Previous studies on postsecondary graduation rates indicated that college students with disabilities have lower graduation rates than students without disabilities. As many college students do not disclose their disability to their institution upon enrollment, the effect of the timing of disability disclosure on graduation rates warranted examination. This study was a quantitative study of 14,401 undergraduate students at one large research university in the years 2002, 2003, and 2004, of which 423 had disabilities. Quantitative methods were used to conduct an exploratory analysis of the effect of disability, disability disclosure, disability-type and gender on graduation rates. A chi-square analysis revealed that students with disabilities had significantly lower six-year graduation rates than their peers. In addition, students with disabilities who disclosed their disability after their first year of enrollment had significantly lower six-year graduation rates than students with disabilities who disclosed within the first year of enrollment. Results of a multiple regression analysis showed that disability disclosure, disability-type, and gender accounted for 38% of the variance in the length of time to graduation. Finally, for every year that a student delayed disclosing a disability, the length of time to graduation increased by almost half a year. The implications of the study were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this paper is to examine social systems theory as it relates to the inclusion of disenfranchised populations into the larger social system by enabling these populations to receive education and resources which can allow them to develop skills needed to achieve inclusion. Specifically this study is concerned with using elements of social systems theory to develop a sexual education program for a population identified with an Intellectually/ Developmentally Disability (ID/DD). In order to do this, it is necessary to work within the family or caregiver system where these individuals live and function. Caregivers must be helped to recognize the potential for inclusion in this area of life for this population, and educational tools appropriate to the developmental and cognitive levels of the participants must be made available. Acknowledgment of the individual's role within the system and understanding of the individual's experience of that systems interaction with the environment and with other systems is primary in developing effective programming which can increase the quality of the participants' interactions and relationships, making life a more productive and more satisfying experience.

Resources shared as part of the Enabling Accessible Pedagogy facilitated discussion. Critical Librarianship & Pedagogy Symposium, February 25-26, 2016, The University of Arizona.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The aims of the present research were to describe in more detail than previous investigations the occurrence and nature of sleep problems and behaviours in children with Down's syndrome compared with other learning disabled and non-learning disabled groups and to investigate the psychological associations of these sleep problems. The research has been conducted in two distinct phases. In the first phase, the prevalence and range of sleep disorders was investigated in a group of children with Down's syndrome (n=91)u sing parentalq uestionnaires.T he findings were comparedw ith a group of their nonlearning disabled brothers and sisters (n=54), a group of children from the general population (n=78) and a group of children with other forms of learning disability of various aetiologies (n=71). Questionnairesw ere sent via schools in one county of the UK. Overall, children with Down's syndrome and children with other forms of learning disability showed a significantly greater number of sleep disorders than the siblings and children from the general population. However, different patterns of sleep disorders were seen in the two groups of children with learning disabilities. The findings indicated that the sleep problems of children with Down's syndrome were predominantly physical in origin and were related to disordered breathing and possibly obstructive sleep apnoea. Various significant associations between sleep disorders and daytime behaviour problems, excessive daytime sleepiness and maternal stress were also found. The second phase consisted of a series of studies in which some of the issues from the first phase were investigated. Overnight recordings were carried out on a group of local children (n=31) including video and audio recording, oximetry and activity monitoring during sleep. Information on the children's daytime behaviour was collected from parents and teachers and a Continuous Performance Task assessment was performed on the children the next day. Study 1 assessed the accuracy of parents' reports of the two main features used in the clinical assessment of sleep related breathing disorders, namely restlessness during sleep and snoring. Study 2 investigated associations between objective measures of restlessness, snoring and blood oxygen saturation during sleep. Study 3 investigated associations between these objective overnight measures and daytime psychological function to determine the psychological significance of these measures in children with Down's syndrome. The research carried out and the implications of the findings are discussed together with future research possibilities.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.