This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of group activity therapy as a school based intervention with fourth and fifth grade preadolescents with learning disabilities experiencing behavior problems. The group activity therapy intervention followed humanistic principles and was designed to address the cognitive and social emotional needs of this population. The preadolescents were provided a variety of developmental appropriate materials and activities to encourage self expression and group interaction. The 24 volunteer preadolescents were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=12) and to the control group (n=12). The treatment group preadolescents were divided into groups of three and participated in group activity therapy one hour per week for 12 weeks. The participants were assigned to groups according to individual needs and personality traits. The control group received no treatment during the study. Pre and post test data were collected from parents using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBC) and the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC). Analysis of Covariate (ANCOVA) was utilized to determine statistical significance between the treatment group and the control group on the post-test means for each hypothesis. In each case, the post-test specified in each hypothesis was used as the dependent variable and the pre-test as the covariate. Specifically, the preadolescents in the treatment group showed statistically significant decreases in total behavior problems on the BASC (p=.05) and decreases in internalizing problems on both the BASC and CBC (p=.03, p=.05, respectively). While not statistically significant, positive trends were noted on the CBC total behavior scale (p=.08) and on the CBC externalizing scale (p=.09). In addition, Cohen's d effect size was calculated for each hypothesis and post hoc analysis of the subscales to determine practical significance of the treatment on the experimental group when compared to the control group. A large treatment effect size was found on the BASC (d=.91) and CBC (d=.82) total behavior problems scales and on the BASC (d=1.03) and CBC (d=.90) internalizing problems scales. A moderate to large treatment effect size (d=.78) was found on the CBC externalizing problems scale and a medium treatment effect size (d=.53) was found on the BASC externalizing problems scale. Qualitative data was also examined to determine clinical significance of the intervention. This study determined that group activity therapy is an effective intervention for preadolescents diagnosed with a learning disability.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the possibility that there are sex differences between ADD-H boys and girls. ADD-H boys and girls were compared on the four variables of presenting problem, referral source, intelligence test performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and WISC-R subtest configuration. General demographics of the ADD-H boys and girls families were also examined. The subjects participating in this study were 39 girls and 41 boys from a large child outpatient facility in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex diagnosed as ADD-H between February 1984 and February 1986. No differences were found when comparing ADD-H boys and girls on all four variables. These results may suggest that there are no real differences in regards to presenting problem, referral source, IQ scores and subtest configuration between boys and girls diagnosed ADD-H.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1975 has made a profound impact on millions of children with disabilities who now enjoy their right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). It is the goal of national policy, endorsed by Congress, to ensure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. With the enactment of IDEA, it ensures that all children, who participate in special education programs, have equal access to education. However, since IDEA's inception, a disproportionate number of African Americans children have been placed, or rather, misplaced in special education programs. African American students are three times more likely than Whites to be placed into categories as needing services in special education programs, making them subject to less demanding schoolwork, to more restrictive classrooms, and to isolation from their peers. For the purpose of this study, the goals were (a) to determine if there is disproportional representation of Black students and male students in the three categories of Educable Mentally Handicapped, Emotionally Handicapped, and Specific Learning Disabled and (b) to address whether the factors school districts' socioeconomic status, minority rate, and racial composition of instructional and administrative staff predict the representation of Black students and male students who participate in special education programs. A quantitative method, including the three disproportionality calculation methods of Composition Index (CI), Risk Index (RI), and Odds Ratio (OR), was employed to respond to the six research questions and test six corresponding null hypotheses. Sixty-seven school districts in the State of Florida were identified for data collection and analysis. / The enrollment data for the calculations covered AY 2005- 2009. Critical Race Theory (CRT) served as the lens through which to analyze the findings and discus the implications therein. It is clear that the problem of disproportionate representation is complex and the resolution to the problem is not an easy one. This study found that there was a relationship between the representation of Black students and male students in special education programs and the predictor variables. Statistical analyses revealed that socioeconomic status of the school district, minority rate, and racial composition of instructional and administrative staff predicted the disproportional representation. Critical Race Theory, which served as a methodological framework was employed to help in examining and challenging the manner in which race and racism clearly impacts practices and procedures in the special education referral process. CRT utilized the social construction of race and the role it plays in the education policies that affect minorities. As with any intellectual movement, CRT builds its scholarship upon certain theoretical pillars. The basic tenets of CR T include ordinariness, interest convergence, social construction, differential racialization, and legal story telling. For the purpose of this research, only the tenets of ordinariness, interest convergence, social construction, and differential racialization were examined in the context of disproportionate representation of black students and male students in special education. / by Anthony G. Allen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome are entering institutions of higher education at an increasing rate. However, they may not be prepared to meet the academic and social demands of the postsecondary environment. Although studies have evaluated the impact of academic and social interventions for children and adolescents with Asperger’s Syndrome, little research has been conducted on the college population. The current study utilized a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a writing learning strategy on the writing performance of three college students with Asperger’s Syndrome. Results indicated that the quality of the writing performance improved following strategy instruction. In addition, participants were able to generalize the use of the strategy to content specific writing tasks. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Proficient reading is a necessary skill for a quality life. While educators would like to believe that most students master the art of reading and can understand what they read, national reports indicate that learning to read and becoming a skilled reader is not mastered by all (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001 ; NICHD, 2000a). One component of successful reading is the ability to read a text with appropriate speed, accuracy, and prosody. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (Pinnell et al., 1995) reported that 44% of the nation's fourth grade students were not able to read at an acceptable level of fluency that was considered necessary for comprehension. Since the publication of that report, research has shown that with direct instruction and remediation of fluency, students in the elementary grades can increase their reading rate. One of the most common fluency intervention techniques is repeated readings (Samuels,1979). However, most of the studies completed include ele mentary students and were focused on increasing their reading rate. Some students are arriving at the secondary level with reading problems which include fluency and comprehension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of repeated readings on the rate, accuracy, and comprehension of students with disabilities at the secondary level. This study involved a total of 35 students with learning disabilities in grades 6-9. A quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The treatment group received a total of 20 sessions of repeated reading with immediate feedback., goal setting, and independent practice with graphing of reading rate. The comparison group continued their reading instruction with no fluency intervention.The results indicate that this combination of repeated readings had a significant influence on reading rate only. / The other two variables, accuracy and comprehension, did not improve significantly in the treatment group when compared to the comparison group. / by Janice M. Russell. / Thesis (D.Ed.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of programs that include a videotaped self-observation component. The self-observation protocols, however, have not been clearly specified within programs that teach and report parents’ use of general teaching strategies. The current study investigates the effects of a training package with a self-observation component to teach parents to improve teaching interactions with their children at-risk for a developmental delay using an AB design replicated across participants. Data were collected across play interactions to assess the number of parent teaching episodes, child target responses, and various parent and child relationship qualities. Relationship quality measures included parent and child affect and engagement, parent directives, parent confidence and stress, and parent and child interest. The results of this study suggest that the training package was effective in that parents engaged in higher rates of teaching, their children engaged in more desired responding, and certain aspects of the parent-child interaction were enhanced. These results are discussed in terms of the effects on the parent-child teaching interaction and implications for future use of parent self-observation techniques.

Thesis (DEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Recent research into pedagogical practices regarding Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) learners has been developing and transforming at a significant rate. However, there has been a dearth of empirical research into how teachers identify and respond appropriately to the basic personality traits of Autistic Spectrum/High Functioning Autistic (AS/HFA) learners. This thesis addresses this specific gap in the research field by undertaking an intensely empirical examination of three AS/HFA learners in transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4 who experience behavioural adaptation challenges. The investigation was conducted in the Western Cape, South Africa, at three schools: one government mainstream and two private schools. Three Grade 3 teachers and three Grade 4 teachers were involved in the project. One facilitator, a class assistant, a teacher for Learners with Special Eductional Needs (LSEN) and an educational psychologist took part. Three learners, aged 9 years transitioning from Grade 3 to Grade 4, were observed: all three were clinically diagnosed as AS/HFA. Of the learners, two were boys and one was a girl. The duration of the project was from August/September 2013 to August/September 2014. A critical interpretive qualitiative case study methodology and purposive sampling were deployed. Non-participant observations, semi-structured interviews and probing techniques suited the nature of this specific investigation. It was necessary to employ these methods to identify the social cognitive and social functioning challenges of these three learners. Analysis of effective pedagogical procedures was used to show by what means the researcher was able to extrapolate Bandura’s principles of environment, personal and behaviour which were developed for typical learners, and apply these principles to atypical learners such as the three AS/HFA subjects under observation in this thesis. Effective pedagogical procedures were analysed in terms of a paradigm of reflective cognition. Such analysis of the detail of classroom procedures allowed the researcher to proceed in an inductive manner; from the specific to the general. Balancing this empirical investigation of specific details, was a generally deductive structure which was based on national and international research in the research area. The latest DSM-V document provided a blue-print which set out the boundaries for this area of study. Before reaching the issue of knowledge that is needed to support teachers confronted by, and too often perplexed by, the inappropriate behaviour of AS/HFA learners in the classroom, it is vital to situate the whole endeavour within the context of Inclusive Education; as reflected in South African policy documents.

This project explored the Concrete to Representational to Abstract instruction (CRA instruction) as a strategy to teach abstract math concepts for secondary students with learning disabilities. Through the review of literature, multiple researchers suggested that students with learning disabilities need to be exposed to a variety of instructional strategies to develop problem solving skills in algebra concepts.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

The aim of this study has been to investigate whether people with siblings that have disability have been personally affected when making choices about their studies and careers based on their upbringing with their siblings. The method chosen was qualitative data and consists of six interviews with people who are familiar with the chosen problem area. In conclusion, our results do not show a link between choices of study in relation to the sibling's disabilities. However a link was found between career choices, many choose to work in the area of health and well-being. This link was also found in literature we have researched, people living with disabled siblings have chosen careers and jobs within health and well-being.