abstract: Traveling is one of the most enriching and fulfilling activities for most people. Yet factors such as crowded airports, long waiting queues, and inaccessible features of airports and airplanes often make traveling stressful for many individuals including those with disabilities. This qualitative phenomenological research study examined the underexplored area of traveling with a vision disability. Framed around a Co-cultural theoretical perspective, the study examined the lived experiences of vision impaired individuals with regard to receiving disability assistance services during air travel. The study specifically explored the communication strategies that vision impaired individuals employed to manage their assistance-related air travel needs. The study used in-depth interviews for data collection, and a combination of thematic analysis techniques for data analysis. Findings indicated four categories of assistance-related issues that vision impaired participants frequently experienced in their travel: personnel training issues, system issues, policy issues, and physical accessibility issues. The study also identified four Co-cultural communication orientations that participants used in navigating air travel: assertive accommodation, aggressive accommodation, assertive assimilation, and nonassertive assimilation. In addition, the study identified a new Co-cultural communication practice - normalizing for self. Findings of this research conclude that despite three decades since the passage of United States legislation to protect the rights of disabled people, vision impaired travelers still frequently experience inequitable air travel practices. The study offers recommendations on pressing issues concerning policies and regulations that can inform airline executives and federal legislators in facilitating a more equitable and pleasurable air travel experience for those with vision disabilities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2020

This study aims to research the student assistant’s workplace situation at the after-school center, wherein we examine the various differences between how school leaders, parents and guardians aswell as student assistants handle their duties at the after-school center. These questions are as follows, ”What duties should the student assistant role encompass”, as well as”Which differences exist in the support which students with special needs receive during school hours respective to after-school hours”. This study derives its information from qualitative research and scripted and improvised interviews. Our results demonstrate a clear link that the student assistant plays a vital role with the work of supporting special needs children. Since it has been difficult acquiring prior research regarding the student assistant’s role at the afterschool center we’ve had to draw parallels between the small amount of existing research regarding the student assistant’s work during school hours.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur fritidslärare arbetar med elever i särskilt behov av stöd och deras arbete kring elever i behov av särskilt stöd och om de har tillräcklig kompetens för detta arbete. Metoden som användes i studien var frågeformulär som gjorts via internet. Länken till frågeformuläret mejlades ut till fritidslärare som arbetar på fritidshem. Den teoretiska ansatsen är sociokulturellt synsätt på lärande samt didaktik. Resultatet av studien visar på att fritidslärare anser att i utbildningen till fritidslärare har de fått för lite kompetens när det kommer till specialpedagogik. Hur de ska arbeta med elever i behov av särskilt stöd samt resonemanget kring arbetet. Resultatet visar även att fritidslärare ibland får klara sig själva  utan stöd av speciallärare/specialpedagog eller elevassistent, vilket menas med att elever i behov av särskilt stöd kan ha elevassistent på skolan men att assistenten inte finns med på fritidshemmet. / The purpose of the study is to investigate how leisure teachers work with students in special need of support and their work around students in need of special support and whether they have the sufficient competence for this work. The method used in the study was questionnaires made via internet. The link to the questionnaire was emailed to leisure teachers who work at leisure centers. The theoretical approach is socio-cultural approach to learning and didactis. The result of the study show the leisure teacher believe that in the training for leisure teachers they have received not enough competence when it come to special education. How to work with students in need special support and the reasoning around the work. The results also show that leisure teachers sometimes must fend for themselves without the support of special teacher/special educator or student assistant, which means that student in need of special support may have a student assistant at the school but that student assistant is not at the after school.

Bakgrund: I Sverige har det rapporterats en ökning bland barn och unga av psykiatriska diagnoser. En ökning av psykiska- samt psykosomatiska besvär hos ungdomar i åldern 13-15 år har konstaterats. Den upplevda skolmiljön ses som en stark koppling till elevernas ohälsa. Elever med långvarig skolfrånvaro riskerar att hamna i svårigheter både på kort och lång sikt. Idag används sociala tjänstehundar som särskilt stöd för elever med långvarig skolfrånvaro dock finns det en brist på kunskap om hur insatsens upplevs av både hundförare och eleven själv. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka elever och hundförares upplevelse av hundassisterad intervention som särskilt stöd vid långvarig skolfrånvaro. Metod: Två elever och tre hundförare intervjuades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer genomfördes via videosamtal. Eleverna var i ålder 13-15 år och gick på högstadiet. Hundförarna arbetade på högstadiet på uppdrag av elevhälsan med hundassisterade interventioner som särskilt stöd vid långvarig skolfrånvaro. Resultat: Eleverna och hundförarna upplevde att hunden stöttade eleverna genom sitt bemötande, sin närhet och förmåga till relationsskapade. Detta ledde till att eleverna upplevde en förändring i sitt mående och i sin tillvaro. Eleverna upplevde en känsla av minskad stress och ångest, där elevernas vänskapliga relation till hundarna blev en betydande faktor i sin motivation till att komma till skolan, vara i skolan och utföra sina skolarbeten. Slutsats: Användningen av hundassisterade intervention som särskilt stöd vid långvarig skolfrånvaro upplevdes ge eleverna förändrade förutsättningar att öka sin närvaro i skolan. Elevernas vilja att vara med den sociala tjänstehunden bidrog till en ökad motivation att deltaga i sin skolgång. / Background: Sweden is currently witnessing an increase in diagnosed psychiatric disorders among juveniles of all ages, within which an upsurge in psychological and psychosomatic maladies has been noted in the 13-15 year old demographic. The social environment of a student’s school is seen to have a direct relationship to said student’s potential mental health issues, which can lead to extended absences. Such absences increase the risk of continued problems for the student, even beyond the realm of mental health, in the short and long term. Therapydogs are now used to provide special assistance for students with extended absences from school, however, there is a lack of knowledge how this is experienced by both doghandlers and students. Aim: The aim of this study is to observe students’ and dog handlers’ experience with canine-assisted intervention as a form of special assistance for those with extended school absences. Method: Two students and three dog handlers were interviewed with the “semi-structured interview” technique via videocall. The students were ages 13-15, and study at the middle school. The dog handlers work with student health at the students’ middle school, using canine-assisted intervention as a form of special assistance to those with extended absences from school. Results: The students and the dog handlers felt that canine interaction supported the students in their attempts to create and develop meaningful relationships. This led to positive changes in the students’ temperament and mental health in general. The diminishment of feelings of stress and anxiety can be linked to the friendly relationships built with the dogs, ultimately resulting in an increased motivation attend school and complete schoolwork. Conclusion: The use of canine-assisted intervention as special assistance to those with extended school absences was seen to give students positively changed attitudes towards school attendance, with the students’ desire to build a relationship with the therapydog as a contributing factor towards this change.