published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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The present study focuses on families of children with disabilities living in low-income communities. Little research has been done previously on these families in poverty and the importance of social supports for children with disabilities. The sample consisted of 663 participants; there were 523 families of children without a disability and 140 families of children with a disability living in low-income communities. Poverty is associated with negative influences that may hinder a child’s development, moreso, the development of children with disabilities. Additionally, elevated levels of maternal depression, stress and diminished social support is related to poverty and/or at-risk situations. Importantly, social support may minimize the pressures faced by parents or children within the community. There were four parental variables used in this research along with the use of social supports (formal and informal), concerns about access to formal supports and perceived social support. Chi-squares, independent t-tests and correlation analyses were conducted to determine significant differences between both groups. The results indicated that both groups are quite similar; whereas families of children with a disability were statistically more likely to visit a health and social service professional.

Magister Legum - LLM

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Sociology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early and late age of seizure onset with the level of academic achievement for two groups of primary generalized epileptic children who were enrolled in the regular classroom setting, Furthermore, the study sought to determine if intelligence, spatial organization ability and sequencing ability influenced the level of achievement of these two groups.As per definition, the primary generalized epileptic children chosen for this study evidenced no focal electroencephalographic abnormality. The electroencephalographic patterns were bilateral, synchronous symmetrical spike and wave activity varying in frequency from two to six cycles per second. Subject selection was based primarily upon a neurologist's interpretation of the subject's electroencephalographic record.Subject selection was made from either a survey of 85 epileptic children within two Indiana school systems or from approximately 1,000 patients of an outpatient epileptic clinic. All subjects demonstrated right hand dominance and no one manifested any form of physical handicap or was diagnosed as having a primary emotional disturbance, The chronological age at time of testing ranged from nine years to 16 years 11 months, Also required was a Full Scale IQ greater than 70, as measured by standardized instruments of intelligence.The 61 subjects were divided into groups based upon the age of seizure onset, Group I consisted of 30 subjects whose age of seizure onset was birth to four years 11 months, inclusively and Group II consisted of 31 subjects whose age of seizure onset was six years to 15 years 11 months, inclusively. The age span specified for early age of seizure onset corresponded to interruption within the first half of the perceptual maturation span and the age span designated for late age of seizure onset involved interruption within the latter half of the perceptual maturation span and beyond.All subjects were administered equivalent test batteries. Achievement was determined by grade level scores obtained in reading recognition and arithmetic. The reading recognition grade level scores were obtained from either the Wide Range Achievement Test r Reading Subtest or the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests - Word Identification Subtest. The arithmetic grade level scores were obtained from the Wide Range Achievement Test Arithmetic Subtest. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale were used in assessing Full Scale IQ, Spatial organization was defined by the location scoreobtained from the Tactile Performance Test divided by the total number of stimulus blocks on the form-board. The difference i_n time scores obtained from Part B minus Part A of the Trail Making Test defined the sequencing ability score.In order to determine statistical significance between the dependent and independent variables simultaneously, a multivariate discriminant analysis of variance or analysis of covariance was applied, A .05 level of significance was set in testing the statistical significance of each null hypothesis.No significant differences were found between the two primary generalized epileptic groups for any of the hypotheses tested. Consequently, this research did not support the notion that primary generalized epileptics of early seizure onset perform significantly lower academically when compared with primary generalized epileptics of late seizure onset.. Even when Full Scale IQ, spatial organization ability and sequencing ability were assigned as covariates, no significant differences were found.From inspection of coefficients of the multiple correlation squared, results indicated that academic achievement was predicted as accurately from Full Scale IQ alone as when spatial organization ability and/or sequencing ability were used as additional predictors.

The purpose of this study was to examine the joyful lived experiences of mothers of children with special needs (CSN). Mothers, who are most identified as the primary caregivers of children with special needs, are subject to marginalization because of the societal perspective that having a disability is wrong and that care giving for a child with a disability is dominated by challenge or burden. This study gave voice to mothers of children with special needs so the joys of being a mother of a CSN can be better known and understood by medical, educational, and social service practitioners. The findings resulted in a reflective transformative adult learning model that practitioners can integrate into their discourse with mothers of a CSN. The qualitative research method autoethnography was used to reveal the mothers’ joyful experiences. Both internal and external data were collected from five mothers who were purposively sampled from a support group that is located in suburban Indianapolis, Indiana and from the researcher, also a mother to a child with special needs. External data in the form of transcribed interviews including personal writings of the mothers and internal data in the form of reflexive researcher field notes and personal writings were subject to analysis using the constant comparison method. The findings revealed that mothers of a CSN do experience challenges, but they have learned to find joy through the unique strengths of themselves and their children. They have discovered a purpose and have been transformed by their children. As a result of that transformation, they recognize that their children’s joy is their joy and that joy is defined as the “simple things” they and their children engage in. These simple and unique joys, however, require planning and collaboration. The researcher called those practitioners in the medical, educational, and social service communities to use the reflective practice of writing as a way to better understand how important joy is for mothers of a CSN so practitioners can transform their treatments, education, and services to include joy. / Department of Educational Studies

This research focuses on pupils with special needs in mainstream schools. It is concerned with how their identities and experiences are constructed at a formal level, within official documents, and informally, in the way the pupils are talked about. A Foucauldian perspective provided the framework for analysing formal and informal discourses and the power/knowledge relations these contain. Formal SEN discourses were examined by analysing the Warnock and HMI reports and earlier official documents. At an informal level, accounts were obtained from eleven pupils with a range of special educational needs and their peers. The pupils were also observed within mainstream classrooms and playgrounds. The pupils' accounts challenged the appropriateness of conventional binary divisions, for example disabled/able-bodied; integrated/segregated, for understanding the identities and experiences of pupils with SEN. The data suggest a much more continuous process of construction, characterised by oscillations, uncertainties and ambivalences and by resistance from the pupils with SEN. A number of implications for the placement of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools are considered. These relate to how schools might build on mainstream pupils' existing understanding of disability and ensure that integration is a positive experience for all.

Note: / The effects of disability on sibling well-being and sibling relationship quality wereevaluated. Particularly, two disabilities (Phelan-McDermid syndrome and attentionhyperactivity disorder) with significantly different functional implications were examined.Siblings completed measures on behavioural and emotional functioning, self-concept,and sibling relationship quality. For both disability groups, no positive or negative effectson sibling weIl-being were found when compared to siblings oftypicaIly developingchildren. Sibling relationship quality was different for aIl three groups of siblings. Whenthere was disability in the home, siblings reported less intimacy in their relationships.Siblings of children with Phelan-McDerrnid syndrome reported more mutual admiration,more power and less conflict in their relationships than siblings oftypically developingchildren. They also reported more warmth in their relationship than siblings of childrenwith attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The importance of understanding howdisability in the home can affect siblings is emphasized. / Les effets de troubles de santé sur le bien-être d'enfants de même famille et sur lesrelations entre frères et soeurs furent évalués. Particulièrement, deux syndromes, lesyndrome de Phelan-McDermid et le Trouble du Déficit de l'Attention avec ou sansHyperactivité (TDAH), qui ont implications pratiques significativement différentes furentexaminés. Les entants de même famille ont complété des questionnaires sur leurfonctionnement émotionnel et comportemental, leur concept de soi et la qualité de larelation avec leur frère ou leur soeur. Pour les deux groupes d'enfants avec un frère ouune soeur atteinte d'un trouble quelconque, aucun effet positif ou négatif sur le bien-êtrefut découvert comparativement aux enfants de familles typiques. Toutefois, la qualité desrelations entre enfants de même famille était différente dans les trois groupes. Quand l'undes enfants était atteint d'un trouble, moins d'intimité était rapportée dans la relationentre frères et soeurs. Les frères et soeurs d'enfants atteints du syndrome de PhelanMcDermidont déclaré qu'ils éprouvaient plus d'admiration, plus de pouvoir et moins deconflits entre eux que chez des enfants de familles typiques. Ils ont aussi exprimé plus detendresse dans leur relation que dans les familles d'enfants avec un TDAH. Cet ouvragesouligne également l'importance de comprendre comment les problèmes de santé d'unenfant peuvent affecter les autres enfants de leur famille.11

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