Children In Special Classes Research Articles

Effects of school-based occupational therapy program for children with disabilities in elementary school in Korea: a case study

BackgroundThe purpose of this case study was to explore the effects of a school-based occupational therapy on children’s attention, school adaptation, sensory processing, and motor function for children in special classes in elementary school in Korea.Case presentationThe subjects of this study were a 7-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and a 9-year-old girl with intellectual disability. The school-based occupational therapy program consisted of 10 sessions and was conducted once a week for an hour and a half. The program consisted of classroom activities, use of school facilities, emotional management, and activities based on sensory integration, and was conducted as individual and group programs according to sessions. As a result of the study, all improved when the pre- and post-scores of the two children’s attention assessment, school adjustment scale, sensory processing evaluation tool for the children in school and BOT-2-SF were compared.ConclusionsAlthough the results from two cases cannot be generalized, the findings suggest the school-based occupational therapy program may help a positive effect on the school life of children with disabilities. Further investigation is necessary.

특수학급에서의 역통합 놀이가 발달지체 유아의 사회적 기술에 미치는 효과

Objectives It is to examine the effect of reverse inclusion play in special classes on the improvement of social skills of children with developmental delays. Methods The subjects of the study were two children with developmental delays. Research design is a case study, and intervention is a semi-structured play between children with developmental delays and non-disabled children in special class. In order to verify the effectiveness, the social skills rating scale was checked in pre-test, intervention-test, and post-test, and anecdotal records were collected. Results As a result of data analysis, reverse inclusion play in special class was effective in improving the social skills of children with developmental delays. Conclusions This study is meaningful in that it presented an example of inclusion education through reverse inclusion play. It also provides useful data for planning social skills improvement programs for children with developmental delays in the future.

Social service utilisation in relation to class setting - a longitudinal study among children with mild intellectual disability in Sweden

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate if the type of class setting is related to the utilisation of disability-related services and child welfare services outside school over time among children with mild intellectual disability (ID). A quantitative study with a longitudinal and comparative design was carried out including data from archival records concerning service utilisation among 405 children. Children in special classes were more likely than children integrated into regular classes to utilise disability-related services. Integrated children who changed school setting from regular classes to special classes were more likely to begin to utilise such services and to increase the number of services utilised, compared to children who remained integrated. Professionals in social services and schools may need to improve their collaboration around families of children with mild ID when assessing needs and providing services. Special attention may need to be devoted to children integrated into regular classes.

초등 특수학급 아동의 적응행동과 학교에서의 기능적 수행 능력과의 상관관계

초등 특수학급 아동의 적응행동과 학교에서의 기능적 수행 능력과의 상관관계

Regulation of emotional security by children after entry to special and regular kindergarten classes.

In this paper early adaptation after children's entry to kindergarten is conceptualized as a process of achieving emotional security. It was hypothesized that children adapt to school by means of security seeking from the teacher and behavioral inhibition. 30 normal children from regular classes and 36 children with a variety of problems, e.g., behavioral, emotional, and family problems, from special classes were rated by their teachers on the Inhibition Scale and Security Seeking Scale on 5 occasions during the first 3 mo. at school. By the end of this period teachers judged the intensity of behavior problems on the Internalizing Problem Scale and the Externalizing Problem Scale. Analysis showed that initial high scores on the Security Seeking Scale and Inhibition Scale decreased sharply during the first weeks, and that children from special classes scored consistently higher on the Security Seeking Scale and more variable on the Inhibition Scale than children from regular classes. Girls had higher scores than boys on both scales. Recent stress in the family as rated by the teacher was positively related to both scores on the Inhibition and Security Seeking Scales after entry. Finally, scores on the Security Seeking and Inhibition Scales over the first three months predicted scores on the Internalizing Problem Scale by the end of this period, especially for children in special classes. We conclude that understanding adaptation after school entry as a process of obtaining emotional security is productive, providing a means to link entry behavior to precursors and consequences.

Promoting the Social Acceptance of Young Children With Moderate–Severe Intellectual Disabilities Using Cooperative-Learning Techniques

The effects of a cooperative-learning program on the social acceptance of children with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities by young children without disabilities were examined. Children without disabilities were assigned to a cooperative-learning program or a social-contact program involved with the special class children or to a control (no classroom contact) condition. Significant pretest-posttest changes over a 10-week period in the cooperative-learning context indicated that children without disabilities gave the special class children higher peer acceptance ratings, greater popularity indices, and lower social-distance ratings. There were also more frequent interactions with the children without disabilities. These changes did not occur in either the social-contact or the control groups.

Comparability of Self‐concept among Normal Achievers, Low Achievers and Children with Learning Difficulties

Summary Self‐concept ratings of normally and low achieving students in regular classes were compared with those of children facing academic difficulties and attending special education classes. Children's perceptions of scholastic competence and feelings of global self‐worth were measured using the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1982). Participants in the study were 424 children enrolled in the third to sixth primary school grades. Results indicated that special class children rated themselves more negatively than their normally achieving peers on both academic self‐concept and global self‐worth. They also rated themselves more negatively than their low achieving peers on academic self‐concept; no differences existed between these two groups on global self‐worth. The results are discussed in the light of the nature of the Greed educational system and the pressure put on children for academic excellence.

Mothers' predictions of the self-concept of their normal or learning-disabled children.

Two reported effects of the labeling process in special education were investigated in a study which assessed the self-concepts of 48 learning-disabled (LD) children, 54 of their normal age-mates, and 16 regular class students whose teachers indicated the need for special education services. In addition, the mothers of children in each group were asked to complete the same self-concept instrument, responding to the items as they predicted their children would respond. Self-concepts of the children groups were compared to test the hypothesis that labeling and segregating the educationally handicapped from the larger school population might reduce self-regard. Mothers' self-concept predictions were compared to the scores of their LD children to test the hypothesis that labeling a child may reduce parents' perceptions of the child's feelings of self-worth. Predictions made by mothers of normal children were used to assess the accuracy of prediction across the parenting groups. The results gleaned from mothers of low-achieving, regular-class students were used as a method of control in case of a possibility that parental predictions were influenced more by the child's achievement than by special education placement. Equivalence of self-concept across the regular and special-class children groups was interpreted through social comparison theory and the possibility that reduced heterogeneity of ability evident in special classes may bolster the self-concept of children educated in such environments. The lowered estimates of self-concept generated by mothers of LD students were discussed as an indirect effect of the labeling process whereby the label alters the perceptions of significant others as to the abilities of the labeled individual.

Visual Defects of Children in Special Educational Facilities

The limitations of the present school visual screening systems for detecting children with visual defects that may influence school learning has been well documented but the vision of children in special educational facilities has received little formal attention. The visual examination results of 43 children receiving remedial reading tuition, 43 children in a control group and 20 children in special classes for backward children, were divided into three categories: vision, ocular motility/co‐ordination, and organic/colour vision. A statistically significant difference was noted between the special educational groups and the control group for the results in the ocular motility/co‐ordination category. The results indicate that the components of this category, (phorias, tropias, ductions, versions and vergences) need further investigation as to the nature of the relationships to learning difficulties. It is noted that enough evidence already exists in the literature to suggest that children placed in special educational facilities should receive a full clinical visual examination.

Home-based Reinforcement of School Behavior: A Review and Analysis

Home-based reinforcement of school behavior is proving to be an efficient method for motivating behavioral change. It has been used successfully with children in group homes, with children in special classes, and with entire mainstream and special classrooms. Twenty-four studies are reviewed with particular attention given to types of consequences employed and methods of gaining parental involvement. Consumable reinforcers, earned privileges, verbal praise, and response costs were all effectively administered by parents who were informed of their children’s performance via daily or weekly school notes. Parents were instructed in their role in several ways, including group and individual conferences as well as simple letters sent home. A wide range of behaviors and academic problems were remedied rapidly and with a modicum of response costs to counselors, teachers, and parents. Implications for further research are considered.

The Effects of Special Class Placement on the Self-Concept of Exceptional Children

The impact of placement decisions on a child's self-concept will be a growing concern as mainstreaming efforts increase. A child's feelings of self-worth may vary from setting to setting and from one aspect of life to another. This paper well illustrates that self-concept is a complex entity. As Ribner demonstrates, both research and practice must consider these complexities, especially when the child's self-concept is in question. — G.M.S. The self-concept of minimally brain damaged children in special classes was compared with that of children with similar disabilities who were in the regular grades. Those in regular grades had significantly lower self-concepts in school adequacy but not in general competence. When compared with normal children, both groups of minimally brain damaged children had significantly lower self-concepts in school adequacy, but only those in regular grades held significantly lower self-concepts than normal children in general competence. No relationship was found between self-concept and length of stay in special classes.

School‐related factors influencing the self‐concepts of children with learning problems

Assignment of children with learning problems to self-contained, special classrooms received criticism on the ground that such assignment results in stigmatization of the child with a concomitant diminution of self-concept.1 concern for the special child's self-concept, coupled with mounting suspicion that special class assignment does not result in accelerated academic achievement, has served as impetus for the mainstreaming movement, where children with learning problems assigned previously to self-contained classrooms are placed in regular classrooms, a less restrictive environment. While a controversy mounts about the efficacy of mainstreaming special class children, we find a dearth of empirical evidence on the impact of the experience on children's self-regard. As Haring and Krug observed, although special education is well along the road of mainstreaming, This change has come about

Mainstreaming for the educationally deprived

William J. Mosley Howard H. Spicker Department of Special Education Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana In 1968 Lloyd Dunn questioned the appropriateness of special class placement for children thought to be mildly handicapped who had been assessed, labeled, and classified as educable mentally retarded (EMR). Dunn appears to have raised the issue of the appropriateness of EMR special classes for the mildly handicapped for two principal reasons. One reason was that many children who do in fact evidence mild forms of low cognitive functioning may have a better chance of having their educational needs met through regular rather than special education. Dunn pointed to the negative effects of traditional classifying labels used in special education, to poor academic showing of EMR children in special classes, and to the general inequality of educational opportunity that characterizes the self-contained special education EMR classroom. By contrast Dunn pointed to the overall improvements found in such areas as instructional design and development and teacher training programs in regular education. Consequently, according to Dunn, many children labeled EMR who in fact seemed to be mildly handicapped would be more appropriately placed in regular, rather than in special education EMR, classes. Dunn also appears to have had a second reason for raising the issue of the inappropriateness of special education EMR classes for children classified as mildly handicapped. This reason was that an unusually large number of children in special education EMR classes were of low social status and were racially or culturally different. An extremely large percentage of this group did not evidence low cognitive functioning when appropriately tested. Dunn's concern here was that many children were being placed in special education EMR classes not because they evidenced low cognitive functioning, but because they encountered school performance difficulties owing to problems relating to low social status, race, and culture.

Attitudes of Norwegian and American Children Toward Mildly Retarded Children in Special Classes

Attitudes of Norwegian and American Children Toward Mildly Retarded Children in Special Classes

The Efficieney of Hearing Aid Use of Hearing Impaired Children in Special Class

This study was attempted to evaluate the efficiency of hearing aid use of 69 hearing impaired children in a hard-of-hearing class of four schools in Osaka.The results were as follows.a) The factors of acquiring the benefit of wearing hearing aid were:1) The children who had hearing loss from 60dB to 80dB had the best results.2) It was necessary to establish a fundamental attitude and ability before the hearing aid.3) The difference between hearing loss and output to input in 75dB SPL at 1KHz of hearing aid adjusted in the most comfortable listening condition was approximately 30dB in many of subjects.b) The effects of using hearing aids were:1) There was a slight tendency to have a clear pronounciation in speaking of children who had high socre in aided ear.2) It is greatly effective to use hearing aid in daily speech conversation.3) There was no relation between the auditory effect of hearing aid and the school marks.

Confrontation: special education placement and the law.

Recently, suits have been brought against public schools for placing certain children in special classes for the educable mentally retarded. Through the courts parents are challenging the administration and use of standardized tests, placement procedures, and the effectiveness and the harmful impact of special class programing. Special educators are urged to initiate immediate reform in testing and placement procedures or there is a likelihood that changes will be imposed by the courts. The possibility of punitive damages may stimulate these changes.

The Improvement of Speech Hearing of Hearing Impaired Children in Elementary School

13 hearing impaired children in special class for hard of hearing were tested audiometory during a year. We found the following results by analysing of speech audiomentory data and hearing aid training.1) Their audiogram nearly were not change, but speech receptive threshold (S. R. T.) and maximum articulation score (MAS) pointed out a little improvement.2) The improvement of speech hearing were not influenced by type of hearing loss.3) Even the ear which had limited dynamic range improved the S. R. T. and M. A. S. by auditory training.4) The confusion of speech words decreased by auditory training. It seemed important of the detail observation of confusion for training.5) The progress of adaptation of hearing aid were improved the speech hearing. There-fore the evaluation of the adaptation of hearing aid is done by the improvement of speech hearing.

A Study of Emotionally Disturbed Children in Regular and Special Classes

This study was conducted to measure change in achievement and overt behavior of emotionally disturbed children in special and regular classes in Chautauqua County, New York. The social position of emotionally disturbed and normal children in regular classes was also assessed. A comparative description was made on the basis of the analyzed data and the following conclusions were made within the stated limitations of the study. The emotionally disturbed children in the regular classes achieved less well on the Wide Range Achievement Test and the Behavior Rating Scale than did the emotionally disturbed children in special classes. Further, the emotionally disturbed children in the regular classes were less well accepted than the normal children.

On the Hearing of the Children in Special Class for Hearing Loss

We studied on effects and using methods of hearing aid and articulation disorders in 15 pupils who are in special class for hearing loss in Osaka.They were tested by pure tone and speech audiometry in free field.The following results were obtained.1) All cases acquired better hearing at pure tone, especially 1000-2000cps, with hearing aid.2) The results of speech audiometry indicated the effects of hearing aid. We found out that articulation scores were changed with hearing aid.3) They were wearing their hearing aids effectivelly.4) We observed on the articulation disorders with relation to hearing.

Cognitive behavior modification: ‘Motivated learning’ reading treatment with subprofessional therapy-technicians

A method of treating reading deficits based upon an extrinsic motivational system previously employed successfully with a single subject was extended to eighteen additional subjects. The junior-high age subjects included retarded children in special classes, several emotionally disturbed children, and culturally deprived children. The method of training used in the original study was designed to be simple to administer and simple to record the performance of the child. Thus, it was hypothesized that subprofessional personnel could be employed to administer the treatment. Adult volunteers and high school seniors were used as the therapy-technicians. The eighteen Ss were given 38.2 hr of training in daily half-hour sessions, during which period the average reinforcement earned was $22.29. The mean number of single word reading responses was 94,425. The rate of reading accelerated over the period of training even though the reading material became more difficult. This occurred during a period when progressively less (about one-fourth as much) reinforcement was given per reading response. A mean of 593.5 new words were learned and 70.9 per cent of these were retained in a long-term test. The attention, attendance, cooperation, and diligent work behavior of the various children were maintained in good strength throughout the duration of the study. The results suggest that research be conducted to develop methods for treatment of behavioral deficits that can be widely applied by subprofessional therapy-technicians supervised by clinical psychologists.