This study investigated the contributions of single-word identification and compound word categorization to Chinese students’ reading achievement among 31 students with reading difficulties and 20 students without reading difficulties. The results suggested that, deficiency in single characters identification is not the primarily reason for dysfunction in reading Chinese. This is different from alphabetic language readers. Chinese students’ difficulty in accessing the meaning of compound words in a specific context contributes greatly to students’ reading achievement. The results call for researchers’ and school teachers’ attention to focus on teaching compound words during Chinese instruction. The results also suggested the need for further research on compound words. ... [more]

The rising incidence of autism and placement in general education necessitates a greater understanding of the impact of educational placement on academic achievement for adolescents with autism. In the present study, the academic profiles of adolescents with autism who have been educated in inclusive and self-contained settings are described using three measures: cognitive assessments, adaptive behavior, and academic achievement. Findings indicate significant between group differences (inclusion versus self-contained) in academic achievement measures. However, there were no significant differences in intelligence or adaptive behavior assessment scores for those adolescents education. Students who were included in general education obtained significantly higher scores on tests of achievement, including subtests measuring abstract and inferential skills; however, all students demonstrated emerging academic skills on standardized measures. The importance of academic inclusion for adolescents with autism is described.... [more]

Using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test the motor performance of 34 deaf – hard-of-hearing pupils, 6-14 year, was evaluated in reaction time, visual-motor control and upper limb speed and dexterity. The two-way ANOVA variance analysis for two independent variables, group, age, and the Post Hoc (Scheffe test) for multiple comparisons were used. The analysis indicated no statistically important differences between Deaf and Hard-of--Hearing, but showed statistically important differences in the age factor, visual-motor control (F3,16 =5.06, p< .05), speed and upper limbs dexterity (F3,16 = 3.65, p< .05) and interaction between group and age for the ability of visual-motor control (F3,16 =4.44, p< .05). The results will show if it is necessary to schedule suitable intervention programs for the improvement of the performance in the specific abilities in order to allow the inclusion in the Physical Education courses.... [more]

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and types of psychiatric disorders among Bedouin adolescents with mild to moderate intellectual disability. This is the first study ever conducted on this topic within the Bedouin community in the Negev in Israel. The issue of psychiatric disorders among adolescents with intellectual disability is a complex one in general and even more so among the Bedouin population in the Negev, because of the large number of intellectually disabled children and adolescents in this community. The research population included 30 parents of 30 Bedouin adolescents with a mild to moderate intellectual disability attending a special education school in the Bedouin sector. The study used four research tools: the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (6-18 Years) Kiddie-Sads Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL); the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS); the Autism Screening Questionnaire (ASQ); and the Severity Scale of the Stereotyped Behavior Scale (SBS). The research results confirmed the initial hypothesis that there would be a high rate of psychiatric disorders in the research sample. Research findings indicated that 77% of the adolescents had at least one psychiatric disorder during the evaluation. The most common of these were autism-spectrum disorders 70% (21); disruptive disorders 47% (14); attention deficit and hyperactivity 47% (14); and anxiety disorders 40% (12). Other psychiatric disorders of lower frequency were also found and discussed in the findings. It is essential to continue the work started in this research, of examining the kinds and rates of occurrence of psychiatric disorders, on a larger sample of the same population, as well as paying closer attention to the disorders that this research found to be less common. On the level of practical implications, the main recommendation of this research is the need to develop diagnostic services and psychiatric and educational care for children and adolescents with intellectual disability in the Bedouin community in the Negev.... [more]

The Vocational Education Program (VEP) was established by the special education department in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) in an effort to assist students with disabilities to graduate from high school and be gainfully employed. This study investigated the impact of VEP on students’ careers success after graduation. The participants included eighty-one graduates between 2004-2007 schools years. Manual computation and descriptive analysis using the SPSS® Software was used to determine the job acquisition and job retention rate of participants. Results indicated that 67% of participants in the 2004-2006 school years were able to acquire and retain employment, while 57% of graduates in 2006-2007 school year acquired a job and 53% retained their employment. The study implications indicate that there is a significant relationship between students’ career success and participation in the VEP. The VEP design and method of service delivery supports the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, focusing on meeting the Individualized Transition needs of students. The data collected in this research will provide meaningful information that educators can use during transition planning and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. Educators can also use the information to make relational predictions about student career outcome and participation in a transition program, thereby ensuring that students are engaged in programs and activities that will best serve their needs, while recognizing and considering their individual preferences and abilities... [more]

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of providing an intervention involving massage and yoga in a school exclusively for male disadvantaged adolescents who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires completed by teachers and pupils prior to, and completion of, the SDP, tutor-monitoring forms completed after each SDP session, open questions on the questionnaires and verbal feedback from participating pupils. Measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire used within schools to measure changes in behaviour. Twenty-one pupils and their respective teachers completed the SDP and all questionnaires. Results show improvements in pupil’s levels of hyperactivity, as rated by the teachers only. Interestingly, pupils particularly enjoyed learning massage. However, results of this small study suggest that the SDP may be a positive intervention for disadvantaged male adolescents who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. Future studies are needed to determine whether the SDP does indeed have a positive effect on pupil’s behaviour, for example, larger and wider randomised controlled trials with more rigorous measures of change in behaviour... [more]

When children who are permanently disabled by traumatic brain injury (TBI) return to school, most are placed in mainstream classrooms and incorrectly presumed capable of resuming their education. Only one to two percent are classified as students with TBI, qualifying them for the services they need for their education. The failure to properly classify so many children, attributed to a lack of training and to acceptance of inaccurate popular stereotypes, places 98 to 99 percent at risk of academic failure and personal maladjustment. The failure to identify these children needs to be addressed by TBI education and training for parents and professionals. This paper discusses the scope of the problem of improperly classified students, examines explanations for the pervasive failure to classify them accurately, and discusses potential solutions.... [more]

This study examined differences in self-concept among Jordanian students with and without learning disabilities. The sample of this study consisted of (124), (50) students with learning disabilities and (74) of their peers without learning disabilities. To achieve the objective of this study, the Jordanian adaptation of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS) was used. Differences were found between the groups on the intellectual and school status and behavior subscales, students without learning disability scoring higher on both scales. There was also a significant difference between boys and girls. The directions for future research are provided.... [more]

In this study the effects of a remedial spelling training approach were evaluated, which systematically combines certain visualization and verbalization methods to foster students' spelling knowledge and strategy use. Several achievement and test anxiety data from three measurement times were analyzed. All students displayed severe spelling disorders at the beginning of the treatment. It was administered in single-case sessions and took about 80 hours. Empirical results could demonstrate statistically significant increases in students' general and error-specific spelling test performance, also reaching a considerable overall effect size. Furthermore, a statistically significant decrease in their spelling-specific test anxiety scores appeared at the end of the treatment. Finally, these findings were discussed in terms of conceptual and methodological issues concerning both the evaluation of remedial treatments in natural training settings and the need for evidence-based treatment practice.... [more]

Teachers in general education are expected to cope with students with diverse needs. They might not always be ready or sufficiently supported to meet these challenges. The current study aims at identifying child, teacher and environmental barriers to inclusion. Specifically it addresses the importance of preschool teachers' attitudes as the human environment factor that may facilitate inclusion of children with disability, and teachers' major concerns about environmental accommodations that inclusion implies. The study assessed how teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of children with disability are affected by the teachers' personal characteristics and are related to the accommodations they deem necessary for admission of such children to their kindergartens. It also examined whether the teachers’ attitudes and requirements for accommodations differ in respect of four groups of children's disabilities: learning disabilities, sensory/motor disabilities, ADHD, and emotional disabilities. Fifty-three preschool teachers completed the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP-A) and the Environmental Accommodations of School (EAS), which was designed especially for this study (Appendix 1). The teachers’ requirements proved to correlate with various teachers’ characteristics such as age, experience, education and personal contact with disability. Teacher’s requirements for accommodations also highly correlated with environmental working conditions (e.g., working hours, number of children). Teachers were most concerned about accommodations for children with potential behavior problems. Implications for practice and education are discussed.... [more]

The purpose of this study was to extend the Great Leaps Reading Program (GLR) knowledge base by combining the fluency intervention of the GLR Program with a comprehension strategy. The participants were 59 first, second, and third grade students who were randomly assigned to one of two treatments. The Treatment group one received the GLR Program as it was designed. The Treatment group two received the GLR Program and a strategy for answering three comprehension questions. Over 15 weeks, students were provided with approximately 10 minutes of instruction twice a week. Pre- and post-test measures included the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement III and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Analyses of variance indicated that Treatment one performed statistically better in the area of Broad Reading as compared to Treatment two. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of reading fluency and reading comprehension and whether the addition of a comprehension strategy is an efficient way of increasing student’s reading fluency while also increasing reading comprehension skills.... [more]

In China, the national strategy for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is coherent with the national policy and the needs of the children’s families. This policy has raised public awareness of the value of early childhood education (ECE). However, there is a gap in services for children with disabilities. Based on the available sources, children with disabilities are viewed mostly as a social issue rather than as a medical/ rehabilitative issue. As a result, children with disabilities may have not received the attention or resources, as have children in regular education programs. This paper addresses different issues related to children with disabilities in China. In particular the authors have made the attempt to highlight the importance and fluidity of brain development in early childhood years in the context of identification and intervention. Recommendations are made for national policies related to early identification and intervention for all young children. Such policies are of the utmost importance for China as a country with rapid economical growth as well as having a large number of newborn babies who may be at risk for developmental delays.... [more]

Education is important for the sustainable development for Macau because there is no natural resource in this area. The only thing that the city can count on to survive and excel is the knowledge and skills of its people. Currently, there is limited literature on the education system of Macau, in particular the area of special education. It is the intent of this paper to draw more attention and discussion about this field. This paper presents an overall objective view of the development of special education in Macau from academic year 1996-97 to 2006-07 by looking at the figures provided by the authority. The figures cover three major areas: the number of schools, the number of students and the number of teachers. Based on the figures and the social conditions of Macau, our study reveals the challenges that Macau is facing in terms of special education development and offers some possible solutions.... [more]

An important pedestrian skill that young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) (mental retardation) find difficult is the ability to find a safe place to cross the road. Safe pedestrian behaviour relies on cognitive skills, including the ability to focus attention on the traffic environment and ignore irrelevant stimuli. Individuals with ID consistently demonstrate selective attention deficiencies. Other factors such as individual differences in cognitive style might play a role in road safety. The aims of the present study were to test any possible significant relationship between attention, cognitive style and identification of safe and dangerous road-crossing sites in preadolescents with ID. Participants were 40 boys with mild ID. Attention and field dependence-independence were assessed using the visual attention subtest of the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment and the Children’s Embedded Figures Test (CEFT), respectively. The participants were subdivided into two groups, matched on IQ. The two groups differed significantly in mean score on the visual attention subtest and on the CEFT. Analysis of variance showed that preadolescents with higher scores on both tests performed better than those who were more filed dependent and less attentive. Attention and cognitive style should be considered in the planning of road safety training for individuals with ID.... [more]

Literacy development of special education students is a topic that has been at the center of debates revolved around school reforms. Drawing on socio-cultural theoretical framework, this case study examines the literacy development of a special education bilingual student, Angel. A qualitative method is used to analyze texts Angel produced over the course of one academic year in order to examine in what way and to what degree he grew academically. Findings suggest that the teaching practices of Angel’s teachers, his self-motivation, and support received from his family contributed to his literacy development. The authors point out the limitations of this case study and propose that the literacy development of Angel be contextually situated and analyzed to avoid possible generalization about the literacy development of all special education bilingual students.... [more]

Many researchers around the world point out that bullying in schools is aimed towards others, in many cases against students with disabilities. Bullying is a serious issue, which involves many students and is, by far, the biggest violence problem in schools in many countries. The researchers investigated how provincial legislation and jurisdictional policy in Alberta (Canada) related to anti-bullying policies within schools. The fundamental goal of this research was to develop an understanding of the relationships between anti-bullying policies and perception of how these policies were implemented in schools from the points of view of central office administration in two school jurisdictions. An analysis of policy documents from two districts in Canada provided no evidence of protections for disabled students specifically. Interviews with central office respondents suggested no need to establish special regulations. Interviewees believed that initiatives implemented in their schools were enough for ensuring that students behaved pro-socially toward all students, including disabled peers... [more]

This paper presents cross-cultural comparisons on definitions, prevalence, and outcomes of students with emotional-behavior disorders (EBD). In addition, the paper addresses the concern of disproportionality and the need for teachers of students with behavior problems to be culturally responsive to perceived inappropriate behaviors. A review of literature revealed that most Western countries recognize EBD as a disability and provide special services to students with this label, while developing countries continue to be more likely to address more visible disabilities. The review of literature modestly suggests that (1) labeling results in appropriate intervention, positive outcomes, and accountability data, (2) teachers must recognize how their beliefs on behavior are mediated by a number of factors (including ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender), (3) inclusive practices must be implemented responsibly in the context of high accountability reform, and (4) preventive approaches to EBD must begin early in the classroom with culturally competent teachers.... [more]