Although the policies and practices of special education are openly constructed around a premise of mobility and opportunity, students from low income backgrounds (‘at risk’ youth) are twice as likely to be labeled “special.” Moreover, of all the special educational categories, learning disabilities (a diagnosis deeply contested) account for the largest group of special educational students who are ‘at risk’ learners. This project is hinged on addressing how those students who are apparent beneficiaries of special educational policies and programs (evidenced by post-secondary enrolment) make meaning of their prior and current educational experiences in relation to special educational policies, services and programs. The author begins by theorizing that such disabilities may medicalize social problems while still preserving a veneer of equality. However, since not all labels have universal meanings when applied to specific social agents, they may both hinder and help some in gaining access to post secondary education. With the support of a group of four enrolled post secondary students located in the Canadian urban west-coast, who identify as learning disabled and the recipients of related interventions, this thesis provides a complex reading of the everyday that draws upon how the students’ specific cultural and material locations inform their understanding of education, ability, disability, meritocracy and normalcy. Collecting data through semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted during the Spring and Fall of 2007, the students actively engage and challenge the author’s original theoretical and methodological assumptions. Anticipating critiques of special education, the author is surprised by the students’ support of such programs. Expecting responses to interview questions to be based on a reading of meritocracy as normalcy and disability as deficit, these students weave understandings of meritocracy and normalcy to articulate their abilities without rejecting their disability labels. In terms of policy where the emphasis is placed on disability as deficit, the findings imply that policy-makers neglect the energy and labour students invest in emphasizing their abilities. For educators, this reveals an important pedagogy of inclusion by inverting assumptions that special educational students are ‘at risk’ of educational failure without unfolding the complex ways in which they actively demonstrate their abilities. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

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There is a national shortage of school-based Speech Language Pathologists (SLP). Schools located in rural and geographically remote areas are often impacted by the shortage, and as a result students with an autism spectrum disorder may not receive services that are mandated by their Individual Education Plan. This study examined the use of telepractice as a method of delivery of speech and language services to individuals with autism spectrum disorders in rural areas. A quasi-experimental, single-subject, time-series design was employed. The treatment conditions were manipulated. A counter-balancing methodology was used to control for order effects in this study. Inter-observer agreement on student progress and outcomes were determined by two other master-level clinicians. Progress was measured using pre/post intervention assessments and intervention data. A statistical analysis and comparison of the two service delivery methods (telepractice and traditional on-site) was conducted using the Improved Rate Difference and a Tau-U method. Group comparison was conducted using the Pearson's Correlation. A non-directional critical value for all parametric and non-parametric analysis was set at α = .05. If the null hypothesis was rejected, then there was a statistical difference between the progress students made when receiving telepractice as compared to on-site services. If the null hypothesis was not rejected, there was not a statistical difference between the progress students made when receiving telepractice as compared to on-site services. Comparison at the group level resulted in a finding of non-significance between the two conditions. Findings at the individual level resulted in three out of the six participants demonstrating a finding of non-statistical difference between the on-site and telepractice conditions. For the remaining three participants a statistical difference was noted. When comparing the means of the outcome data between the two conditions, two participants responded more favorably to telepractice intervention, while the other responded better to on-site intervention. Overall, these findings suggest that a telepractice service delivery method is an effective and valid way to provide interventions to students with ASD.

There is a growing population of individuals using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in need of evidence-based intervention from highly qualified personnel. However, not all speech pathology programs offer AAC coursework and/or practicum opportunities, and practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) report low levels of confidence and expertise in working with individuals using AAC. Therefore, there is a need to develop more innovative pre-professional training programs to better equip the next generation of SLPs with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality, evidence-based AAC interventions. Telepractice is emerging as an inventive way to provide both direct and indirect intervention services, and could theoretically be used to support pre-professional training by providing clinicians the opportunity to engage in direct services with individuals using AAC concurrently while receiving supervision from a skilled mentor. A thorough review of the literature revealed limited information and data regarding tele-AAC for direct and indirect service delivery. This investigation examined the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing telepractice to train pre-professional clinicians regarding AAC interventions while in the context of service delivery both on-site and via telepractice. A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed to examine the impact of real-time supervisory guidance offered via telepractice to pre-professional clinicians (Active Consultation) on the performance of the clinicians and the clients in each service delivery condition. Data was gathered on the number of target language acts modeled by the clinicians and generated by the clients when Active Consultation was provided. The results supported the use of telepractice for supervision, and as a service delivery method for AAC users.

This dissertation reports a study of the experience of disability of one student identified as having a Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD), his parents, teachers, and other educational personnel at the private, boarding school he attends. This qualitative, phenomenologically-based interview study examines the narratives of each of the participants to explore the construction of disability that each has developed and to present a picture of the multiplicity of perspectives that coexist and interact in this student's daily life. This study used in-depth phenomenological interviewing as its primary approach to qualitative research and supplemented that with more traditional, qualitative interviewing techniques. In-depth interviews were conducted with the study's primary participants: the student and his parents. Three 90-minute interviews were conducted with each of these participants, focusing on their stories of the student's disability. The audiotaped interviews, transcripts of those interviews, and my notes during the interview process became the raw data for this study. From these data, profiles and portraits of the central participant were developed by selecting data from the transcript of each participant's interview. Data was selected and coded according to its relevance to the construct of disability and portraits were crafted from the selected data. The completed portraits are presented in the participant's original words and are arranged, with my interpretive remarks, in chapters that reference the participants' relationships with the student participant. Two concepts, locus of disability and identifying features of disability were used to compare and contrast the stories of participants in this study. The findings of this study suggest that the construction of disability among a student, his parents, teachers, and other school personnel is multiple and heterogeneous in nature. The extent to which those constructions were idiosyncratic and dependent upon personal relationships with the student participant is a central finding of this study. Implications for educational administration are discussed.

In view of the fact that Lebanon does not currently have a special education infrastructure, the purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to understand the phenomenon of educating children with Down syndrome (DS) in Lebanon in terms of the meanings mothers ascribe to it and their description of their experience. The intent was to develop a conceptual ordering of the dynamics of the process that explains their experience and to identify critical factors that surround their quest for educational and related services for their children with DS. Empirical materials were collected through individual, face to face, semi-structured, long, qualitative interviews with 12 urban mothers of children with DS who are in the elementary school age range. Analysis of the empirical materials revealed that mothers are the vital and driving force behind securing programs for their children with DS and that they go through the following four related processes: (1) adapting to a new reality, (2) pursuing educational programs and related services, (3) accommodating to uncertainty, and (4) preserving self. In addition, four key factors in educating children with DS in Lebanon were identified: (1) financial resources, (2) mother's background and characteristics, (3) support, and (4) religion. After discussing these empirical findings and comparing them with extant literature, recommendations for research, practice, and policy development are provided / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 26, 2010. / Exploratory Qualitative Study, Lebanon, Family Issues, Mother's Perspective, Intellectual Disabilities, Down Syndrome, Elementary Education, Special Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary Frances Hanline, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sande Milton, University Representative; Gideon R. Jones, Committee Member; Bruce M. Menchetti, Committee Member; Susan Miller Smedema, Committee Member.

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Within the American public education system, 13 percent of students receive special education services. Interventions provided to students with disabilities declared mild to moderate participate within the general education classroom every day. The purpose of this study was to investigate what knowledge general education teachers have of the characteristics of the disabilities that were present within their classrooms, strategies they used within the classroom to support these students, and what teachers could do additionally to support students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Teachers were generally aware of common characteristics of disabilities, but some fell victim to common misconceptions. Teachers attempted a variety of strategies to support their students within the general education classroom. A consensus of requiring more resources and support in the classroom was relayed from general education students when inquired for next steps.

The behaviors frequently displayed by students with autism can place them at risk for overly reactive behavior interventions with unwanted side effects. The current study examined the level of intrusiveness of behavioral treatments developed for 198 students with disabilities from 13 different states. Results demonstrated that students diagnosed with autism had proportionally more intrusive behavior interventions when compared to students in five other disability categories and indicated that many students with autism were unnecessarily subjected to highly intrusive behavior interventions. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.

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