Swedish legislation states that a school is required to make the necessary adjustments to include   all children, regardless of circumstances or disabilities. However there are no clear guidelines as to how these adjustments should be carried out in the physical environment when it comes to cognitive disabilities such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder or Language Disorders. This thesis projects aims to design a school that takes the needs of these children into account, with the belief that this will, in the end, benefit all children, and help them   succeed in school. / Svensk lagstiftning säger att skolan förväntas göra de anpassningar som är nödvändiga för att undervisningen skall inkludera alla barn, oavsett svårigheter eller funktionshinder. Det finns dock inga klara riktlinjer för hur dessa anpassningar skall göras i den fysiska miljön när det gäller kognitiva funktionshinder som ADHD, Autismspektrum eller språkstörningar mm.   Detta exjobb syftar till att formge en skola som anpassar sig till dessa barn, med utgångspunkten att detta i slutändan kan gagna alla barn, och hjälpa dem lyckas i skolan.

Trygga relationer mellan pedagog och elev är av stor betydelse då det ökar elevens skolresultat och motivation inför skolan. Elever med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar (NPF) står inför många utmaningar i skolan och det är inte ovanligt att elevgruppen har hög frånvaro. Trygga relationer skulle kunna fungera som en skyddsfaktor för dessa barn och bidra till en ökad närvaro. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka hur trygga respektive otrygga relationer kommer till uttryck i skola och att undersöka om det finns andra tillvägagångssätt i relationsskapandet till elever med NPF. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar har det genomförts semistrukturerade intervjuer med pedagoger som arbetar relationsskapande i skolan. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att relationsskapande är av stor betydelse för en lyckad skolgång på såväl ett akademiskt som socialt plan. Otrygga relationer leder till att pedagogen har svårt att nå fram till eleven. Trygga relationer bidrar till att pedagogen med hjälp av små signaler kan korrigera oönskade beteende. Elever med NPF behöver ibland mer tid för att bygga tillitsfulla relationer till pedagoger. Resultatet visade också att relationen är extra viktig för dessa elever eftersom de redan står inför många utmaningar i skolan. För att pedagogen ska kunna göra anpassningar utifrån elevens behov blir relationen än viktigare. / Secure relationships between educator and student are of great importance as it increases the student's school results and motivation towards school. Students with neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) face many challenges in school and it is not uncommon for this group of students to have high absence. Secure relationships could act as a factor of protection for these children and contribute to an increased presence. The purpose of the study was to investigate how secure and insecure relationships are expressed in school and to investigate whether there are any other approaches to relationship-building towards students with neurodevelopmental disorder. To answer the purpose of the study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with educators working relationship-building in schools. The empirical experience of the study has subsequently been analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results showed that relationship-building is of great importance for a successful time in school on both an academic and social level. Precarious relationships lead to the teacher having difficulty reaching the student. Secure relationships help educators to be able to correct unwanted behavior with the help of small signals. Students with NDD sometimes need more time to build trusting relationships with educators. The results also showed that the relationship is extra important for these students because they already face many challenges in school. In order for the educator to be able to make adjustments based on the students needs, the relationship becomes even more important.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) refer to a group of conditions resulting from disturbances of the developing brain with a typical onset in childhood before puberty. Genetic causes make up a large part of developmental delays, which is why genetic examinations play a decisive role in the clarification of the causes of NDD. Due to the development of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and the increased use of genome-wide analyses in recent years, it has become clear that a large proportion of cases are due to rare, monogenic alterations in each case. Meanwhile, 1534 genes have been currently associated with NDD. Nevertheless, half of the evaluated cases remain without a valid diagnosis. However, this is a prerequisite for personalized support and the estimation of the development prognosis, as well as the differentiated assessment of the risk of recurrence for family members. To decipher the genetics of NDD, I systematically analyzed the exome sequences of 104 individuals with NDD and their relatives (see Figure 2). In 10 of the 104 cases, I was able to find variants in already known genes that partially explain the phenotype. I intensively evaluated all the cases for new candidate genes and identified 89 candidate genes in 58 individuals (see Supplementary, Table S1). In the remaining 46 individuals, no candidate gene could be identified. I then scored the candidate genes to prioritize them regarding the probability of being true NDD genes. From the detailed analysis of a relatively small cohort of NDD individuals (n=104) and the resulting 89 candidate genes, a total of 9 research collaborations have emerged (see Table 1). Of the candidate genes with further research in AutoCasC, six are in my top 20 candidate genes, which is a good indication of the efficiency of this systematic approach on deciphering the genetics of NDD. Studies on the candidate genes SKOR2, HCN2, SP9, CCDC66, and TANC1 are currently being worked on by collaborators worldwide and we could add our clinical and genetic data (see Table 1). Further, I was more substantially involved in the identification of the candidate gene ATP2B1, subsequently studied functionally, and published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (IF 11,0) with me as coauthor as a novel NDD gene, and the ongoing research on a genotype-phenotype correlation with functional lines of evidence of NDD-individuals with variants in DOCK4. Furthermore, I have led the efforts for the genes RIPPLY2 and PABPC1. I was able to describe three individuals from two families with compound-heterozygous variants in RIPPLY2 in two sisters and a homozygous nonsense variant in an 8-year-old boy. All individuals had multiple vertebral body malformations in the cervical and thoracic region, small or absent rib involvement, myelopathies, and common clinical features of spondylocostal dysostosis 6 (SCDO6) including scoliosis, mild facial asymmetry, spinal spasticity, and hemivertebrae. At this time, RIPPLY2 was only associated as a candidate gene with SCDO6 and had only been described in a small cohort of seven individuals from five families in two publications. I could confirm that bi-allelic variants in RIPPLY2 cause congenital cervical spine malformation in spondylocostal dysostosis type 6 and broaden the phenotype by adding myelopathy with or without spinal canal stenosis and spinal spasticity to the symptom spectrum as a first author in a publication published in Clinical Genetics (IF 4,4). In the study on PABPC1, I describe four individuals with an overlapping phenotype of developmental delay, expressive speech delay, autistic features, and heterozygous de novo variants that cluster in the PABP domain of PABPC1. Further symptoms are seizures and behavioral disorders. Molecular modeling predicted that the variants are pathogenic and would lead to decreased binding affinity to mRNA metabolism-related proteins such as PAIP2. Co-immunoprecipitation confirmed this as it demonstrated a significant weakening of the interaction between mutant PABPC1 and PAIP2. Electroporation of mouse embryo brains showed that Pabpc1 knockdown decreases the proliferation of neural progenitor cells. The wild type Pabpc1 could rescue this disturbance, while three of the four variants did not. Together with partners from the Central South University in Changsha, China, I was able to propose that pathogenic missense variants in the PABP-domain of PABPC1 lead to a novel form of developmental disorder and published my work in Genetics in Medicine (IF 8,9). Through this, I demonstrated that systematic trio exome analysis and identification and characterization of candidate genes followed by prioritizing the genes based on systematic scoring and by building international cooperation to gather further individuals, describe the phenotypes, and prove that the pathogenicity of the variants is an excellent way to decipher the genetics of NDD. With this approach, I was able to describe PABPC1 as a novel NDD-gene and confirm the association between RIPPLY2 and SCDO6. Moreover, I contributed as a co-author to the publication of ATP2B1 as a novel NDD-gene and to the ongoing research on SKOR2, SP9, HCN2, CCDC66, TANC1, and DOCK4. More might follow in the future. The continuation of this research in genetic diagnostics is important for creating personalized support and prevention programs for individuals with neurodevelopmental delays, to be able to estimate the developmental prognosis, and to be able to assess the recurrence risk of other family members in a more differentiated way.:1 Introduction 1.1 Genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders 1.2 Identification of neurodevelopmental delay genes 1.3 Assessment of candidate genes 1.4 Rationale 1.5 Results 1.5.1 Identification of neurodevelopmental delay genes 1.5.2 Scoring of the identified candidate genes 1.5.3 Candidate genes under further research 2 Publications 2.1 Congenital cervical spine malformation due to bi-allelic RIPPLY2 variants in spondylocostal dysostosis type 6 2.2 De novo variants in the PABP-domain of PABPC1 lead to developmental delay 3 Summary 4 References 5 Internet resources 6 Supplementary 7 Presentation of personal scientific contribution 8 Declaration of Authorship

This paper presents a WPR analysis of policy documents issued by Swedish educational authoritiesconcerning students with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD/NPF). The analysis specificallyfocuses on how these students are constructed within the discourse of educational policies. Usingpolicy documents from school authorities, in our qualitative analysis, we examine how theproblematization of these students manifests itself in the texts. Through our analysis, we questionwhether the knowledge requirements in the curriculum are reasonable. We aim to contribute to adeeper understanding of, and possibly challenge, how NDD/NPF students are constructed in thediscourse found in the policy documents through our analysis.

The purpose of this study is to gain increased knowledge on how three special education teachers include students with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in math lessons. Moreover, the study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges and benefits of inclusive math education for NDD students. The study provides an overview of previous research on inclusion, inclusion in mathematics, and NDD. The investigation was conducted through semi-structured interviews with three special education teachers in math. The results of the study show that the special education teachers' view on inclusion aligns with the dilemma perspective, where students work with math borh in the classroom and in groups outside of it. Important factors for inclusive education for NDD students that are supported by research, include hands-on materials, structured teaching, adapted books, a permissive climate, personalized instruction, meaningful lessons and fostering a sense of context and belonging. The teachers in the study believe that the biggest challenges include difficulty keeping up with everything due to students' different needs and levels. They also mention challenges that arise over time, such as decreased student motivation and attendance. However, through observations in the regular classroom and their results, they also believe that students achieve higher levels of fulfillment and increased self-confidence in math, and, because of increased learning, they feel more included in the classroom.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka hur familjebehandlare i socialtjänsten beskriver de kunskapsmässiga förutsättningarna i arbetet avseende neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning [NPF] samt att fördjupa förståelsen för hur detta upplevs kunna få betydelse för ett preventivt arbete gentemot föräldrar vars barn har en NPF-diagnos. Studien genomfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex familjebehandlare inom socialtjänsten i fem mindre kommuner i Västra Götaland. Teori om systemteorin och begrepp om kunskap, makt och handlingsutrymme användes för att fördjupa förståelsen för det insamlade materialet. En tematisk analys valdes för att analysera materialet. Resultatet visade att familjebehandlarnas kunskaper om NPF upplevdes bero på den enskildes intresse och erfarenheter av ämnet.  Det framkom att familjebehandlarna inte hade fått någon formell utbildning om NPF varken under den akademiska utbildningen eller av arbetsgivaren. Resultatet visade även att det fanns motsägelser kring vilka kunskaper familjebehandlarna borde besitta och vad förebyggande arbete innebär. Familjebehandlarna beskrev att det preventiva familjearbetet påverkades av kunskaper om NPF, de beskrev att kunskapen om NPF bör vara specialiserad för att kunna arbeta preventivt. De beskrev samtidigt att det preventiva familjearbetet var oberoende av den enskilde familjebehandlarens kunskapsnivå eftersom de möter varje individ utifrån enskilda behov. Familjebehandlarnas uppfattningar om vad som tillhörde deras yrkesroll påverkade deras behov av att vilja ha specialiserade kunskaper. Slutsatsen var att det finns ett behov av preventivt arbete och kunskapsutveckling om NPF eftersom familjebehandlare möter en omfattande mängd av föräldrar vars barn har en NPF-diagnos. En kompetensutveckling skulle kunna medföra en stabilare kunskapsbas hos familjebehandlare, som dessutom skulle kunna leda till en utveckling av det preventiva familjearbetet inom socialtjänsten. En stabilare kunskapsbas skulle även kunna bidra till bättre och effektivare stöd för familjer. / The purpose of the essay was to examine how family therapists in social services describe the knowledge prerequisites in their work regarding neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), and to deepen the understanding of how this might be relevant for preventive work with parents whose children have an NDD diagnosis. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with six family therapists within social services in five smaller municipalities in Västra Götaland. Theory on systems theory and concepts of knowledge, power, and agency were employed to deepen the understanding of the collected material. A thematic analysis was chosen to analyze the material. The results showed that family therapists' knowledge of NDD was perceived to depend on the individual's interest and experiences in the subject. It emerged that family therapists had not received any formal training on NDD either during their academic education or from their employer. The results also showed contradictions regarding which knowledge family therapists should possess and what preventive work entails. Family therapists described that preventive work was influenced by knowledge of NDD, expressing that knowledge about NDD should be specialized to work preventively. They also described that preventive work was independent of the individual family therapist's level of knowledge because they meet each individual based on individual needs. Family therapists' perceptions of what belonged to the professional role influenced their need for specialized knowledge. The conclusion was that there is a need for preventive work and knowledge development regarding NDD, as family therapists encounter a substantial number of parents whose children have an NDD diagnosis. Competence development could lead to a more stable knowledge base among family therapists, which could also lead to the development of preventive work within social services. A more stable knowledge base could also contribute to better and more effective support for families.

No description available.

Several studies show that physical activity has positive effects for children with autism. Therefore, I chose to investigate the form of adaptions student in autism spectrum in the subject of sports and health and what conditions the physical education teachers have to create a favorable environment for student with autism. Through a qualitative research method with teachers in physical education and health, the material has been collected with semi structured interviews. The results show how teachers adapt teaching to student with autism spectrumdisorders. Physical education and health teachers work in different ways. The adaption can consist of preparation, the student’s special interests, structure, participation/involvement, andclarity in the teaching. Based on the discussion, all students are different and the teachers need to adapt the student’s needs. / Flertal studier visar att fysisk aktivitet har positiva effekter för barn med autism. Därför valde jag att undersöka vilken form av anpassningar elever inom autismspektrumet i ämnet idrott och hälsa och vilka förutsättningar idrottslärarna har för att skapa en gynnsam miljö för elever med autism. Genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med lärare inom idrott och hälsa har materialet samlats in via semistrukturerade intervjuer. I resultatet framkommer det hur lärarna anpassar undervisningen till elever med autismspektra. Idrott och hälsa lärarna arbetar på olika sätt för att anpassa undervisningen. Anpassningen kan bestå av förberedelser, elevensspecialintressen, struktur, delaktighet/involvering samt tydlighet i undervisningen. Utifrån diskussionen är alla elever olika och lärarna behöver anpassa elevens behov.

The present study aimed to compare adolescents (14-15 years old) having self-reported neurodevelopmental disorders classified as flourishing with those adolescents classified as non- flourishing concerning rated mental health problems and adolescent perceptions of adolescent disclosure and parental control. The present study used a cross-sectional design based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the LoRDIA research program. Adolescents having self-reported NDDs in wave 3 were included (n=198). Adolescents rated their mental health using the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form, after which researchers classified them as flourishing, moderate, or languishing. Behavior and emotional symptoms were rated using the conduct problems subscale and emotional symptoms subscale of the self-reported version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Adolescents rated adolescent disclosure and parental control using the adolescent disclosure scale and parental control scale. Independent Samples t-Tests, Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple regressions were performed to analyze data. Findings illustrated that adolescents having self-reported NDDs classified as flourishing report less conduct problems, lower adolescent disclosure, and same levels of parental control compared to those adolescents classified as non-flourishing. Emotional problems seem to be positively related to adolescent disclosure within family interaction patterns, while conduct problems appear to be negatively related to parental control. However, parenting style may be crucial in having few or many conduct- and emotional problems. Thus, adolescent disclosure plays a prominent role in relation to adolescents’ mental health, mental health problems, and parent-adolescent interactions, while parental control plays a prominent role in relation to adolescents’ mental health problems and parent-adolescent interactions.

This essay consists of a review of 34 scientific articles. The aim is to describe and compile current research about students with intellectual disability (ID) and neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD). The research questions focus on what challenges for learning and teaching the diagnoses imply, if there are any differences between girls and boys, and how the learning environment may be adapted for these students. The theoretical framework in this study consists of gender theory and social constructions. The results show that many students with ID also have diagnoses within NDD and that it affects the students’ executive, adaptive and social abilities. Girls show other symptoms than boys, but there tends to be fewer differences when the students have a severe ID. Girls are often quieter than boys and seem to have better social skills, while boys more frequently have challenging behaviour. The differences contribute to boys receiving more support in school and that they are referred to neuropsychiatric assessment at an earlier age. Girls however are more difficult to discover, which causes that girls often receive a diagnosis later than boys. Considerably more boys than girls get a diagnosis within NDD; research has for many years focused on boys’ symptoms, which has affected the formation of the diagnostic tools. The result shows that there is a huge need of adapting the education to each student’s ability and level of knowledge with help from a clear structure in a calm setting with few disturbances. The students need support in developing their executive, adaptive and social skills. Early interventions have shown to be of great importance. Regardless of cognitive level, pedagogues need to have high expectations on the students, encourage them and give them the support they need. The students may for example need longer time, rehearsal or that the exercises are divided into smaller parts. The result indicates that students with disabilities have the best opportunity for development when they are together with students in general education. / Den här forskningsöversikten består av en granskning av 34 vetenskapliga artiklar. Syftet är att beskriva och sammanställa aktuell forskning om elever som har IF och NPF. Frågeställningarna fokuserar på vilka utmaningar för lärande och undervisning diagnoserna innebär, om det förekommer några skillnader mellan flickor och pojkar samt hur lärmiljön kan anpassas för dessa elever. Det teoretiska ramverket i studien utgörs av genusteori och sociala konstruktioner. Resultatet visar att många elever med IF har diagnoser inom NPF och att det påverkar elevernas exekutiva, adaptiva och sociala förmågor. Flickor uppvisar ofta andra symtom än pojkar, men skillnaderna tenderar att vara mindre vid svår eller grav IF. Flickor är i regel tystare än pojkar och verkar ofta ha en högre social kompetens, medan pojkar i högre utsträckning är utåtagerande. Skillnaderna bidrar till att pojkar ofta får mer stöd i skolan och att de utreds i ett tidigare skede. Flickor är däremot svårare att upptäcka, vilket bidrar till att flickor ofta får diagnos senare än pojkar. Betydligt fler pojkar än flickor får diagnos inom NPF; forskning har i många år utgått från pojkars symtom, vilket har påverkat utformandet av utredningsverktygen. Resultatet visar att det finns ett stort behov av att individanpassa undervisningen utifrån elevernas förmågor och kunskapsnivå med hjälp av tydlig struktur i en lugn miljö med få störande moment. Eleverna behöver stöd för att utveckla sina exekutiva, adaptiva och sociala förmågor. Tidiga insatser har visat sig vara av stor betydelse. Oavsett kognitiv nivå krävs att pedagoger möter eleverna med höga förväntningar och uppmuntran samt ger dem det stöd de behöver. Exempelvis kan det handla om att få längre tid på sig, repetition eller att uppgifterna delas upp i mindre delar. Resultatet indikerar att elever med funktionsnedsättningar har störst möjlighet att utvecklas tillsammans med elever inom reguljär skola.