Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This was an investigation into the relationship between quality of care and staff views of, and responses to, challenging behaviour in adults with learning disabilities. Cognitive representations have been identified as a determinant of therapeutic outcomes in a variety of health care settings. There were two main aims of this study. First, to describe and measure the cognitive representations of challenging behaviour among staff working with adults with learning disabilities and second, to evaluate the effects of training on these views held by staff. Existing literature was reviewed. A Likert type questionnaire, the Challenging Behaviour Representation Questionnaire (CBRQ) was developed to record staff views. The CBRQ draws on two existing measures: the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) and the Challenging Behaviour Attributions Scale (CHABA). The CBRQ will give a new method of evaluating the staff views most often associated with evidence-based practice, helping behaviours and positive outcomes. Questionnaire items were generated from responses by 300 staff, to assess the applicability of Leventhal's Self Regulatory model in the context of challenging behaviour. The rating scales in the questionnaire were theoretically derived, based on the dimensions of Leventhal's model (identity, cause, consequences, treatment/control, time-line). An 'emotional-reaction' dimension was added, suggested by more recent research. The use of the Leventhal model was supported, with the exception of the 'time line' component. The questionnaire was tested for reliability and validity then administered before and after training to staff in three different groups. Targeted training changed cognitive representation of challenging behaviour overall, as measured by the CBRQ, and this change was statistically significantly in two of the five dimensions for the experimental group. Other results suggest that dimensions of cognitive representation are affected in different and complex ways by training. The statistical and the practical significance of the results are discussed in relation to staff training and therapeutic outcomes for people with learning disabilities. A 'staff-regulatory' model of cognitive representation is proposed linking cognitive representation and challenging behaviour.

M.A. / Tho history of education for black learners with learning disabilities and education support services in South Africa (S.A), like much of the history of this country reflect massive deprivation and lack of provision for the majority of people. These inequalities can be ascribed to those social, economic and political factors which characterised the history of South African society in the past (Department of Education, 1997) . It becomes evident that the educational system, is a system which has been designed for the majority of learners and is therefore insensitive to those who learn differently. An inability to access services, if they do exist, essentially means that these children have nowhere to go for assistance.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Please read the abstract (Summary) in the section, 00front, of this document / Dissertation (MA (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Social Work and Criminology / MA / unrestricted

Using Q-technique, 15 fathers of children diagnosed with severe learning disabilities, sorted 41 statements concerning use of their potential formal and informal social network members. Additional demographic and descriptive data, and scores from the Perceived Social Support scales (Family, Friends), were used to analyze the possible effects of a number of variables on fathers' sorting patterns. Fathers reported their spouse as their primary source of support/information, and child's immediate school personnel as their secondary resource. Subdividing fathers into perceived-High and perceived-Low support groups indicated that the Low subgroup reported their spouse as their most significant social contact; also, that contacting School Board personnel was a somewhat more usual behaviour than for the High subgroup. As spousal support was clearly primary, fathers were also subgrouped according to their wives' employment, and thus their availability for support. Comparisons indicated fathers with working wives were more likely to report going to their informal intimate network (family, friends, spouse's family) and, to be notably more active in contacting various school personnel involved in their children's school difficulties. Fathers with at-home wives appeared to follow more traditional patterns of social interactions, with less school contact behaviour reported. Fathers differed on several demographics when subgrouped according to whether their target child was first-born, or subsequent-born (2nd or 3rd). First-born children were younger, were more likely to be enrolled in regular classes at present, and their mothers were more likely to be working. Additional data showed that 14 of the 15 target children were boys, and that the families had predominantly male children in total (28 of 32), an unexpected finding. Future research directions are discussed. In order to utilize fathers in the children's educational programme, suggestions axe pointed out for various school personnel, from the home room teacher to school board administrators. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

It has been hypothesized that a disproportionate percentage of the blind population are learning disabled. In the past, norms and technology were not available to assess in a cost effective manner the blind client's neuropsychological functioning. Norms for the Wide Range Achievement Test - Revised (WRAT-R2) are now available for a blind population without any neuropsychological dysfunctioning. This study utilized the adapted WRAT-R2 and the Comprehensive Vocational Evaluation System (CVES), a neuropsychological test battery adapted for the blind, to investigate the possibility that learning disabilities are present in the adult blind population. Suspected learning disabled, blind subjects were compared with normal blind subjects. There were significant neuropsychological differences between the two groups.

No description available.