This study explored the effectiveness of the Autism System of Care (ASC) trainings by measuring change in pediatric healthcare providers' method of identifying young children at-risk for autism spectrum disorders. The majority of participants were pediatricians working in either hospitals or clinics who voluntarily participated in the training. A pretest-posttest nonequivalent-groups design was used in this study. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to measure change in participants' screening practices. Due to a small number of participants, most findings from the study were not statistically significant. The small number of healthcare providers who participated in the ASC training was a major limitation to this study. Therefore, although results revealed that there were minimal gains between pre- and post-test administrations, this may be because of the small number of participants and does not necessarily indicate that the ASC training was not effective. Implications for future research in this area also are addressed.

Darbe atlikta teorinė kompetencijos sampratos ir specialistų, dirbančių su ankstyvojo ir ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikais, turinčiais specialiųjų poreikių, bei jų šeimomis, profesinio pasirengimo ypatumų analizė. Iškelta hipotezė, kad Lietuvos specialistų, dirbančių su ankstyvojo ir ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikais, turinčiais specialiųjų poreikių, bei jų šeimomis, profesinio pasirengimo turinys iš dalies atitinka Europos ankstyvosios intervencijos specialistų profesinio rengimo programos turinį, o profesinės kompetencijos įgyjamos ir per praktiką. Atliktas kokybinis tyrimas, kurio tikslas išanalizuoti, kokias profesines kompetencijas specialistai, dirbantys su ankstyvojo ir ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikais, turinčiais specialiųjų poreikių, ir jų šeimomis (t.y. ankstyvosios intervencijos specialistai) įgyja universitetinėse studijose bei kvalifikacijos kėlimo kursuose ir įvertinti specialistų turimų kompetencijų tinkamumą darbui ankstyvosios intervencijos srityje. Tyrimo duomenys buvo renkami naudojant atviro tipo klausimyną, parengtą remiantis Leonardo da Vinčio projekto „Ankstyvosios intervencijos vaikystėje specialistų rengimo Europinis pažymėjimas“ (EBIFF) esminėmis nuostatomis, kuriame specialistai kartu su tyrėja išsamiai apibūdino savo įgytas žinias ir gebėjimus, remdamiesi formaliais dokumentais (bakalauro ir magistro studijų diplomų priedėliais ir kitais jų kompetenciją įrodančiais dokumentais). Specialistų profesinės kompetencijos sąlygiškai vertinamos atsižvelgiant į... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The theoretical analysis of the concept of competence and peculiarity of professional training of the specialists, who work with early and preschool age children with special needs and their families, had been performed in this work. The hypothesis stating that the principles of professional training of Lithuanian specialists, who work with early and preschool age children with special needs and their families, partly matches the content of the European programme, which resumes the principles of professional training for the early intervention specialists. The hypothesis also states that professional competence is gained through the process of practice. The qualitative investigation, whose aim was to analyze what professional competence is gained by the specialists, who work with early and preschool age children with special needs and their families (these are the early intervention specialists), during the university studies and courses of professional improvement and evaluate the suitability of their present competence for the work in the field of the early intervention, had been performed. The data had been collected using the open type of questionnaire, which was prepared according to the main regulations of the Leonardo da Vinci project “The European passport of the early childhood intervention specialists’ training” (EBIFF). During the investigation, the specialists along with the investigator had comprehensively described knowledge and skills they already had... [to full text]

No description available.

Darbe atlikta teorinė ankstyvosios intervencijos sampratos, raidos, probleminių klausimų analizė Lietuvoje bei lyginimas su kitomis Europos šalimis. Iškelta hipotezė, kad ankstyvosios pagalbos prieinamumas miesto ir kaimo vaikams bei jų šeimoms yra nevienodas. Rajonuose, kur nėra ankstyvosios pagalbos tarnybų, ankstyvojo amžiaus vaikų ir jų šeimų specialieji poreikiai yra tenkinami tik iš dalies arba visai netenkinami. Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti ankstyvojo amžiaus vaikų specialiųjų poreikių tenkinimą pagalbos prieinamumo aspektu miesto ir kaimo vietovėse. Empirinėje dalyje taikyti šie metodai: dokumentų, antrinių duomenų (Europos Specialiojo ugdymo plėtros agentūros ataskaita) bei kitų šaltinių turinio analizė, anketinė apklausa, specialistų anketinės apklausos analizė, interviu, deskriptyvinė pusiau standartizuotu bei standartizuotu klausimynu gautų duomenų analizė. Duomenys apdoroti MS Office Excel 2007, SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 11.0) programine įranga. Statistinėms tendencijoms ir ryšiams nustatyti taikyti deskriptyvinės analizės metodai (dažniai, vidurkiai, procentai). Anketinės apklausos metu dalyvavo 100 Lietuvos specialistų, teikiančių ankstyvąją pagalbą specialiųjų poreikių turintiems vaikams ir jų šeimoms. Interviu žodžiu bei raštu dalyvavo 12 respondentų (N=6 iš Lietuvos, N=4 iš Airijos, N=2 iš Anglijos). Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: 1. Lietuvoje ankstyvosios pagalbos sistema vaikui ir šeimai sparčiai tobulėja, tačiau dar yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There has been performed in this work the theoretical analysis of the conception, development and the problematical questions of the early intervention in Lithuania as well as the comparison with other European countries. A hypothesis is raised, stating that the accessibility of early support for children and their families in towns and villages is unequal. The special needs of the early age children and their families in the regions, where there are no Early intervention services, are being met only partly or not at all. The aim of the research is to estimate from the aspect of support accessibility, how the special needs of the early age children in towns and villages are being met. There have been used in the empirical part the following methods: the analysis of the documents, secondary material (the report of the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education) and other sources, questionnaire survey, the analysis of the survey of specialists, interview, descriptive analysis of the material acquired using semi-standardized and standardized questionnaire. The statistical data has been analysed using MS Office Excel 2007 and SPSS software. In order to estimate the statistical tendencies and connections there have been used the methods of descriptive analysis (rates, averages, percents). One hundred specialists, providing early support for the children with special needs and for their families, participated in the questionnaire survey. 12 respondents (6 from... [to full text]

In this mixed-methods study I report on a three-part investigation related to reading intervention at Grade 1 in one Ontario school board during the 2009-2010 school year. First, I report the results that Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) had on the reading outcomes for all Grade 1 students (n = 436) in terms of sex, aboriginal status, and at-risk status. Second, I use progress monitoring benchmark data to show how students unresponsive to instruction may have benefitted from additional instruction generated from monthly data-informed In-School Team meetings. Third, I report on educators’ perceptions of how monthly data-informed In-School Team meetings influenced their knowledge, confidence, and willingness to plan additional reading interventions for students persistently at-risk for reading failure. Findings indicate that compared to previous years, when PALS was not used, students in this study made significantly greater gains in reading scores. Boys made similar gains to girls, First Nations students made similar gains to non First Nations students, and at-risk students closed the achievement gap slightly with their typically-achieving peers. For students who did not make adequate progress in reading throughout the year a logistic regression analysis of the data indicates that the best predictor of at-risk status is not a student’s sex or First Nations status, but their letter sound fluency and word identification fluency scores at the beginning of the school year. Findings also indicate that the slope of improvement in reading scores for nonresponders begins to increase once In-School Team meetings begin. Educators’ perceptions of how the monthly In-School team meetings influenced practice differed according to the perceived role that each held of his or her position, and according to the level of involvement, training, and access that each had to the data used in this study. The more professional development that educators had in the theory, use, and application of progress monitoring data the more likely they were to report that they were willing to use it to inform their practice. Likewise, the more access that educators had to the data in terms of collecting, viewing, and interpreting it, the more likely they were in reporting knowledge, confidence, and willingness to use it to plan additional interventions for students. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-13 10:03:09.664

Current legislation and recommended practice have a primary focus on Early Intervention that meets the priorities set forth by families with children who have disabilities. Many theories and current research emphasize the importance of delivering services in a way that supports families to enhance the development of their children through models that reflect the recommendations. Although there are multiple contributions to what is recommended for family-centered philosophy and practice, one single document, the IFSP, guides the delivery of services.Using the content of 91 IFSPs from the state of Kentucky, 8 indicators were analyzed along with service coordinator demographics. This tool was used to determine the frequency of identified unsatisfactory routines that were used as the foundation for outcome development, if service coordinator demographics impacted this process and if certain domains lent more opportunity for inclusion in outcomes. In addition, frequency of sibling inclusion in priorities, concerns, outcomes and strategies were analyzed.Findings indicate that approximately 50% of the routines identified as unsatisfactory were used in outcome development. Significant interactions between service coordinator demographics were discovered as well as a strong correlation between routines and domain. Sibling interaction is discussed as well as limitations and future research.

The purpose of this project was to interview mothers of newborns who participated in early intervention services focusing on the implementation of a tool developed at the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) in North Carolina. The intent was to examine the experience of mothers and home visitors employing the tool, which was designed to enhance the mother/infant relationship. However, a stronger focus on the relationship between mother and home visitor emerged throughout the interviews. Among some participants the relationship among practitioner and parent appeared to create a safe space to share, practice strategies and grow. Although characteristics of FIPP practices associated with the tool remained consistent among home visitors, the way in which services were implemented were unique to each home visitor and parent. Mothers participating in the project were identified as coping with numerous life stressors associated with poverty at the time of the interviews.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of South Florida, 2008. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 71 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2005. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Feb. 8, 2006). Thesis advisor: Vey M. Nordquist. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 36 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.