This multiple case study describes students who are highly emotionally competent yet have learning disabilities. The study sheds light on how such students perceive their educational experience and begins to answer inter-related questions, such as how emotional strengths assist with learning disabilities. A multiple case study design was used. The participant group ranged from 11 to 16 years of age and came from two separate schools which actively work with students diagnosed with learning disabilities. The study was divided into two phases. In the first phase, the Mayer—Salovey—Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test-Youth Version (MSCEIT-YV) was given to students in the two participating classes. The two students from each class who achieved the highest scores on the MSCEIT-YV were then asked to participate in the second phase of the study. Here, the researcher conducted observations of the participants within the school environment. Additionally, the participants attended a semi-structured interview, with interview questions based on the MSCEIT-YV and school related scenarios. Themes that emerged were then analyzed and compared within and between cases as well as with emotional intelligence research. Case study descriptions emerged from this analysis and a brief follow up interview was conducted with one family member and the participating student as a means of sharing and verifying findings. Participants revealed varying ability with emotional intelligence. However, all students demonstrated strong abilities with the ‘Strategic Emotional Reasoning’ Skills associated with Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s (2004) theory of emotional intelligence. Moreover, all students showed a strong ability to use their emotional intelligence to improve academic functioning, with one student in particular displaying outstanding abilities and insights into emotional intelligence. The study contributes to our understanding of the complexity of ability and disability that can exist within students diagnosed with learning disabilities; this understanding, in turn, may be reflected in how these students are perceived and understood by researchers and teachers alike.

ABSTRACT The intent of this study was to explore the life and values of three home schooled adolescents with learning disabilities and their families, to determine the level of social inclusion for the students and to examine academic individualization within the learning process of these students. The data were collected through interviews with teaching parents, the students and non-parent coaches or teachers. Observations took place in the home and outside the home in various locations for each student. Socially, the role of interest, context, friendships and social networks were all significant factors. Academically, the home school environment provided a dynamic intersection of different schooling environments with instructional characteristics that were deemed essential for learning. Despite the differences between families, the themes were similar across the case studies. The social landscape of these students looks different from regularly schooled children but it is healthy, with many opportunities for friendship and social networks. The academic environment allows for the advantages of tutorial and small-group instruction as well as opportunities to be included in larger, classroom-style groups in certain contexts. These three case studies demonstrate that home schooling can support the needs of children with learning disabilities through instructional strategies and through contextual advantages. For non-home schoolers, the qualities found within this context are promising and worth considering in other educational environments. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-31 14:16:05.533

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) is a valuable tool that is used to assess the learning ability of individuals with developmental disabilities (DD). The ABLA was recently revised and is now referred to as the ABLA-R. A self-instructional manual was recently prepared to teach individuals how to administer the ABLA-R (DeWiele, Martin, Martin, Yu, & Thomson, 2011). Using a modified multiple-baseline design across a pair of university students, and replicated across four pairs, I evaluated the effectiveness of the ABLA-R self-instructional manual for teaching the students to administer the ABLA-R to individuals with DD. Each student: (a) after studying a brief description of the ABLA-R, attempted to administer the ABLA-R to a confederate role-playing an individual with DD (Baseline); (b) studied the ABLAR self-instructional manual (Training); and (c) once again, attempted to administer the ABLA-R to a confederate (Post-Training Assessment). Participants who achieved at least 90% accuracy in conducting the ABLA-R in their Post-Training Assessment with a confederate then administered the ABLA-R to an individual with DD in a Generalization phase. In Baseline, Post-training, and Generalization phases I scored each participant’s performance using the ABLA-R Tester Evaluation Form. The overall results indicate that the self-instructional manual is an effective method for training individuals to accurately administer the ABLA-R.

Domain specific theories of development postulate that mental state reasoning (i.e., theory of mind; ToM) develops independently of general problem solving ability. In contrast, domain general theories suggest that the abilities develop concurrently. To assess the relation between mental state reasoning and problem solving, children with autism, developmental delay, and typical development were administered 2 ToM tasks, and 3 problem solving tasks that did not require mental state reasoning. Typically developing children performed better than both groups on the problem solving tasks, each of which required the use of embedded rules. For all groups, positive within-group correlations emerged between the tasks that required mental state reasoning and the general problem solving tasks, suggesting that a common mechanism underlies both abilities, and challenging the notion of domain specificity. The current findings are discussed in the context of a domain general versus domain specific account of ToM acquisition in typical and atypical populations.

Children who have multiple disabilities often have complex communicational needs (Crickmay 1966; Orelove & Sobsey, 1996; Van Riper & Erickson, 1996; Workinger 2005). To augment or supplement these children’s communication skills some form of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) may be provided (Beukleman & Mirenda, 2005; Downing, 1996; Orelove & Sobsey, 1996; Stephenson & Dowrick, 2005). However it has been found that parents fear AAC will prevent focus on verbal output which is the preferred way of communication (Allaire et al 1991; Beukelman & Mirenda, 2005; Schlosser, 2003; Stephenson & Dowrick, 2005). This study investigated the impact of a combined therapy approach on the phonetic repertoire of children with multiple disabilities. In addition, changes in communication intent were also explored. Each child received intervention across four, 20-30 minute sessions per week for six weeks. Results show that all of the children made improvements, however not all changes were significant. Clinical implications of the study include the notion that working on traditional therapy techniques can improve the speech and language of children who have multiple disabilities and there is a need to look further at traditional therapies and incorporate AAC into these

This qualitative study explores the experiences of mothers who have children with developmental disabilities. I sought to understand both the positive aspects of mothering a child with a disability, as well as understand the potential negative aspects of mothering a child with a developmental disability. I also explored how the mothers reflected on this experience of mothering a child with a disability. Furthermore, I sought information on what services and/or supports these mothers found helpful, and why. Six mothers were interviewed for this study. From these interviews, six themes were identified: 1. positive experiences and emotions; 2. mothering a child with a developmental disability as difficult, stressful, and overwhelming work; 3). mothers’ fears for their children; 4). mothers’ sense of loss; 5). mothers’ relationships with their non-disabled children; and 6). mothers’ perceptions of the helpfulness of formal and informal supports.

The Early Prevention of School Failure program purports to identify children ages 4 to 6 who are at risk for school failure and to remediate problem areas before the failure becomes apparent. Though the program enjoys widespread use and popular acclaim, its effectiveness has not been adequately demonstrated. Unlike many other preschool screening measures, EPSF has not been subjected to rigorous experimental scrutiny. This study was designed to (1) examine then assess the efficacy of the EPSF intervention component.Subjects were 116 kindergarten students in an Indiana public school district. Students were pretested on the PPVT-R, VMI, PLS, and MAS. Based on their test performance, students were classified at risk or not at predictive validity of the screening battery and risk in five skill areas: auditory perception, visual perception, language, fine motor, and gross motor. Experimental subjects received daily remedial instruction in each deficit area. Comparison subjects participated only in the regular kindergarten program. At the end of the year subjects were posttested on the EPSF battery. The Metropolitan Readiness Tests were administered as a measure of kindergarten success. In addition, teachers rated each student's overall achievement.Canonical analysis was performed to assess the predictive validity of the EPSF screening battery. Results indicated that 39% of the variability in kindergarten achievement could be explained by the synthetic predictor variable. The PPVT-R, PLS, and VMI were approximately equally weighted as predictors, with MAS scores adding little to the prediction equation.Analysis of covariance was applied to test the significance of the treatment effect after controlling for initial student differences. There was no difference at the .05 level between adjusted mean scores for experimental and comparison subjects. Children in regular kindergarten classes performed as well at the end of the year as those who received special remedial instruction in addition to the kindergarten curriculum.It was concluded that EPSF is as effective as many other kindergarten screening programs in predicting learning difficulty. Claims made regarding the program's prevention of such difficulty were not supported by the data.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) is a valuable tool that is used to assess the learning ability of individuals with developmental disabilities (DD). The ABLA was recently revised and is now referred to as the ABLA-R. A self-instructional manual was recently prepared to teach individuals how to administer the ABLA-R (DeWiele, Martin, Martin, Yu, & Thomson, 2011). Using a modified multiple-baseline design across a pair of university students, and replicated across four pairs, I evaluated the effectiveness of the ABLA-R self-instructional manual for teaching the students to administer the ABLA-R to individuals with DD. Each student: (a) after studying a brief description of the ABLA-R, attempted to administer the ABLA-R to a confederate role-playing an individual with DD (Baseline); (b) studied the ABLAR self-instructional manual (Training); and (c) once again, attempted to administer the ABLA-R to a confederate (Post-Training Assessment). Participants who achieved at least 90% accuracy in conducting the ABLA-R in their Post-Training Assessment with a confederate then administered the ABLA-R to an individual with DD in a Generalization phase. In Baseline, Post-training, and Generalization phases I scored each participant’s performance using the ABLA-R Tester Evaluation Form. The overall results indicate that the self-instructional manual is an effective method for training individuals to accurately administer the ABLA-R.

No description available.

The present study explores the role of special services and accommodations for the academic success of college students with disabilities. Two students participated, one with mild attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and one with a severe language disorder. Unstructured interviews were used to examine participants' perceptions of the effectiveness of special services and accommodations. Other factors contributing to students' progress in school, such as areas of learning strengths, effort and assistance from teachers, peers and family members, as well as lack of appropriate services and funding, were also discussed by the participants. Participants' personality characteristics and life circumstances appear to influence their performance in school as well. The present study may inform practice by promoting a more personalized approach to the selection of special services and accommodations.