Search results for: disabilities

Authors: Saima Haq

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This paper presents the contribution of the Sunflowers Vocational Center, Karachi, Pakistan, by providing a platform for the students of special needs to work with recycled materials and express themselves in a more extravagant form. The concept was to create products that would generate enough income to sustain the program while keeping the students cognitively engaged through arts and crafts and tactile instructions due to their severe intellectual disabilities. Papier-mâché is an art form that is hands-on, repetitive, economical as well as beneficial for the environment. The process of tearing paper into long strips then covering them with paste and laying the strips atop the mold provides constant sensory input for our autistic students as well as the rest of our student population. Given the marginalized stance the society has on special needs, we have marketed the paper-mâché products on social media platforms and have set up booths in carnivals, festivities, open markets that are aimed towards a cause to sell. Our students in the vocational center have also made bins, baskets, and trays that are used in all classrooms. This has cut our costs on classroom materials considerably and has added a sense of accomplishment and furthered the teamwork skills in our sunflowers. The other achievement is our long clientele; orders have been placed from several persons for birthdays, parties, events, and the like. This exposure has raised awareness of the capabilities of persons of special needs and has started a conversation on the topic. And additional achievement is that we have made our teachers, their families, our students, and their families conscientious of the environment and incorporated reusing newspapers into classrooms. Situations where plastic would be bought, for example, bin, dustbins, containers, basket, trays, the paper-mâché products made by our students have been used instead. Due to the low cost of materials, this project is easily replicable and very easy to start. Piñatas are a very popular item for children’s parties everywhere and are gaining popularity through social media. This is also easily replicable in any environment and can have a great impact on the use of plastic in any work or home environment.

Keywords: vocational training, special needs, cognitive skills, teamwork

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Authors: Bathmajaa Muralisankar

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As much as railway station infrastructure designs and ticket-booking norms have been changed to facilitate use by differently abled persons, the railway train compartments themselves have not been made user-friendly for differently abled persons. Owing to safety concerns, dependency on others for their travel, and fear of isolation, differently abled people do not prefer travelling by train. Rather than including a dedicated compartment open only to the differently abled, including the latter with others in the normal compartment (with the proposed modifications discussed here) will make them feel secure and make for an enhanced travel experience for them. This approach also represents the most practical way to include a particular category of people in the mainstream society. Lowering the height of the compartment doors and providing a wider entrance with a ramp will provide easy entry for those using wheelchairs. As well, removing the first two alternate rows and the first two side seats will not only widen the passage and increase seating space but also improve wheelchair turning radius. This will help them travel without having to depend on others. Seating arrangements may be done to accommodate their family members near them instead of isolating the differently abled in a separate compartment. According to present ticket-booking regulations of the Indian Railways, three to four disabled persons may travel without their family or one to two along with their family, and the numbers may be added or reduced. To help visually challenged and hearing-impaired persons, in addition to the provision of special instruments, railings, and textured footpaths and flooring, the seat numbers above the seats may be set in metal or plastic as an outward projection so the visually impaired can touch and feel the numbers. Braille boards may be included at the entrance to the compartment along with seat numbers in the aforementioned projected manner. These seat numbers may be designed as buttons, which when pressed results in an announcement of the seat number in the applicable local language as well as English. Emergency buttons, rather than emergency chains, within the easy reach of disabled passengers will also help them.

Keywords: dependency, differently abled, inclusion, mainstream society

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Authors: Mateusz Jeżowski, Jadwiga Fila, Paweł Poszytek

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This abstract summarizes the combined findings of several analyses carried out by the authors on the barriers to accessing international education mobility programs by people with fewer opportunities, especially those with a low level of cultural and social capital. Two flagship educational mobility initiatives of the European Union – the Erasmus+ Program and the European Solidarity Corps are aimed at equipping young people and participants of all ages with the qualifications and skills needed for their meaningful participation in a democratic society intercultural understanding and successful transition in the labour market. The heart of these programs is to come closer to people with fewer opportunities, including people with disabilities, migrants, as well as those facing socio-economic difficulties and displaying a low level of social and cultural capital. Still, people who participate in such initiatives usually demonstrate higher than average cultural and social capital, as understood by Pierre Bourdieu. First of all, the educational attainment of their parents is higher than the average. Secondly, they mostly live in large agglomerations, with good access to education and culture, which affects their foreign language skills as well as social and cultural competencies. Finally, participation in Erasmus+ Program or European Solidarity Corps is not their first educational mobility experience. It is therefore justified to state that their social and cultural capital, already high before taking part in Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps, becomes even higher once their international mobility activities have been over, at the expense of those people with fewer opportunities, who, in theory, could participate in those initiatives, nonetheless did not, for the following reasons: lack of sufficient information on such programs, financial obstacles or unappreciation of the value of international mobility. In their work, the authors will discuss what are, in the light of Bourdieu’s perception of social and cultural capital, the main obstacles for young people to participate in international mobility programs of the European Union and will offer comprehensive solutions rooted in their vast experience in management and implementation of Erasmus+ Program and European Solidarity Corps.

Keywords: cultural capital, educational mobility, Erasmus+, European solidarity corps, inclusion, social capital

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Authors: Ghassan Kbar, Shady Aly, Ibrahim Alsharawy, Akshay Bhatia, Nur Alhasan, Ronaldo Enriquez

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The Smart Help for persons with disability (PWD) is a part of the project SMARTDISABLE which aims to develop relevant solution for PWD that target to provide an adequate workplace environment for them. It would support PWD needs smartly through smart help to allow them access to relevant information and communicate with other effectively and flexibly, and smart editor that assist them in their daily work. It will assist PWD in knowledge processing and creation as well as being able to be productive at the work place. The technical work of the project involves design of a technological scenario for the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) - based assistive technologies at the workplace consisting of an integrated universal smart solution that suits many different impairment conditions and will be designed to empower the Physically disabled persons (PDP) with the capability to access and effectively utilize the ICTs in order to execute knowledge rich working tasks with minimum efforts and with sufficient comfort level. The proposed technology solution for PWD will support voice recognition along with normal keyboard and mouse to control the smart help and smart editor with dynamic auto display interface that satisfies the requirements for different PWD group. In addition, a smart help will provide intelligent intervention based on the behavior of PWD to guide them and warn them about possible misbehavior. PWD can communicate with others using Voice over IP controlled by voice recognition. Moreover, Auto Emergency Help Response would be supported to assist PWD in case of emergency. This proposed technology solution intended to make PWD very effective at the work environment and flexible using voice to conduct their tasks at the work environment. The proposed solution aims to provide favorable outcomes that assist PWD at the work place, with the opportunity to participate in PWD assistive technology innovation market which is still small and rapidly growing as well as upgrading their quality of life to become similar to the normal people at the workplace. Finally, the proposed smart help solution is applicable in all workplace setting, including offices, manufacturing, hospital, etc.

Keywords: ambient intelligence, ICT, persons with disability PWD, smart application, SHW

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Authors: Douglas MacCutcheon, Florian Pausch, Robert Ljung, Lorna Halliday, Stuart Rosen

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Contemporary classrooms are increasingly inclusive of children with mild to moderate disabilities and children from different language backgrounds (bilinguals, multilinguals), but classroom environments and standards have not yet been adapted adequately to meet these challenges brought about by this inclusivity. Additionally, classrooms are becoming noisier as a learner-centered as opposed to teacher-centered teaching paradigm is adopted, which prioritizes group work and peer-to-peer learning. Challenging listening conditions with distracting sound sources and background noise are known to have potentially negative effects on children, particularly those that are prone to struggle with speech perception in noise. Therefore, this research investigates two groups vulnerable to these environmental effects, namely children with a mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHLs) and sequential bilinguals learning in their second language. In the MMHL study, this group was assessed on speech-in-noise perception, and a number of receptive language and cognitive measures (auditory working memory, auditory attention) and correlations were evaluated. Speech reception thresholds were found to be predictive of language and cognitive ability, and the nature of correlations is discussed. In the bilinguals study, sequential bilingual children’s listening comprehension, speech-in-noise perception, listening effort and release from masking was evaluated under a number of different ecologically valid acoustic scenarios in order to pinpoint the extent of the ‘native language benefit’ for Swedish children learning in English, their second language. Scene manipulations included target-to-distractor ratios and introducing spatially separated noise. This research will contribute to the body of findings from which educational institutions can draw when designing or adapting educational environments in inclusive schools.

Keywords: sequential bilinguals, classroom acoustics, mild to moderate hearing loss, speech-in-noise, release from masking

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Authors: Dorottya Horváth, Andras Lang, Diana Varro-Horvath

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This research activity and study is part of a major research effort to gain an integrative, neuropsychological, and personality psychological understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and thus improve the specification of diagnostic and therapeutic care. In the past, the neuropsychology section has investigated working memory, executive function, attention, and behavioural manifestations in children. Currently, we are looking for personality psychological protective factors for ADHD and its symptomatic exacerbation. We hypothesise that secure attachment, adaptive emotion regulation, and high resilience are protective factors. The aim of this study is to measure and report the results of a Hungarian sample of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children (CERQ-k) because before studying groups with different developmental differences, it is essential to know the average scores of groups with neurotypical devel-opment. Until now, there was no Hungarian version of the above test, so we used our own translation. This questionnaire has been developed to assess children's thoughts after experiencing negative life events. It consists of 4-4 items per subscale, for a total of 36 items. The response categories for each item range from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). The subscales were self-blame, blaming others, acceptance, planning, positive refocusing, rumination or thought-focusing, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, and catastrophizing. The data for this study were collected from 120 children aged 9-14 years. It was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, where the mean and standard deviation values for each age group, as well as the Cronbach's alpha value, were significant in testing the reliability of the questionnaire. The results showed that the questionnaire is a reliable and valid measuring instrument also on a Hungarian sample. These developments and results will allow the use of a version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for children in Hungarian and pave the way for the study of different developmental groups such as children with learning disabilities and/or with ADHD.

Keywords: neurotypical development, emotion regulation, negative life events, CERQ-k, Hungarian average scores

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Authors: Madrine King'endo

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This study dealt with the influence of spelling errors on English language performance among learners with dysgraphia in public primary schools in West Embu, Embu County, Kenya. The study purposed to investigate the influence of spelling errors on the English language performance among the class three pupils with dysgraphia in public primary schools. The objectives of the study were to identify the spelling errors that learners with dysgraphia make when writing English words and classify the spelling errors they make. Further, the study will establish how the spelling errors affect the performance of the language among the study participants, and suggest the remediation strategies that teachers could use to address the errors. The study could provide the stakeholders with relevant information in writing skills that could help in developing a responsive curriculum to accommodate the teaching and learning needs of learners with dysgraphia, and probably ensure training of teachers in teacher training colleges is tailored within the writing needs of the pupils with dysgraphia. The study was carried out in Embu county because the researcher did not find any study in related literature review concerning the influence of spelling errors on English language performance among learners with dysgraphia in public primary schools done in the area. Moreover, besides being relatively populated enough for a sample population of the study, the area was fairly cosmopolitan to allow a generalization of the study findings. The study assumed the sampled schools will had class three pupils with dysgraphia who exhibited written spelling errors. The study was guided by two spelling approaches: the connectionist stimulation of spelling process and orthographic autonomy hypothesis with a view to explain how participants with learning disabilities spell written words. Data were collected through interviews, pupils’ exercise books, and progress records, and a spelling test made by the researcher based on the spelling scope set for class three pupils by the ministry of education in the primary education syllabus. The study relied on random sampling techniques in identifying general and specific participants. Since the study used children in schools as participants, voluntary consent was sought from themselves, their teachers and the school head teachers who were their caretakers in a school setting.

Keywords: dysgraphia, writing, language, performance

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Authors: Jolanta Uszko, Tomasz Wloch, Aneta Pirowska, Roman Nowobilski

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Introduction: Phantom phenomena are often reported by subjects who have undergone limb amputation. Mostly, patients feel the amputated part of the limb as if it was still attached to the body. Two types of phantom phenomena: painless (phantom sensation) and painful (phantom pain) were described. Triggers of phantom sensations and phantom pain, as well as fully effective treatment, have not been clearly described yet. Purpose: To assess the influence of psychosocial factors and some clinical conditions on the occurrence of phantom phenomena in amputee athletes. Subjects: 21 men (age: 31 years, SD = 7.5 years) after lower or upper extremity amputation, who regularly performed high-intensity sports (Amp Football Team Players) were included to the study. Method and equipment: In the research, the following method and tools were used: Questionnaire [Pirowska] adapted for athletes with disabilities, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) - for phantom pain assessment, McGill Pain Assessment Questionnaire (short version), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI): X-1 and X-2, shortened version of The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOLBREFF). Results: In the study group, the lower leg amputations with traumatic etiology were predominant. Phantom sensations were present in all subjects. Half of the respondents claimed to experience phantom sensations at least once a day, paroxysmally. There was a prevalence of phantom sensations characterized as incomplete, immobile limb. Phantom pain was reported by over 85% of respondents. The nature of phantom pain was frequently described as stabbing, squeezing, shooting, pulsing, tiring. There was a significant correlation between phantom pain intensity and anxiety, quality of life, depressive tendencies, perception of phantom pain as the obstacle in daily functioning and intensity of the limb pain before amputation. Conclusions: The etiology of phantom phenomena is complex. Psychological factors seem to have a significant influence on the intensity of the phantom pain. Particular attention should be paid to patients who complain about persistent limb pain before the amputation. These are patients with an increased risk of the phantom pain of relatively high intensity.

Keywords: amputation, phantom pain, phantom sensations, adaptive sports

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Authors: Antonio Lopez-Villegas, Rafael Bautista-Mesa, Emilio Robles-Musso, Daniel Catalan-Matamoros, Cesar Leal-Costa

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Objectives: The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the burden borne by and the costs to informal caregivers of users with telemonitoring of pacemakers. Methods: This is a controlled, non-randomised clinical trial, with data collected from informal caregivers, five years after implantation of pacemakers. The Spanish version of the Survey on Disabilities, Personal Autonomy, and Dependency Situations was used to get information on clinical and social characteristics, levels of professionalism, duration and types of care, difficulties in providing care, health status, economic and job aspects, impact on the family or leisure due to informal caregiving for patients with pacemakers. Results: After five years of follow-up, 55 users with pacemakers finished the study. Of which, 50 were helped by a caregiver, 18 were included in the telemonitoring group (TM) and 32 in the conventional follow-up group (HM). Overall, females represented 96.0% of the informal caregivers (88.89% in TM and 100.0% in HM group). The mean ages were 63.17 ± 15.92 and 63.13 ± 14.56 years, respectively (p = 0.83) in the groups. The majority (88.0%) of the caregivers declared that they had to provide their services between 6 and 7 days per week (83.33% in TM group versus 90.63% in HM group), without significant differences between both groups. The costs related to care provided by the informal caregivers were 47.04% higher in the conventional follow-up group than in the TM group. Conclusions: The results of this trial confirm that there were no significant differences between the informal caregivers regarding to baseline characteristics, workload and time worked in both groups of follow-up. The costs incurred by the informal caregivers providing care for users with pacemakers included in telemonitoring group are significantly lower than those in the conventional follow-up group. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02234245. Funding: The PONIENTE study, has been funded by the General Secretariat for Research, Development and Innovation, Regional Government of Andalusia (Spain), project reference number PI/0256/2017, under the research call 'Development and Innovation Projects in the Field of Biomedicine and Health Sciences', 2017.

Keywords: costs, disease burden, informal caregiving, pacemaker follow-up, remote monitoring, telemedicine

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Authors: Saad Bin Ismail, Muhammad Ateeq Qureshi, Rao Muhammad Zahid Khalil

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In the last few decades, urbanization worldwide has been sprawled manifold, which is denunciated in the growth of urban infrastructure and transportation. Urban Heat Island (UHI) can induce deterioration of the living environment, disabilities, and rises in energy usages. In this study, the prevalence/presence of Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) effect in major cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar has been investigated. Landsat and SPOT satellite images were acquired for the assessment of urban sprawl. MODIS Land Surface Temperature product MOD11A2 was acquired between 1000-1200 hours (local time) for assessment of urban heat island. The results of urban sprawl informed that the extent of Islamabad and Rawalpindi urban area increased from 240 km2 to 624 km2 between 2000 and 2016, accounted 24 km2 per year, Lahore 29 km2, accounted 1.6 km2 per year, Karachi 261 km2, accounted for 16 km2/ per year, Peshawar 63 km2, accounted 4 km2/per year, and Quetta 76 km2/per year, accounted 5 km2/per year approximately. The average Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) magnitude is observed at a scale of 0.63 ᵒC for Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 1.25 ᵒC for Lahore, and 1.16 ᵒC for Karachi, which is 0.89 ᵒC for Quetta, and 1.08 ᵒC for Peshawar from 2000 to 2016. The pixel-based maximum SUHI intensity reaches up to about 11.40 ᵒC for Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 15.66 ᵒC for Lahore, 11.20 ᵒC for Karachi, 14.61 ᵒC for Quetta, and 15.22 ᵒC for Peshawar from the baseline of zero degrees Centigrade (ᵒC). The overall trend of SUHI in planned cities (e.g., Islamabad) is not found to increase significantly. Spatial and temporal patterns of SUHI for selected cities reveal heterogeneity and a unique pattern for each city. It is well recognized that SUHI intensity is modulated by land use/land cover patterns (due to their different surface properties and cooling rates), meteorological conditions, and anthropogenic activities. The study concluded that the selected cities (Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar) are examples where dense urban pockets observed about 15 ᵒC warmer than a nearby rural area.

Keywords: urban heat island , surface urban heat island , urbanization, anthropogenic source

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Authors: Moksha Singh

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The proponents of deinstitutionalization, including Goffman and others, in their works, have regarded institutions (orphanages to be specific) as regulated social arrangements that negatively impinge upon a resident’s development. They, therefore, propose alternative forms of care. However, even after five decades of this critique institutionalization remains the only hope for children with social, physical and mental disabilities in larger parts of the developing world such as the conflict affected state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. This paper is based on the experiences of children who lost their parents to insurgency and counter-insurgency operations and the rehabilitation process. This study is qualitative in nature and adopts descriptive-cum-exploratory research design. Using theoretical sampling, six orphanages and thirty one child residents who lost their parent(s) in the course of the armed conflict in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India were studied in the year 2009-2010. It included interviews, observation, life histories and introspective accounts of the orphans and the management. The results were drawn through the qualitative examination, understanding, and interpretation of the primary and secondary data. The findings suggested that rehabilitation of these conflict-affected children is taking place mainly through residential child care facilities run by non-governmental bodies. Alternative forms of rehabilitation are not functional in the state because of various geopolitical and socio-cultural complexities. Even after five years of arriving at these conclusions and more, the state of Jammu and Kashmir still lacks a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for these children. This has further encouraged a mushroomed growth of legal and illegal institutions. Some of these institutions compromise the standard norms of functioning and yet remain the only hope for thousands rendered orphan. These institutions, therefore, are there to stay as other alternative forms of care are not available in the state. A comprehensive intervention policy is needed based on the cultural specifics of the state and incorporation of views of institutions offering aid, the state and the children. The paper introduces Small Group Residential Care Model through which it is expected that the restoration process can be made smooth and effective.

Keywords: armed conflict, children's rights, institutionalization, orphanages, rehabilitation

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Authors: Urrutia Fernando, López Jessica, Sánchez Carlos, San Antonio Thalía

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Ecuador, as a signatory country of the convention of the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) has, in the recent years, strengthened the structures and legal framework required to protect this minority comprised of 13.2% of its total population. However, the reality is that this group has disproportionately low earnings and low educational attainment in comparison with the general population. The main struggles, to promote job placement of wheelchairs users, are environmental discrimination caused by accessibility in structures and transportation, this mainly due to the cost, for private and public entities, of performing the reasonable accommodation they require. It is widely known that product development and production is needed to support effective implementation of the CRPD and that walking and standing are the major life activities, in this context the objective of this investigation is to promote job placement of wheelchair user in the province of Tungurahua by means of the design, production and marketing of a customized stand up wheelchair. Exploratory interviews and measurements were performed in a representative sample of working age wheelchairs users that develop their disability after achieving their physical maturity and that are capable of performing professional activities with their upper limbs, this in order to detect the user’s preference and determine the local economic and anthropometric parameters to be included in the wheelchair design. The findings reveal factors that uniquely impact quality of life and development for people with a mobility disability within the context of the province, first that transportation is a big issue since public buses does not have accessibility for wheelchair users and the absence of curb cuts and the presence of trash bins over the sidewalks among other hinders an economic independent mobility, second that the proposal based in the idea of modifying the wheelchairs to make it able to overcome certain obstacles helps people in wheelchair to improve their independent living and by reducing the costs of modification for the employer could improve their chances of finding work.

Keywords: anthropometrics, job placement, stand up wheelchair, user centered design

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Authors: Ravan Samadov

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Mentally disabled people are the most discriminated against among other disabled people and face much stronger negative attitudes across many cultures. The most complex and severe form of exclusion of these people is deprivation of liberty on the grounds of their disability. This problem was for many years overlooked to a great extent by the core human rights instruments. However, the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted in 2006, is considered a potential tool to successfully fill the gap. It is especially vital for the developing countries with the vast majority of disabled people of the world and the CRPD is presumed to be able to trigger drastic positive changes. Article 14 of the mentioned human rights treaty has brought into the international forum a new notion, as prohibits deprivation of liberty on the grounds of disability. It is to be understood as an absolute prohibition of deprivation of liberty on the grounds of disability, including mental disability, which manifests in the form of non-consensual psychiatric hospitalisation. The interpretation by the CRPD Committee indicates that this prohibition well embraces all types of non-consensual psychiatric hospitalisation – whether it is based on illness, impairment or disability. This prohibition also extends to such justifications as ‘dangerousness’, ‘need for treatment’ and ‘diminished capacity’. Moreover, providing due substantive and/or procedural safeguards does not render any legitimacy to application of deprivation of liberty on the grounds of mental disability. Logically, this new prohibition form was to be duly considered by different UN human rights bodies, and was subsequently to bring changes to their practices. However, the analyses of post-CRPD work of those bodies allows for asserting the contrary, as they have continued displaying the position which recognises deprivation of liberty on the grounds of disability to be legitimate. While such a position could be justified in the pre-CRPD time as stemming from the silence of human rights documents about it, the continuation of this course after the CRPD entered into force may call the integrity and coherence of the UN human rights treaty system into question. The non-coherent approaches of different UN bodies to this novelty give grounds for misinterpretation thereof, and hinder its due implementation by the States Parties. The paper will discuss the nature of the mentioned new prohibition and the controversial approaches to that notion by different UN human rights bodies.

Keywords: CRPD, deprivation of liberty, mental disability, non-consensual psychiatric hospitalisation, UN bodies

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Authors: Ozge Tahran, Sevgi Sevi Yesilyaprak

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Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the Wilk’s modified two different stretching exercises on posterior shoulder tightness, pain, and dysfunction in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). Method: This study was carried out on 67 patients who have more than 15° difference in shoulder internal rotation range of motion between two sides and had been diagnosed as SIS. Before treatment, all patients were randomly assigned into three groups. Standard physiotherapy programme was applied to the Group 3 (n=23), standard physiotherapy program with Wilk’s modified cross-body stretching exercises were applied to Group 1 (n=22), and standard physiotherapy program with Wilk’s modified sleeper stretching exercises were applied to Group 2 (n= 23). All the patients received 20 sessions of physiotherapy during 4 weeks, 5 days in a week by a physiotherapist. The patients continued their exercises at home at the weekends. Pain severity, shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder tightness, upper extremity functionality with Constant and Murley Score (CMS) and disability level with The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score (QuickDASH) were evaluated before and after physiotherapy programme. Results: Before treatment, demographic and anthropometric characteristics were similar in groups and there was no statistical difference (p > 0.05). It was determined that pain severity decreased, shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder tightness, upper extremity functionality, and disability were improved after physiotherapy in both groups (p < 0.05). Group 1 and 2 had better results in terms of reduction of pain severity during activity, increase in shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder mobility and upper extremity functionality and improvement in upper extremity disability, compared to Group 3 (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Modified posterior shoulder stretching exercises in addition to standard physiotherapy programme is more effective for reduction of pain during activity, to improve shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder mobility, and upper extremity functionality in patients with SIS compared to standard physiotherapy programme alone.

Keywords: modified posterior shoulder stretching exercises, posterior shoulder tightness, shoulder complex, subacromial impingement syndrome

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Authors: Inna V. Krotova

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The study pays special attention to the definition of the psychological potential of a specialist-defectologist, which determines his desire to increase the level of his or her professional competence. The group included participants of the educational environment – an additional professional program 'Technologies of psychological and pedagogical assistance for children with complex developmental disabilities' implemented by the department of defectology and clinical psychology of the KFU jointly with the Support Fund for the Deafblind people 'Co-Unity'. The purpose of our study was to identify the psychological aspects of the readiness of the specialist-defectologist to his or her professional development. The study assessed the indicators of psychological preparedness, and its four components were taken into account: motivational, cognitive, emotional and volitional. We used valid and standardized tests during the study. As a result of the factor analysis of data received (from Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis, Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization, Rotation converged in 12 iterations), there were identified three factors with maximum factor load from 24 indices, and their correlation coefficients with other indicators were taken into account at the level of reliability p ≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.01. Thus the system making factor was determined – it’s a 'motivation to achieve success'; it formed a correlation galaxy with two other factors: 'general internality' and 'internality in the field of achievements', as well as with such psychological indicators as 'internality in the field of family relations', 'internality in the field of interpersonal relations 'and 'low self-control-high self-control' (the names of the scales used is the same as names in the analysis methods. In conclusion of the article, we present some proposals to take into account the psychological model of readiness of specialists-defectologists for their professional development, to stimulate the growth of their professional competence. The study has practical value for all providers of special education and organizations that have their own specialists-defectologists, teachers-defectologists, teachers for correctional and ergotherapeutic activities, specialists working in the field of correctional-pedagogical activity (speech therapists) to people with special needs who need true professional support.

Keywords: psychological readiness, defectologist, professional development, psychological factors, special education, professional competence, innovative educational environment

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Authors: Yu-Ju Hsieh, Lin-Hung Lin, Wen-Hui Chang

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This study was designed as an interventional research and intended to validate whether the introduction of drinking vinegar every day can reduce and even prevent urinary tract infection in Taiwan home stayed disabilities who using indwelling catheter. The data was collected from the subjects who have received home care case at northern Taiwan, according to the questionnaire and a medical records retroactive methodology, the subjects were informed and consent to drink 15ml of table vinegar in a daily diet, and through routine urine testing and culture study. Home care nurses would assist collecting urine at the point of before and after a meal from total 35 studied subjects per month, and total collected 4 times for testing. The results showed that when the average age of study subjects was 65.46 years and catheter indwelling time was 15 years, drinking table vinegar could inhibit the activity of E. coli O157: H7 and reduce its breeding. Before drinking table vinegar daily, the subjects’ urine pH value was 7.0-8.0, and the average was 7.5, and the urine PH value dropped to 6.5 after drinking table vinegar for a month. There were two purple urine cases whose urine were changed from purple to normal color after two weeks of drinking, and the protein and bacteria values of urine gradually improved. Urine smell unpleasant before attending to this study, and the symptom improved significantly only after 1 week, and the urine smell returned to normal ammonia and became clean after 1 month later. None of these subjects received treatment in a hospital due to urinary tract infection, and there were no signs of bleeding in all cases during this study. The subjects of this study are chronic patients with a long-term bedridden catheterization; drinking cranberry juice is an economic burden for them, and also highly prohibited for diabetes patients. By adapting to use cheaper table vinegar to acidified urine and improve its smell and ease Purple Urine Syndrome, to furthermore, proven urinary tract infection, it can also to reduce the financial burden on families, the cost of social resources and the rate of re-admission.

Keywords: table vinegar, urinary tract infection, disability patients, long-term indwelling catheter

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Authors: Sera Ratu, Jane Chivers, Jessica Botfield

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Objectives: The Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF) and Family Planning Australia are working together to introduce quality comprehensive sexuality education into Special Schools - which are schools for students with disability. Sexual and reproductive health information is needed by students with disability attending Special Schools. Children with special needs go through the same changes as able-bodied children. The Fiji Disability Inclusion project is a three-year project that started in 2015. One of its objectives is to increase exposure to comprehensive sexuality education for primary and secondary school students with disability. Method: A baseline survey was undertaken with 72 students with disability; it included questions about puberty, sexual health, and relationships. 34 teachers also completed a survey about their views of sexuality education and confidence in delivering it. Consent was facilitated by running information sessions with teachers and parents. The process of gaining consent and completing the surveys was designed to be accessible to students with disability. Given the sensitive nature of reproductive and sexual health, and the potential vulnerability of young people with disability, ethical considerations were important in the design and implementation of the surveys, and ethics approval was obtained. Results: Findings from the surveys suggest that students have mixed knowledge and awareness of sexual health issues. Most teachers reported a need for their students to learn about sexuality and relationships. A positive outcome of conducting the surveys was that RFHAF staff reported they have developed skills and confidence in communicating with young people with a range of disabilities. They have a greater understanding of what students want to learn, and what teachers feel is important. Conclusions: These survey findings will assist RFHAF in developing comprehensive sexuality education programs that are relevant and accessible to students in Special Schools, and to develop an appropriate professional development program for teachers. Findings may also be applicable to other Special Schools when developing sexuality education programs. The education programs developed for students as part of this project, and the professional development programs for teachers, may be relevant to other countries.

Keywords: comprehensive sexuality education, delivery, sexual and reproductive health and rights, special schools

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Authors: Paris Binos

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The present work investigates developmental aspects of the duration of isolated vowels in infants with normal hearing compared to those who received cochlear implants (CIs) before two years of age. Infants with normal hearing produced shorter vowel duration since this find related with more mature production abilities. First isolated vowels are transparent during the protophonic stage as evidence of an increased motor and linguistic control. Vowel duration is a crucial factor for the transition of prelexical speech to normal adult speech. Despite current knowledge of data for infants with normal hearing more research is needed to unravel productions skills in early implanted children. Thus, isolated vowel productions by two congenitally hearing-impaired Greek infants (implantation ages 1:4-1:11; post-implant ages 0:6-1:3) were recorded and sampled for six months after implantation with a Nucleus-24. The results compared with the productions of three normal hearing infants (chronological ages 0:8-1:1). Vegetative data and vocalizations masked by external noise or sounds were excluded. Participants had no other disabilities and had unknown deafness etiology. Prior to implantation the infants had an average unaided hearing loss of 95-110 dB HL while the post-implantation PTA decreased to 10-38 dB HL. The current research offers a methodology for the processing of the prelinguistic productions based on a combination of acoustical and auditory analyses. Based on the current methodological framework, duration measured through spectrograms based on wideband analysis, from the voicing onset to the end of the vowel. The end marked by two co-occurring events: 1) The onset of aperiodicity with a rapid change in amplitude in the waveform and 2) a loss in formant’s energy. Cut-off levels of significance were set at 0.05 for all tests. Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that difference was significant between the mean duration of vowels of infants wearing CIs and their normal hearing peers. Thus, the mean vowel duration of CIs measured longer compared to the normal hearing peers (0.000). The current longitudinal findings contribute to the existing data for the performance of children wearing CIs at a very young age and enrich also the data of the Greek language. The above described weakness for CI’s performance is a challenge for future work in speech processing and CI’s processing strategies.

Keywords: cochlear implant, duration, spectrogram, vowel

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Authors: Susan Dodd

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This presentation details the methodology for teachers to identify and support a population of students who have historically been overlooked in regards to their educational needs. The twice exceptional (2e) student is a learner who is considered gifted and also has a learning disability, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Many of these students remain underserved throughout their educational careers because their exceptionalities may mask each other, resulting in a special population of students who are not achieving to their fullest potential. There are three common scenarios that may make the identification of a 2e student challenging. First, the student may have been identified as gifted, and her disability may go unnoticed. She could also be considered an under-achiever, or she may be able to compensate for her disability under the school works becomes more challenging. In the second scenario, the student may be identified as having a learning disability and is only receiving remedial services where his giftedness will not be highlighted. His overall IQ scores may be misleading because they were impacted by his learning disability. In the third scenario, the student is able to compensate for her ability well enough to maintain average scores, and she goes undetected as both gifted and learning disabled. Research in the area identifies the complexity involved in identifying 2e students, and how multiple forms of assessment are required. It is important for teachers to be aware of the common characteristics exhibited by many 2e students, so these learners can be identified and appropriately served. Once 2e students have been identified, teachers are then challenged to meet the varying needs of these exceptional learners. Strength-based teaching entails simultaneously providing gifted instruction as well as individualized accommodations for those students. Research in this field has yielded strategies that have proven helpful for teaching 2e students, as well as other students who may be struggling academically. Differentiated instruction, while necessary in all classrooms, is especially important for 2e students, as is encouragement for academic success. Teachers who take the time to really know their students will have a better understanding of each student’s strengths and areas for growth, and therefore tailor instruction to extend the intellectual capacities for optimal achievement. Teachers should also understand that some learning activities can prove very frustrating to students, and these activities can be modified based on individual student needs. Because 2e students can often become discouraged by their learning challenges, it is especially important for teachers to assist students in recognizing their own strengths and maintaining motivation for learning. Although research on the needs of 2e students has spanned across two decades, this population remains underserved in many educational institutions. Teacher awareness of the identification of and the support strategies for 2e students is critical for their success.

Keywords: gifted, learning disability, special needs, twice exceptional

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Authors: Hyun-Ju Oh, Soon-Rim Suh, Mihan Kim

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The steady and rapid increase of the older population is a global phenomenon. Chronic diseases and disabilities are increased due to aging. In general, exercise has been known to be most effective in preventing and managing chronic back pain. However, it is hard for the older women to initiate and maintain the exercise. Transtheoretical model (TTM) is one of the theories explain behavioral changes such as exercise. The application of the program considering the stage of behavior change is effective for the elderly woman to start and maintain the exercise. The purpose of this study was to develop TTM based exercise program and to examine its effect for elderly women with chronic back-pain. For the program evaluation, the non-equivalent control pre-posttest design was applied. The independent variable of this study is exercise intervention program. The contents of the program were constructed considering the characteristics of the elderly women with chronic low back pain, focusing on the process of change, the stage of change by the previous studies. The developed exercise program was applied to the elderly women with chronic low back pain in the planning stage and the preparation stage. The subjects were 50 older women over 65 years of age with chronic back-pain who did not practice regular exercise. The experimental group (n=25) received the 8weeks TTM based exercise program. The control group received the book which named low back pain management. Data were collected at three times: before the exercise intervention, right after the intervention, and 4weeks after the intervention. The dependent variables were the processes of change, decisional balance, exercise self-efficacy, back-pain, depression and muscle strength. The results of this study were as follows. Processes of change (<.001), pros of decisional balance (<.001), exercise self-efficacy (<.001), back pain (<.001), depression (<.001), muscle strength (<.001) were higher in the experimental group than in the control group right after the program and 4weeks after the programs. The results of this study show that applying the TTM based exercise program increases the use of the change process, increases the exercise self-efficacy, increases the stage of changing the exercise behavior and strengthens the muscular strength by lowering the degree of pain and depression Respectively. The significance of the study was to confirm the effect of continuous exercise by maintaining regular exercise habits by applying exercise program of the transtheoretical model to the chronic low back pain elderly with exercise intention.

Keywords: chronic back pain, elderly, exercise, women

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Authors: Muhammad Saleem Ullah Khan Sumbal, Eric Tsui, Ricky Cheong, Eric See To

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Organizations are posed to a threat of valuable knowledge loss when employees leave either due to retirement, resignation, job change or because of disabilities e.g. death, etc. Due to changing economic conditions, globalization, and aging workforce, organizations are facing challenges regarding retention of valuable knowledge. On the one hand, large number of employees are going to retire in the organizations whereas on the other hand, younger generation does not want to work in a company for a long time and there is an increasing trend of frequent job change among the new generation. Because of these factors, organizations need to make sure that they capture the knowledge of employee before (s)he walks out of the door. The first step in this process is to know what type of knowledge employee possesses and whether this knowledge is important for the organization. Researchers reveal in the literature that despite the serious consequences of knowledge loss in terms of organizational productivity and competitive advantage, there has not been much work done in the area of knowledge loss assessment of departing employees. An important step in the knowledge retention process is to determine the critical ‘at risk’ knowledge. Thus, knowledge loss risk assessment is a process by which organizations can gauge the importance of knowledge of the departing employee. The purpose of this study is to explore this topic of knowledge loss risk assessment by conducting a qualitative study in oil and gas sector. By engaging in dialogues with managers and executives of the organizations through in-depth interviews and adopting a grounded methodology approach, the research will explore; i) Are there any measures adopted by organizations to assess the risk of knowledge loss from departing employees? ii) Which factors are crucial for knowledge loss assessment in the organizations? iii) How can we prioritize the employees for knowledge retention according to their criticality? Grounded theory approach is used when there is not much knowledge available in the area under research and thus new knowledge is generated about the topic through an in-depth exploration of the topic by using methods such as interviews and using a systematic approach to analyze the data. The outcome of the study will generate a model for the risk of knowledge loss through factors such as the likelihood of knowledge loss, the consequence/impact of knowledge loss and quality of the knowledge loss of departing employees. Initial results show that knowledge loss assessment is quite crucial for the organizations and it helps in determining what types of knowledge employees possess e.g. organizations knowledge, subject matter expertise or relationships knowledge. Based on that, it can be assessed which employee is more important for the organizations and how to prioritize the knowledge retention process for departing employees.

Keywords: knowledge loss, risk assessment, departing employees, Hong Kong organizations

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Authors: Joanna Estkowska

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The Sensory Integration Method is aimed primarily at children with learning disabilities. It can also be used as a complementary method in treatment of children with cerebral palsy, autistic, mentally handicapped, blind and deaf. Autism is holistic development disorder that manifests itself in the specific functioning of a child. The most characteristic are: disorders in communication, difficulties in social relations, rigid patterns of behavior and impairment in sensory processing. In addition to these disorders may occur abnormal intellectual development, attention deficit disorders, perceptual disorders and others. This study was focused on the application sensory integration techniques in science education of autistic students. The lack of proper sensory integration causes problems with complicated processes such as motor coordination, movement planning, visual or auditory perception, speech, writing, reading or counting. Good functioning and cooperation of proprioceptive, tactile and vestibular sense affect the child’s mastery of skills that require coordination of both sides of the body and synchronization of the cerebral hemispheres. These include, for example, all sports activities, precise manual skills such writing, as well as, reading and counting skills. All this takes place in stages. Achieving skills from the first stage determines the development of fitness from the next level. Any deficit in the scope of the first three stages can affect the development of new skills. This ultimately reflects on the achievements at school and in further professional and personal life. After careful analysis symptoms from the emotional and social spheres appear to be secondary to deficits of sensory integration. During our research, the students gained knowledge and skills in the classroom of experience by learning biology, chemistry and physics with application sensory integration techniques. Sensory integration therapy aims to teach the child an adequate response to stimuli coming to him from both the outside world and the body. Thanks to properly selected exercises, a child can improve perception and interpretation skills, motor skills, coordination of movements, attention and concentration or self-awareness, as well as social and emotional functioning.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, science education, sensory integration, special educational needs

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Authors: B. Rusyidi

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Since 2009, the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs has been implementing Program Kesejahteraan Sosial Anak (PKSA) (Child Welfare Program) a conditional cash transfer program that targets neglected children, children with disabilities, street children, children in conflict with the law, and children in need of special protection, all from poor households. PKSA integrates three elements: Transfer of cash, care and social services through social workers, and institutional childcare assistance. This qualitative study analyzed the roles and the challenges of social workers in implementing PKSA and lays out recommendations to inform policy changes. Data were collected in late 2014 from national and local government and non-government child welfare agencies, social workers, and childcare institution representatives through interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs). Field work took place in six districts in the provinces of Jakarta, Central Java and South Sulawesi. The study found that the social workers’ role was significant in facilitating cash transfer, providing education and guidance, and linking children and families to basic social services. This improved utilization of basic social services enhanced children and families’ behaviors and contributed to the well being of the children. However, only a small number of childcare institutions have social workers, leaving many children and families without care and social service linkages, depriving them of rehabilitative components to help them regain their social functions. Some social workers reported their struggles with heavy workloads, lack of professional competencies and training, limited job security, and inadequate professional acknowledgment from other professions. Parts of those challenges were due to the centralized nature of the program and the lack of shared vision and commitment about the child protection system among related government agencies both at the national and local levels. The study highlights the necessity to implement an integrated child protection system, decentralize the PKSA program, and increase the number, competence, case management, and management and monitoring of social workers. The most recent progress of the program and its impacts on social workers are also discussed.

Keywords: child protection, conditional cash transfer, program decentralization, social worker, working conditions

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Authors: Chiou-Shiue Ko

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As is explicitly stipulated in Article 7 of the Enforcement Rules of the Special Education Act as amended in 1998, "in principle, children with disabilities should be integrated with normal children for preschool education". Since then, all cities and counties have been committed to promoting preschool inclusive education. The Education Department, New Taipei City Government, has been actively recruiting advisory groups of professors to assist in the implementation of inclusive education in preschools since 2001. Since 2011, the author of this study has been guiding Preschool Rainbow to implement inclusive education. Through field observations, meetings, and teaching demonstration seminars, this study explored the process of how inclusive education has been successfully implemented in collaboration with teachers of special education classes and regular classes in Preschool Rainbow. The implementation phases for inclusive education in a single academic year include the following: 1) Preparatory stage. Prior to implementation, teachers in special education and regular classes discuss ways of conducting inclusive education and organize reading clubs to read books related to curriculum modifications that integrate the eight education strategies, early treatment and education, and early childhood education programs to enhance their capacity to implement and compose teaching plans for inclusive education. In addition to the general objectives of inclusive education, the objective of inclusive education for special children is also embedded into the Individualized Education Program (IEP). 2) Implementation stage. Initially, a promotional program for special education is implemented for the children to allow all the children in the preschool to understand their own special qualities and those of special children. After the implementation of three weeks of reverse inclusion, the children in the special education classes are put into groups and enter the regular classes twice a week to implement adjustments to their inclusion in the learning area and the curriculum. In 2013, further cooperation was carried out with adjacent hospitals to perform development screening activities for the early detection of children with developmental delays. 3) Review and reflection stage. After the implementation of inclusive education, all teachers in the preschool are divided into two groups to record their teaching plans and the lessons learned during implementation. The effectiveness of implementing the objective of inclusive education is also reviewed. With the collaboration of all teachers, in 2015, Preschool Rainbow won New Taipei City’s “Preschool Light” award as an exceptional model for inclusive education. Its model of implementing inclusive education can be used as a reference for other preschools.

Keywords: collaboration, inclusive education, preschool, teachers, special education classes, regular classes

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Authors: Valentina Manna, Oscar Pisanti

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The term sibling has been adopted by Italian brothers and sisters of people with disabilities, to define themselves as a group with shared features. This choice is due to the importance of underlying the centrality of what being a brother/sister means to these people because of and beyond the disability. Being a sibling offers great opportunities to develop empathy and relational skills but it may also amplify the typical dynamics of fraternal relationships dealing with envy, rivalry and concern. This outlines a condition of potential developmental risk for the non-disabled sibling, being at the same time a great resource for the child with special needs, as actor of an intimate relationship usually lasting after that one with parents. However, young siblings are often unheeded in their needs for comprehension of disability and not considered as persons requiring attention themselves. Moreover, scholars have scarcely undertaken an exploration of siblings’ perspective as competent contributors for producing knowledge useful to the benefit of families with special needs children. This contribution describes a preventive intervention for young siblings (6 – 16 years) of children with Down syndrome, by means of a psychodynamic-oriented group where participants could communicate, explore and share their emotional experiences as siblings. Based on a participatory approach, the program represents an action-research project, involving siblings as key experts for our understanding of siblings’ lives. The initiative used social media and video technologies to rise children’s voice: as a final product, participants were involved in the realization of a video campaign –which they defined ‘a difficult advertising’– built on the insights generated by the program and addressed to other siblings to help them facing and recognizing resources and difficulties related to their status. The final video campaign realized by the participants summarizes the main themes emerged during the intervention; as revealed by a thematic analysis, they are related to the difficulty in feeling to have a personal identity, to face disability as a form of ‘untought known’ and to integrate ambivalent emotions. In conclusion, the group device revealed its efficacy as a preventive tool: it allowed participants to deeply reflect on their own experiences and to communicate them for the first time in a verbal and mentalized form.

Keywords: down syndrome, group, siblings, prevention

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Authors: Ntloyalefu Justinah, Fumane Khanare

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English learning has been found as one of the prevalent areas of difficulty for Deaf learners. However, studies conducted indicated that this challenge experienced by Deaf learners is an upsetting concern globally as is blamed and hampered by various reasons such as the way English is taught at schools, lack of teachers ' skills and knowledge, therefore, impact negatively on their academic performance. Despite any difficulty in English learning, this language is considered nowadays as the key tool to an educational and occupational career especially in Lesotho. This paper, therefore, intends to contribute to the existing literature by providing the views of Lesotho English teachers, which focuses on how effectively Universal design for learning can be implemented to enhance the academic performance of Deaf learners in context of the English language classroom. The purpose of this study sought to explore the use of universal design for learning (UDL) to support Deaf learners in Lesotho Secondary schools. The present study is informed by interpretative paradigm and situated within a qualitative research approach. Ten participating English teachers from two inclusive schools were purposefully selected and telephonically interviewed to generate data for this study. The data were thematically analysed. The findings indicated that even though UDL is identified as highly proficient and promotes flexibility in teaching methods teachers reflect limited knowledge of the UDL approach. The findings further showed that UDL ensures education for all learners, including marginalised groups, such as learners with disabilities through different teaching strategies. This means that the findings signify the effective use of UDL for the better performance of the English language by Deaf learners (DLs). This aligns with literature that shows mobilizing English teachers as assets help DLs to be engaged and have control in their communities by defining and solving problems using their resources and connections to other networks for asset and exchange. The study, therefore, concludes that teachers acknowledge that even though they assume to be knowledgeable about the definition of UDL, they have a limited practice of the approach, thus they need to be equipped with some techniques and skills to apply for supporting the performance of DLs by using UDL approach in their English teaching. The researchers recommend the awareness of UDL principles by the ministry of Education and Training and teachers training Universities, as well as teachers training colleges, for them to include it in their curricula so that teachers could be properly trained on how to apply it in their teaching effectively

Keywords: deaf learners, Lesotho, support learning, universal design for learning

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Authors: Noor Taleb Ismael, Areej Abd Al Kareem Al Titi, Ala'a Fayez Jaber

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Objectives: To investigate self-perceived functional performance among adults with IDD who are Jordanian residential care and rehabilitation centers residents. Also, to investigate their functional abilities (i.e., motor, and cognitive). In addition, to determine the motor and cognitive predictors of their functional performance. Methods: The study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design; the sample included 180 individuals with IDD (90 males and 90 females) aged 18 to 75 years. The inclusion criteria encompassed: 1) Adults with a confirmed IDD by their physician’s professional and 2) residents in Jordanian Residential Care and Rehabilitation Centers affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development. The exclusion criteria were: 1) bedridden or totally dependent on their care providers; 2) who had an accident or acquired neurological conditions. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to complete the outcome measures that include the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), and the sociodemographic questionnaire. Data analyses consisted of descriptive statistics, analysis of frequencies, correlation, and regression analyses. Result: Individuals with IDD showed low functional performance in all daily life areas, including self-care, productivity, and leisure; there was severe cognitive impairment and poor independence and functional performance. (COPM Performance M= 1.433, SD±.57021, COPM Satisfaction M= 1.31, SD±.54, FIM M= 3.673, SD± 1.7918). Two predictive models were validated for the COPM performance and FIM total scores. First, significant predictors of high self-perceived functional performance on COPM were high scores on FIM Motor sub scores, FIM cognitive sub scores, young age, and having a high school educational level (R2=0.603, p=0.012). Second, significant predictors of high functional capacity on FIM were a high score on the COPM performance subscale, a high MMSE score, and having a cerebral palsy (CP) diagnosis (R2=0.671, p<0.001). Conclusions: Evaluating functional performance and associated factors is important in rehabilitation to provide better services and improve health and QoL for individuals with IDD. This study suggested conducting future studies targeting integrated individuals with IDD who live with their families in the communities.

Keywords: functional performance, intellectual and developmental disabilty, cognitive abilities, motor abilities

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Authors: Linghua Kong, Xinxia Chen, Mika Gissler, Catharina Lavebratt

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Background: Prenatal exposure to preeclampsia has been associated with an increased risk of offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability. However, little is known about the association between prenatal exposure to severe preeclampsia and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in offspring. Objective: This study aimed to assess the risk of maternal preeclampsia combined with perinatal problems, specifically low birth weight and prematurity, on offspring neuropsychiatric disorders. Methods: All singleton live births in Finland between 1996 and 2014 (n=1 012 723) were followed up in nation-wide registries until 2018. Main exposures included pre-eclampsia, small for gestational age, and delivery before 34 gestational weeks. Offspring neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (ICD-10 codes) were examined as outcomes variables. Offspring birth year, sex, maternal age at delivery, parity, marital status at birth, mother's country of birth, maternal smoking, maternal gestational diabetes, maternal use of psychotropic medication during pregnancy, and maternal systemic inflammatory diseases were used as covariates. Risks for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders were estimated using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: Of the 1 012 723 offspring, 25 901 (2.6%) were exposed to preeclampsia, and 93 281 (9.2%) were diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric disorder. Compared to births unexposed to preeclampsia, small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks, those exposed to preeclampsia only had a 21% increase in the likelihood of any neuropsychiatric disorders after adjusting for potential confounding (adjusted HR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.15-1.26), while exposure to preeclampsia combined with small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks had a more than twofold increased risk of having a child with neuropsychiatric disorders (adjusted HR=2.16, 95% CI: 2.02-2.32). The adjusted HR for neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring with small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks only was 1.79 (95% CI: 1.73-1.83). In addition, the risk estimate in offspring exposed to both preeclampsia and perinatal problems was greater than those only exposed to preeclampsia for having personality disorders (adjusted HR=1.66; 95% CI: 1.07-2.57), intellectual disabilities (adjusted HR=3.47; 95% CI: 2.86-4.22), specific developmental disorders (adjusted HR=2.91; 95% CI: 2.69-3.15), ASD (adjusted HR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.42-2.17), ADHD and conduct disorders (adjusted HR=2.00; 95%CI: 1.76-2.27), and other behavioral and emotional disorders (adjusted HR=2.09; 95% CI: 1.84-2.37). Conclusion: In utero exposure to severe preeclampsia increased the risk of several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in offspring. Our findings are relevant to women with hypertensive disorders with regard to pregnancy consultation and management and may yield effective clues for the prevention of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in childhood.

Keywords: low birth weight, neurodevelopmental disorders, preeclampsia, prematurity, psychiatric disorders

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Authors: Maria Lucia G. Lourenco, Keylla H. N. P. Pereira, Viviane Y. Hibaru, Fabiana F. Souza, Joao C. P. Ferreira, Simone B. Chiacchio, Luiz H. A. Machado

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Congenital malformations are organ defects due to genetic or teratogenic causes, which can lead to high mortality in dog litters. This study assessed and described the congenital malformations in newborn dogs. The study included litters attend in the São Paulo State University (UNESP) Veterinary Hospital, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil. One hundred seventy-eight litters and 803 newborns were evaluated. The occurrence of litters with malformations was 24.7%, and of newborns was 6.7%. Twenty-seven different malformations were registered: anasarca, anal atresia, cleft lip, cleft palate, duplicated right ribcage, equinovarus, exencephaly, gastroschisis, hydrocephaly, lissencephaly, macroglossia, microphthalmia, mitral valve dysplasia, omphalocele, eyelid agenesis, persistent urachus, polydactyly, pulmonary hypoplasia, pulmonary valve stenosis, rectovaginal fistula, agenesis of abdominal muscles, rib hypoplasia, scoliosis, segmental aplasia of the intestines, tricuspid valve dysplasia, unilateral kidney agenesis, and vaginal atresia. 68.7% of newborns died as a result of malformations. The pure breeds with the highest chances of manifesting malformations in contrast with mixed breeds were French Bulldog, Pug, English Bulldog, Rottweiler, German Spitz, Pinscher, Pitbull, Yorkshire Terrier, and Shih-Tzu. Significant values (P<0.05) occurred in races French Bulldogs and Pugs. The causes of congenital disabilities are possibly related to hereditary genetic factors considering that the highest incidence of malformations was observed among purebreds. There as one case of exposure to a teratogenic agent, but no other mothers were exposed to such agents during pregnancy. Two cases of consanguineal breeding between siblings were reported. The mortality rate was high. Genetic breeding programs for reproduction, avoiding consanguineous mating, care in choosing parents, and avoiding maternal exposure to teratogenic agents are of utmost importance in reducing dog malformations and consequent mortality.

Keywords: congenital defects, teratogenesis, canine neonatology, newborn puppy

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Authors: Samantha R. Dutra

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There are many issues that students face in college, such as academic-based struggles, financial issues, family responsibilities, and vocational problems. Students with dyslexia struggle even more with these problems compared to other students. This qualitative study examines faculty perceptions of instructing students with dyslexia. This study is important to the human services and post-secondary educational fields due to the increase in disabled students enrolled in college. This study is also substantial because of the reported bias faced by students with dyslexia and their academic failure. When students with LDs such as dyslexia experience bias, discrimination, and isolation, they are more apt to not seek accommodations, lack communication with faculty, and are more likely to drop out or fail. College students with dyslexia often take longer to complete their post-secondary education and are more likely to withdraw or drop out without earning a degree. Faculty attitudes and academic cultures are major barriers to the success and use of accommodations as well as modified instruction for students with disabilities, which leads to student success. Faculty members are often uneducated or misinformed regarding students with dyslexia. More importantly, many faculty members are unaware of the many ethical and legal implications that they face regarding accommodating students with dyslexia. Instructor expectations can generally be defined as the understanding and perceptions of students regarding their academic success. Skewed instructor expectations can affect how instructors interact with their students and can also affect student success. This is true for students with dyslexia in that instructors may have lower and biased expectations of these students and, therefore, directly impact students’ academic successes and failures. It is vital to understand how instructor attitudes affect the academic achievement of dyslexic students. This study will examine faculty perceptions of instructing students with dyslexia and faculty attitudes towards accommodations and institutional support. The literature concludes that students with dyslexia have many deficits and several learning needs. Furthermore, these are the students with the highest dropout and failure rates, as well as the lowest retention rates. Disabled students generally have many reasons why accommodations and supports just do not help. Some research suggests that accommodations do help students and show positive outcomes. Many improvements need to be made between student support service personnel, faculty, and administrators regarding providing access and adequate supports for students with dyslexia. As the research also suggests, providing more efficient and effective accommodations may increase positive student as well as faculty attitudes in college, and may improve student outcomes overall.

Keywords: dyslexia, faculty perception, higher education, learning disability

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