Inclusive Education for High School Students with Severe Intellectual Disabilities: Supporting Communication

IGUALDADE, INDEPENDENTEMENTE DO QUE SEJA DIFERENTE: REPRESENTAÇÕES SOCIAIS SOBRE INCLUSÃO DE JOVENS COM DEFICIÊNCIA INTELECTUAL

RESUMO A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar as representações sociais sobre inclusão de jovens com deficiência intelectual (DI) no segmento de ensino médio (EM), na perspectiva de Jovens Nativos na Pedagogia de Orientação Inclusiva (JNPOI), matriculados numa escola pública de ensino médio de Planaltina, Brasília-DF. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritivo-interpretativa. Os dados foram obtidos a partir da aplicação do questionário de Livre Associação de Palavras a 186 jovens, dentre os quais, sete tinham DI. Realizamos a análise prototípica desses dados com ajuda do software Iramuteq. Os resultados sugerem que subjacente a uma representação social plenamente favorável à inclusão de pessoas com DI, no segmento de EM, está a busca por afirmar uma identidade compatível com normas, princípios constitucionais e procedimentos jurídicos que condenam firmemente a expressão do preconceito e das atitudes discriminatórias.

Social Outcomes and Acceptability of Two Peer-Mediated Interventions for High School Students With Severe Disabilities: A Pilot Study

Adolescents with severe disabilities often have few opportunities to learn alongside and connect socially with peers without disabilities at their high school. In this pilot study, nine high school students with severe disabilities were randomly assigned to three conditions: peer support arrangements, peer network intervention, or a comparison condition involving “business-as-usual” paraprofessional support. School staff served as intervention facilitators and researchers coached and monitored fidelity. Increased classroom interactions were observed for students in the peer support condition and enhanced social contacts and friendships were found for students in both peer support and peer network conditions. Students, peers, and educators perceived both peer-mediated interventions as highly acceptable and feasible. Drawing upon these exploratory findings, we offer recommendations for research and practice focused on fostering strong social connections within high schools.

Using the iPad to facilitate interaction between preschool children who use AAC and their peers

Social interaction is one of the key components of education, yet children with complex communication needs often face social isolation in the classroom, rarely interacting with same-age peers. This study investigated the impact of the provision of an iPad(®) (1) with an AAC app with visual scene displays and a dyadic turn taking training on the number of communicative turns taken by children with complex communication needs in interaction with same-age peers. Two preschool children with complex communication needs and six peers without disabilities participated in this research. A single-subject, multiple probe across partners design with one replication was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on the frequency of communicative turns expressed by the children with complex communication needs. Parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, and the children participated in social validation measures. As a result of intervention, Participant 1 showed immediate gains in the frequency of symbolic communicative turns after the first training session across all three partners (average gains of 30-46 symbolic communicative turns per 10-min session across peer partners). Participant 2 showed some initial gains, but they were not maintained over time (average gains of 11-24 turns across partners). Classroom implications and future research directions are discussed.

“Knowledge is Power”: Reading, Writing, and Promoting Self-Determination among Adolescents with Multiple Disabilities

Emergent readers and writers with multiple disabilities, who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), require many opportunities throughout the day to engage in literacy. The quality of these literacy opportunities is important; to ensure that reading and writing are consistently motivating and students generalize skills, literacy should always serve an authentic communicative purpose. As students enter adolescence and prepare to exit high school, high-priority literacy skills should be targeted and literacy activities must be age-appropriate. This article provides an overview of emergent literacy for early communicators with multiple disabilities and explores ways that educational teams can identify authentic literacy activities for adolescents with multiple disabilities in a variety of inclusive environments.

Social interactions of students with disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication in inclusive classrooms

The purpose of this study was to explore the naturally occurring social interactions for students with disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in general education classrooms. We observed 16 students who used AAC and received services under the categories of autism or intellectual disability. Participants primarily interacted with their support personnel and infrequently conversed with peers despite often being in close proximity. Few interaction episodes were initiated by students who used AAC, and initiations to peers and adults appeared to serve somewhat different functions. Students with disabilities relied more heavily on facial expressions and gestures than on the use of their AAC devices. Recommendations for promoting interaction opportunities among students are offered, and future research directions are suggested.

The effect of pause time upon the communicative interactions of young people who use augmentative and alternative communication

This study investigated the effect of variation in partner-initiated pause time on the expressive communication of young people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Eight participants aged 8;11-20;08 years (mean 16;02 years) participated in the study. Three pause time conditions (2, 10, and 45 seconds) were trialled during a scripted shared storybook reading task. A total of 27 turn opportunities were provided for participants during the task. Participant interactions were analysed for the percentage of responses made to a turn opportunity, mean length of utterance in words (MLU), percentage of assertive conversational acts made, and the modes of communication used. Findings indicated that participants were more likely to respond to a turn opportunity when their communication partner provided a longer pause time. Additionally, a longer pause time resulted in longer MLUs. Participants did not use more assertive conversational acts and continued to use a variety of communication modes when provided with a longer pause time. Results indicate that increasing pause time is an effective strategy to support the development of expressive communication for young people who use AAC. This suggests the need for professionals providing AAC services to encourage communication partners to provide extended pauses during interactions.

Parents' priorities for AAC and related instruction for their children with Angelman Syndrome

This investigation examined the extent to which a set of 98 best practices in AAC, previously agreed upon by a panel of experts in AAC and inclusive education, reflected the actual preferences of 32 parents of children diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome. Parents' responses were examined in relation to whether their children were currently in mostly integrated (MI) settings with children without disabilities, or mostly segregated settings with other children with disabilities. With two exceptions, both groups, regardless of their children's current placements, viewed the practices favorably. When asked to prioritize the most important communication skills they wished their children to attain, all of the most frequently cited priorities were reflected in items contained in the questionnaire, supporting the social validity of the questionnaire as truly reflecting parents' priorities for AAC instruction. Implications of this investigation are discussed, along with next steps.

Validation of an inventory of best practices in the provision of augmentative and alternative communication services to students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms

PURPOSE

To compile and then validate a set of evidence-based best practices related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and its role in fostering the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms and other inclusive settings.

METHOD

A comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to AAC and inclusive education for students with severe disabilities in inclusive classrooms resulted in an inventory of possible best practices. Reliability testing was conducted to verify levels of evidence assigned to each source and corresponding practice. Practices were reviewed and validated by a panel of 8 experts. Statistical analysis revealed a high level of internal consistency across items composing the inventory.

RESULTS

An inventory of 91 practices, each assigned to 1 of 8 predetermined categories, was uncovered. Themes arising in experts' comments related to items in the inventory are discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

Possible uses of the inventory are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

"I have chosen to live life abundantly": perceptions of leisure by adults who use augmentative and alternative communication

An online focus group was used to investigate perceptions of eight adults with cerebral palsy who used AAC systems about their recreation activities and leisure experiences. Six themes emerged from discussions on benefits of leisure and community recreation: improved physical health, enjoyment, improved mental health, increased independence, enhanced social connections, and education of society. Nine barriers to leisure participation were identified including: personal, social, communication, technology, financial, accessibility, safety, transportation, and personal care attendants. Despite numerous barriers to leisure, participants described six supports that helped them overcome these barriers: personal, social, family, personal care attendants, AAC devices, and other assistive technologies. Participants provided recommendations for other individuals who use AAC, their families, and service providers.