Striving for autonomy in a contingency‐governed world: Another challenge for individuals with developmental disabilities

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an orientation to the concepts and principles of autonomy and self‐determination and the application of those concepts and principles to working with children and adolescents who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD), including autism. Self‐determination is essentially the ability of a person to be autonomous as to meaningful life choices and encompasses activities such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, self‐observation and evaluation, self‐management and reinforcement, acquiring an internal locus of control, experiencing positive attributions of efficacy and outcome expectancy, developing a realistic and positive self‐image, and self awareness. The lack of opportunities for self‐determination, personal expression and consideration of personal preferences experienced by this population has been associated with increased psychiatric disturbance. Several principles supporting self‐determination, including positive psychology and use of positive alternatives, are discussed by the authors. Further, practices that generate more opportunities for individuals to exercise personal control and autonomy across activities and environments in order to prevent psychological problems are discussed. Finally, the school psychologist's role in promoting the development of autonomy and self initiative among children and adolescents with ID/DD are outlined within the contexts of assessment practices, interventions and curriculums, positive behavior support technology, and continued educational reforms and systems change. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 143–153, 2004.     

Description and field test of a career development course for male youth offenders with disabilities

This project was supported in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.     

Mild head injury as a source of developmental disabilities.

The hospital-reported incidence of mild head injury among children indicates a prevalence of 2% to 3% in high-school-aged adolescents (14 to 18 years). Yet, our survey of 616 high school adolescents suggests that light and mild head injury (not necessarily leading to hospital admission) is almost 10 times this level. Despite the common notion that such injury is generally benign, we found significant relationships in our sample between reported head injury and hyperactivity, stuttering, mixed handedness, and dislike of mathematics.     

The development of a career identity

In modern society individuals are becoming responsible for their own work allocation. In order to overcome an increasing social and work-related insecurity, they not only have to acquire specific career skills but also a so-called "career identity". A career identity is a structure of meanings in which the individual links his own motiviation, interests and competencies with acceptable career roles. In the article the concept of meaning is explored and further elaborated as a social learning process. The article concludes with some remarks about the need for a strong learning environment.     

Study-service as a significant factor in career development

The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of the Botswana study-service scheme (Tirelo Setshaba) in the career development of its participants. Study-service is defined as community service used to educate those who participate in contrast to other service programmes where the main objective is to provide manpower e.g. by providing service to the community. First, the existing career development situation in Botswana for senior secondary school students is reviewed and findings from some recent research in this field in the country are presented. Second, the nature of the one year experience gained by Tirelo Setshaba participants is described including the uniqueness of Tirelo Setshaba as compared to other similar schemes in that service takes place before post-secondary education, but with other policies being similar to those developed for university students. Third, the paper presents a rationale for career development assistance for Tirelo Setshaba participants and describes career development material prepared for them. The nature of the scheme, with two or a maximum of four participants assigned to a village, has made it necessary to design a career service for clients who are so widely scattered that the often-used career talks, conventions or one-to-one counselling are impractical. Finally, the paper argues for a proper evaluation of Tirelo Setshaba's impact on career development as the conclusions drawn in the paper are based on limited observations.Senior Research Fellow, National Institute of Development Research and Documentation, University of Botswana. She has served for several years as planning officer with the Ministry of Education in Botswana and as a psychologist (career guidance) in Sweden.Tirelo Setshaba Adviser, Ministry of State President, Botswana. He has long experience from study-service schemes in a number of countries, inter alia Botswana, Nepal and Indonesia.     

Using 21st century video prompting technology to facilitate the independence of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Barriers in acquiring, maintaining, and generalizing daily living skills are factors that contribute to discrepancies in independent living outcomes among transition age youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Acquisition and generalization of daily living skills empowers transition age youth and young adults with disabilities to meet their own needs with minimal reliance on others. Infusing the use of technology as a self‐prompting device facilitates the acquisition of tasks that may not be otherwise attainable. In this study, self‐directed video prompting on an iPad with the My Pictures Talk application was used to help young adults with IDD in a postsecondary program acquire daily living skills in a single subject, multiple probe across subjects design. The effects of the intervention on generalization to tasks that were one, two, and three components different were also assessed. Results demonstrated a functional relationship between the introduction of the intervention and improvement in skill performance.     

How people with developmental disabilities navigate the Internet

We live at a time when the Internet is used increasingly for communication, for information, and for the exchange of goods and services. Questions arise about how people with learning disabilities make use of this new technology. In this article, Bjorn Harrysson, with two of his colleagues, A. Svensk and G. I. Johansson, from the Department of Design Sciences at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden, explores the opportunities and difficulties experienced by members of this group when navigating the Internet.
Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson observed seven people, aged between 15 and 44 and with mild to moderate developmental disabilities, as they navigated between different web pages using the general tools of Microsoft Internet Explorer Web Browser. The authors describe some of the strategies that were used for moving within and between web pages and for opening web pages, carrying out searches and finding preferred web sites.
The results of the study are partly optimistic. The people involved made good use of many of the features of the general software. They experienced greater difficulties when it became necessary to use text to navigate and explore the huge potential of the Internet. Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson close their article by making a series of recommendations for developments that would facilitate ease of access and independence in the use of the Internet for people with developmental disabilities.     

坚持用科学发展观办教育

学校的发展需要科学发展观来指导。只有在科学发展观指导下构建学校的办学思路和办学理念,才能使学校走上可持续发展的快车道。广州市番禺区象贤中学坐落在具有900多年历史的中国文化古镇、广州市第一个教育强镇——沙湾镇内。学校始创于清朝乾隆年间的“何氏书院”,距今已有100多年的办学历程。象贤中学是一所独立高级中学,具有办学历史悠久、社会声誉良好、教学质量较高的优势,但也遇到发展中的具体问题,如生源、交通、设施设备等问题。目前,广州市的教育正向着创办教育强市的目标加速发展,并加快对示范性学校的建设。如何抓住历史的机遇,…     

Time-in/time-out as a response to noncompliance and inappropriate behavior with children with developmental disabilities: Two case studies

Time-in and time-out were used to treat inappropriate and noncompliant behaviors in a child with severe language disabilities and a child with a moderate mental disability and cerebral palsy. The target behaviors for Jeremy were compliance with first-time presented teacher instructions, elopement and aggression. Prior to intervention, archival baseline data for Jeremy suggested a compliance rate with teacher directives of approximately 9% and a high frequency of elopement and aggression. Following implementation of a compliance training package, compliance to teacher directives increased to 97% within the first week of intervention and minimal instances of elopement and aggression. Two, 24, and 40-week follow-up compliance checks yielded mean rates of 98%, 99%, and 98% respectively and no elopement or aggression. Reduction in object tossing behaviors was targeted for Jenny. Archival baseline, indicated through parent report, suggested tossing rates of 80% of the times objects were in hand. Frequency of object tossing behavior decreased to a near-zero level during intervention. The use of this intervention package with children in an effort to deter future chronic noncompliance and inappropriate behavior is discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Defining the family: towards a critical framework for families of children with disabilities

ABSTRACT

Family‐centred approaches are widely recognized internationally as the most ecologically appropriate way of working with families of children with disabilities. Pivotal in this approach is its focus upon the needs of the whole family, rather than only the needs of the child (with a disability). It places a significant emphasis on flexible and responsive transdisciplinary service delivery and upon parent choice and decision‐making. For the family‐centred approach to become truly effective, then, we must define what constitutes a family. Or rather ask families how they define themselves. Alongside an exploration of traditional and non‐traditional family roles, this paper challenges stereotypical notions of the family, and seeks to establish the family as the core element in any service team.     

Accompanying the adolescent on the career journey: A cognitive developmental approach

Summary In our present society, it is not enough to continue to provide adolescents with a stimulating career environment in the hope that appropriate career planning and development will result. Attention needs to be paid to the way in which adolescents structure their career environment and how they function in the face of the career stimulation that they receive. In this paper, the position is taken that the pressure on adolescents can result in some of them trying to adapt too readily and quickly to the information which they receive. By doing so, they fail to gain the perceived internal locus of control and self-reflection which are needed to deal with the complex and changing career issues. This problem can be understood and dealt with in counselling by focussing on the assimilative functions of the adolescent. Specific couselling strategies which may facilitate such a focus include the responsive counselling conditions and such techniques as the repertory grid and fantasy.He graduated from McGill University and has taught at The University of Western Ontario. One of his primary interests is in relating dimensions of human development to counselling practice.