It is now commonly acknowledged that learning disabled children are not a homogeneous population, and current neuropsychological research in this area has focussed on attempts to identify subtypes of these disorders. Earlier subtyping studies adopted a subjective, clinical-inferential approach to classification, while recent research has emphasised a strictly objective, quantitative model which involves the use of multivariate statistical methods of classification. In the natural sciences, both objective quantification as well as the developmental, qualitative aspects of taxonomy are considered equally essential for a good classification (Adams,1985). Subtypes identified so far in various studies have had relatively little impact on either neuropsychological theory or clinical practice, and this has been attributed to a failure on the part of researchers to integrate the clinical-qualitative approach with the quantitative subtyping procedures (Wilson & Risucci,1986). The present study attempted to address this problem by using a combination of these two generally accepted methods, in an attempt to identify reliable and meaningful subtypes within a sample of 275 clinic-referred and 26 normal control subjects. Two separate typologies of this subject sample were generated: a) using clinical-inferential methods, based on clinical inspection of psychometric test data, and b) using multivariate statistical methods for the derivation of subtypes (cluster analysis). The two subtyping solutions were then compared, allowing each to be used to validate the other (Morris & Satz,1984). The derived clusters and clinical typology groups identified all commonly found subtypes as well as most others reported by previous subtyping studies in the literature. The results of several internal validation procedures indicated that the clusters were relatively heterogeneous, and therefore somewhat unreliable, although the majority of clusters proved to be meaningful and interpretable. Comparison of the two classifications indicated approximately 58% correspondence in terms of individual case assignments to comparable subtypes between the typologies. Comparison of T-score ability profiles revealed generally satisfactory correspondence between the profiles of cluster analysis derived subtypes and those of comparable clinical subtypes. Further analyses were performed on selected groups of subjects in order to explore specific hypotheses. Age effects on subtype patterns were examined, and the results suggested that subtypes do persist over the school age range. However, adolescent subjects were more prominent in the severe language disorder subtypes, and a large proportion of the younger subjects emerged in subtypes characterized by visual perceptual problems. Reading disability subtypes were also analysed, indicating qualified support for Denckla's (1977) subtypes from the cluster analysis, but considerable confirmation of this typology from the clinical classification. Rourke and Finlayson's (1978) findings in regard to specific arithmetic disabilities were not replicated in this study. Subjects with specific profile patterns were also examined for evidence of characteristic social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, with mixed results. Finally, the obtained subtypes were examined in order to determine possible differences in terms of academic performance, in order to establish external validity for the two classifications. It was concluded that, although there are definable as well as meaningful subtypes of learning disabilities, this population of children cannot be classified into discrete subtypes with clear boundaries and strictly defined criteria. In addition, it was deemed important to recognize that such disorders range, in degree of severity, from quite subtle to seriously impaired, so that diagnostic "cut off" points are inappropriate for this particular group of children. / Graduate

An In-Vocational Training Centre is proposed to economically and socially integrate the disabled into, what is generally perceived, normal society. The Centre focuses on training people for specific skills required in the open labour market and specialises in food production and packaging for a specific target market. Locating the Centre on the inner city’s edge, in close proximity to the zoo and fresh produce market, not only creates a bridge between the dense built environment and the less dense edge, but places it close to its input supply (fresh produce market) and an off-take consumer (herbivores in the zoo). With the incorporation of green houses as a productive element for urban agriculture, the building respects the natural environment it is placed in and optimises the natural and economic resources it requires to sustain itself. It attempts to reduce its ecological footprint to the minimum. Research indicated the specific infrastructure need for the disabled and therefore the Centre is located close to transportation and city amenities. Furthermore, the planning respects the city’s history, its plans for the future and society’s needs. The building is designed to be a quiet building which unobtrusively, yet noticeably marks the inner city’s edge without denigrating its natural surround. It thereby functions as the subtle entry (bridge) for the hitherto ignored into the city and society. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Architecture / unrestricted

For this investigation two types of observations used: Texas's private and public institutions that provide residential treatment to children severely handicapped and children served by those facilities. The overall result showed that the distance between the child's home and the treatment facility is great for public institutions than for private.

The tension between exclusion and inclusion has been a shaping force in U.S. society and education. Public schools, in particular, have experienced stages of incorporating a larger number of children with disabilities into classrooms. In the United States, until approximately 1800, the great majority of students considered to be learners with disabilities were not deemed worthy of formal education, even though they were perceived as brothers and sisters who were part of the community (Hawes, 1991; Rothman, 1971). The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of an urban inclusive program by secondary learning disabled students, their teachers, and support staff. Questions that were answered were: 1) What are the similarities and differences of perceptions between a regular education classroom and a special education classroom? 2) What are the intrapersonal and interpersonal skills of students who have been diagnosed as learning disabled? 3) What are the perceptions of learning disabled students in regard to family life? The method that was utilized was a case study design. The findings of this study indicate that in spite of the students being included in regular education classes, they (students) preferred being in special education. The teachers liked the inclusion program, but felt that it lacked the resources necessary to make the program successful. It can be concluded that inclusion is a worthwhile program; however, the needs of the special education students could not be totally met. / Ed. D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree M.A. (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2004. / This study investigated families of physically disabled children. Birth has always been anticipated with great excitement and high expectations for the future. But the discovery that the child has a disability changes everything. The family into which this disabled child is born undergoes major changes, as they have to accommodate such a child. Siblings compete with the disabled child's needs for parental attention, and are required to integrate him/her into the neighbourhood. Parents on the other hand are vulnerable, insecure about raising such a child. They are pushed to their financial, physical and emotional limits. This research studied 23 caregivers of disabled children who received disability grant. Caregivers included mothers, aunts, grandmothers and siblings. The physically disabled children attended mainstream education schools. Due to their condition they encountered a number of problems. Some left school, leaving caregivers devastated. Some caregivers shared a variety of traumatic experiences with regard to their task. Other caregivers seemed unaware of such feelings and had never received any form of support and guidance in dealing with these feelings. The study assisted in making unconscious feelings conscious. The ways caregivers used to manage and cope with their disabled children were explored. These were regarded as expected or 'normal' reactions. Furthermore, participants were introduced to resourceful places where they would receive professional help with regard to raising such children whenever they needed such services. / National Research Foundation

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Sociology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / The study was about cooperatives and the empowerment of disabled people. It investigated the extent in which participation, capacitation and satisfaction with management contribute in enabling cooperatives to empower disabled people. The Capability Approach proposed that the most vital thing to deliberate when valuing well-being is what people are actually able to do. Capacitation to disadvantaged people is very important in that it ensures services and assistants directly meet their needs. Participatory planning can be regarded as an instrument for identifying the needs of all persons within a community, a way of constructing harmony, and means of empowering deprived or marginalised groups. Empowerment is a varied practices enabling people to maintain themselves by providing power that they might use in dealing with issues they declare important. Satisfaction with management is determined by the work environments that satisfy the social, economic and personal fundamentals of the individual. Benefit of membership is a combination of personal adaptive technologies and modifications in a workplace attitudes and configurations can enable even those who have very significant impairments to work effectively. The assimilation of Perceived Level of Empowerment (PERLEMP), Perceived Level of Participation (PERLEPAR), and Perceived Level of Capacitation (PERLECA) showed that Satisfaction with Management of a Cooperative (SAMACO) mediates on Perceived Benefits of Membership (PERBEME). Thus the study showed that benefit of membership in a cooperative is determined by participation, capacitation and satisfaction with management of a cooperative. The study hypothesised that perceived participation, capacitation, empowerment and satisfaction with management will determine the benefit of membership in a cooperative. Where disabled people seek empowerment they will join a cooperative. Where they seek their benefit in a cooperative, they will consider their level of participation, empowerment, capacitation and satisfaction with management will as well be considered. A survey was conducted using a Five-Level Likert scale to decipher respondents‟ perceptions of level of participation, empowerment, capacitation, satisfaction with management and perceived benefits. In the beginning of analysis, responses (N=28) were reduced using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to determine how questionnaire items contributed to variables under consideration. Afterwards, variables extracted were correlated and regressed. While bivariate correlation was used to test the simple relationship between variables. A linear regression analysis was used to describe how satisfaction with management mediates the relationship between participation, empowerment and capacitation. MANCOVA was used to test the mediation effects of independent variables PERLEPAR, PERLEMP and PERLECA. The results showed that PERLECA was the desired description for cooperatives for the empowerment of disabled people at Zamani Disabled People‟s Organization. On the basis of the results, cooperatives have a potential of empowering disabled people and that is achieved through democratic operation, where members equally participate in the daily business and inclusion in decision-making.

Disability statistics are an important component of an informational base to monitor the needs and rights of people with disabilities within all spheres of life. The effective use of disability statistics is based on measures that are transparent and valid and where potential sources of sampling, interviewer or respondent error are clearly understood. This study investigates respondent sources of survey data error generated by three sets of existing questions on disability, as applied to adults in South Africa as a case study contributing to the growing work in this field at an international level. The questions are the Short and Extended sets of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, and the Global Study on Ageing’s (SAGE) health state description questions used by the World Health Organization. Disability is defined as the outcome of the interaction between a person’s health condition or impairment, and the context in which he or she lives. The question evaluation considers: a) the wording, comparing asking about difficulties and disabilities; b) respondents’ understanding and interpretations of whole questions; and c) the association between various life factors and the type and severity of functional profiles. The study uses a mixed methods design comprising focus groups, semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews that tapped into the thinking behind respondents’ answers to questions, and standard questionnaires. There were 21 focus groups located nationally, and 69 semi-structured interviews and ten detailed cognitive testing interviews at the Agincourt Health and Population Unit, located in a rural area in north eastern South Africa. The results provide insight into the performance of the questions, and, particularly, the need for revisions of the questions, potential respondent sources of error, and factors in people’s lives that are associated with different response profiles. The analysis of wording shows that asking about ‘difficulty’ people have is a more inclusive and transparent measure than asking about disability. Analysis of respondents’ understanding and interpretation of questions shows that questions on vision, hearing, walking and climbing, self-care and communication are well understood as intended, while the questions on remembering are misinterpreted in similar ways by a high number of respondents. Responses to non-traditional disability domains of pain, affect (anxiety and depression) and fatigue (or problems with sleep) reflect predominantly people’s reactions to living in adverse conditions. The measures provide a way to broaden the notion of who is counted as disabled because of functional limitations for statistical purposes, but the identity of being disabled remains a separate concern. The differences between measuring identity and functional status and the implications of these separate concepts is one area identified as an important focus of future research arising from this thesis. This thesis builds on existing knowledge by: providing strong evidence on the effect of asking about disability versus difficulty; illustrating the importance of question evaluation as part of validity testing and provide a further example to add to the growing literature on this approach; providing evidence on how responses to basic activity domains differ to those given to questions on feeling domains and the implications of this for how disability is understood in a low income and resources context of rural South Africa.

No description available.

No description available.

When one group of disabled individuals finishes their vocational rehabilitation training programs and another group, almost as large in number, fails to complete their courses one wonders whether there are significant differences in the two groups. The problem in this study is to determine if the two groups differ significantly in certain identifiable characteristics. The identifiable characteristics are some important objective variables that are utilized in the vocational rehabilitation training of disabled veterans.