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Writings about language and speech impairments (SLI) have been present for many centuries (Smith, 2004). Unfortunately, early historical accounts tended to reflect negatively upon individuals with SLI. For example, Van Riper and Erickson (1996) related that during the Roman times, an individual who stuttered was placed into a cage for entertainment purposes. According to these authors, citizens passing would throw coins into the person's cage to get him to talk. During the late 1800s, the profession of speech-language pathology began as an avocation of certain professionals, notably doctors, educators, and elocutionists (public speakers), who were interested in helping others improve their speech. American doctors studied under the auspices of European doctors who treated people with communication disorders. The two most common disorders that were treated then were dysfluency (stuttering) and speech sound errors (articulation) (Duchan, 2002). Treatment was available for the above disorders, however, the programs were not in public schools and the results of intervention were mixed (Smith, 2004).

Currently there is a lack of evidence existing on technology specifically to support students with emotional-behavior disorder (EBD) in schools (Fitzpatrick & Knowlton, 2009). However, assistive technology (AT) considerations for all students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) must still occur. Evidence exists that technology can compensate for students with other identified disabilities and while the specific research of students with EBD is lacking, students with disabilities, in general, appear to benefit from the support of technology. This chapter discusses how technology supports access to the general education curriculum for student with EBD in the academic areas of reading, writing, and math as well as supports self-management. Resources for free AT are also highlighted.

This chapter provides an overview of speech-language pathology including education and training requirements of the field of speech-language pathology and the typical role that speech-language pathologists play as members of school-based teams serving children with speech-language-hearing related delays and disorders. A description of the primary areas of treatment is provided along with suggestions for how collaboration with additional team members and families are involved in school-based intervention plans.

This chapter describes the results of an exploratory study that examined parents’ experiences with the law as they obtained funding for speech generating devices for their children with communication disabilities, either through public health insurance, private health insurance, or a public school. Exploring legal consciousness: Experiences of families seeking funding for assistive technologies for children with disabilities. Law, Policy, and Society Dissertations. Paper 17. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000265). The study explored how parents engaged with the law and how their experiences and perceptions about the law compared to the formal law. This research was based on sociolegal theory, particularly the concept of legal consciousness, which examines how people think and act in relation to the law as a consequence of social interactions, and analyzes how law in action compares with the formal law. Sociolegal theory broadens the definition of law to include “the meanings, sources of authority, and cultural practices” (Ewick & Silbey, 1998, p. 22) as well as the formal law.

Similar to other sociolegal research, this study collected personal narratives of law using grounded theory methods to identify themes within those narratives. The narratives revealed that while parents expressed varieties of legal consciousness, there was one overarching theme: the law provided a framework for parents to envision rights, discuss rights, and claim rights. While few parents invoked formal legal mechanisms to solve grievances, the law created a rights consciousness among parents which empowered them to acknowledge and validate the notion of rights and entitlements.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine what it means for students with extensive support needs (ESN) to have opportunities to learn (OTL), why OTL is inexplicably tied to inclusive practices, and the in-school and post-school outcomes when students have OTL. Research will be provided that supports positive in-school and post-school outcomes, when students are provided equitable learning opportunities in inclusive contexts. Given the difference in possible outcomes for students with ESN when they do and do not have OTL, excluding them from general education contexts, where they have the best access to the intended and enacted curricula, is both unethical and limiting to society as a whole.

In this chapter, we present the findings of the National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI). The institute was funded in October 2000 as a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs to take a comprehensive look at the factors related to the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of assistive technology (AT) services in schools. We present the data from seven research areas: (1) the status of AT use in schools, (2) policies and procedures in the development and delivery of AT services, (3) AT decision-making by IEP teams, (4) integration of AT use in learning environments (facilitate instruction, access to curriculum), (5) effects of AT use on academic, social, functional performance of students, (6) training and technical support needed by persons implementing AT, and (7) the extent to which institutions of higher education (IHEs) were developing AT knowledge and skills. In each area we summarize the lessons learned as a result of the research to assist policy-makers, researchers, and practitioners in improving AT services and delivery systems.

The purpose of this paper is to review published research on retail customer service communication with people with complex communication needs (CCN) and impacts on their social inclusion.

The researchers searched electronic databases EBSCOHost and Web of Science and found no studies on retail customers with CCN. The search was expanded with the intention of exploring factors affecting people with disability as a group and to locate the experience of people with CCN within findings. Studies found were reviewed by the first author and two external reviewers.

Twelve articles met the broadened inclusion criteria. Analysis using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) found the literature demonstrated some environmental and personal factors that are likely to construct disability in the retail environment for people with CCN. The authors proposed further research to further explore ICF factors not identified in research and to establish links with social inclusion.

Further research is needed to understand the role of retail customer service communication in the social inclusion of people with CCN.

The social inclusion of people with CCN will be assisted by findings on good practice customer service communication.

Shopping is rarely considered in social inclusion research. This review discovered an absence of research into the impact of retail customer communication on inclusion of customers with CCN and proposed a framework for further enquiry.