and stand up for their rights. Test et al. (2005) documented 25 definitions of self-advocacy that were published between 1977 and 2002. The most recent definition focused on self-advocacy in the realm of social change and civil rights; the enablement of individuals with disabilities to make decisions, speak for themselves, and stand up for their rights.

This paper will consider the process of psychological assessment for people with learning disabilities and mental ill‐health. The paper will describe a formulation‐driven approach with reference to a social‐cognitive model of mental ill‐health in people with learning disabilities. I will illustrate this process with a brief case study of an assessment within this model.

There are many definitions of profound and multiple learning disabilities. Most definitions include having a high degree of learning disability in conjunction with at least one other severe impairment, such as visual, auditory or physical impairments (Male, 1996; Ware, 1996; Lacey, 1998). Bunning (1997) adds that people with such disabilities are very reliant on others for support, including support in taking part in communicative events. Establishing reliable and consistent methods of communication may be exceptionally difficult (Florian et al, 2000). However, it is important to consider the individuality and extreme diversity of this population (Detheridge, 1997; Hogg, 1998), which includes variability in communication strengths and needs (Granlund & Olsson, 1999; McLean et al, 1996). Communication is often given little attention when services are planning ways of supporting individuals to participate, develop independence and make choices (McGill et al, 2000). While the individual's communication strengths and needs should remain central within any discussion, the significant others and the environment will also have an important influence. This article explores some of the communication issues experienced by people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and highlights the importance of the communication partnership within interventions.

Much of the discussion of capacity to consent has focused on how capacity can be assessed. However, in focusing on the assessment of capacity of people with learning disabilities, information from studies of human judgement and decision‐making in the general population has been ignored. This paper reviews the main factors that affect an individual's capacity to consent and examines the integration of research into these factors in the general population with that of people with learning disabilities. A person's capacity to consent is considered to be affected by three main processes: comprehension (ability to understand and retain information), decision‐making (ability to weigh up information and reach a decision) and communication (ability to communicate the decision made). The difficulties people with learning disabilities may have in these processes are discussed, and possible ways of overcoming these limitations are suggested.

Professionals working with community populations are often presented with complicated cases where it is difficult to determine which diagnosis or diagnoses are appropriate. Differentiating among neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability can be a complex process, especially, as these disorders have some overlapping symptoms and often co-occur in young children. This series of case studies aims to present commonly overlapping symptoms in children who present to clinics with developmental concerns.

This paper presents three case studies that were completed at a free community ASD screening clinic in Southern California.

The case studies have common presenting behaviors and symptoms (e.g. social communication difficulties) that often co-occur across diagnoses; explanations for the final diagnoses are given in each case.

Conclusions from these three cases cannot generalize to all children being seen in clinics for neurodevelopmental concerns.

This series of case studies highlights commonly overlapping symptoms in children who present for differential diagnosis with social and/or behavioral concerns. Implications for educational placement and intervention are discussed.

These cases highlight the challenges involved in the differential and dual diagnostic process for young children with developmental concerns. Diagnostic considerations can affect later educational placement and opportunities for socialization.

This series of case studies provide practical information for clinicians about how to effectively differentiate between commonly occurring neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly given recent changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5).

Current educational contexts in many countries are characterized by high heterogeneity and plurality. The inclusion of students who represent a range of life experiences, including migration, psychological difficulties, low socio-economic status or disability, has required schools to support diversity through identifying different ways of enhancing learning through personalization of instruction and attention to the needs of individuals at different stages of their lives. Despite knowledge of the advantages of diversity, in educational contexts in which students with disabilities or other vulnerabilities have been included, micro- and macro-exclusion and victimization phenomena continue to be experienced. It is essential, therefore, to identify effective interventions with the goal of reducing stereotypical views of difference and disability and enabling students to learn to collaborate, play and work with others. This chapter explores a number of evidence-based programmes and interventions to promote more inclusive environments from kindergarten through university, emphasizing the importance of mutual support and valuing of diversity, ensuring greater social justice for all.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has been declared a public health emergency which has caused unexpected and enormous changes all over the world. Everywhere, as well as in Hungary, it has led to disease control measures being put in place, including strict lockdown restrictions, which have affected people's daily activities and routines (DPMK, 2020). The partial or regular closure of educational institutions have been administered, resulting in a shift to online education. It has been extremely difficult for the population to handle this new situation and the emerging challenges, not to mention certain social minority groups such as people with cognitive disabilities, for whom and for whose families the current situation has implicated an even bigger burden. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown on children with cognitive disabilities through the point of view of their parents and of the special needs educators/teachers in Hungary. The lockdown measures have affected the perspective of parents and special needs educators/teachers of children with cognitive disabilities with regards to the access and the quality of education for disabled people.