Diagnosing ADHD in Danish primary school children: a case study of the institutional categorization of emotional and behavioural difficulties

This study of institutional categorization reports an investigation of the practices, procedures and assumptions of psychiatric staff members when diagnosing ADHD. The main data upon which the study is based consist of transcribed audio recordings of meetings in the psychiatric clinic. Here children referred from primary schools on the suspicion of ADHD are attended to. The tools and procedures for gathering information are shown to produce decontextualized and individualizing representations of children’s conduct. The evaluation against a number of norms is found to be central. Finally, the discussions at the central team conferences are shown to reveal the use of hypothesis testing structured around a number of dichotomies, where isolated aspects of the child’s life are considered against each other as the source of the difficulties. Together, these practices have cumulative and profound consequences for how children’s problems come to be understood as caused by a neurological condition.     

I agree to sit next to you. Does that mean I like you? Measuring using the wrong tapeline – the lack of ‘Social Distance’ measures for inclusive school development and research – a review of the literature

This review provides an overview of definitions and measurements of ‘Social Distance’ and attitudes children without disabilities carry towards children with disabilities. Measures include explicit and implicit approaches but clearly, the ‘Bogardus Social Distance Scale’ (A Social Distance Scale, 1933, 14 May 2014) is the most used scale in research, yet it is outdated. For a deeper look into what impacts children's ‘Social Distance’ in inclusive school settings and in order to find measurable constructs, relevant attitude questionnaires are discussed. To bring long‐used measures and attitudes together, a comprehensive model of ‘Social distance’ is introduced. This model integrates the classical view on ‘Social Distance’ as interaction willingness with feelings associated with this interaction and includes attitudes children carry towards individuals and towards the group the interaction partner is believed to belong to. In summary, this paper shows the need for a more comprehensive and precise measure on how school children really engage with one another.     

残疾儿童少年送教上门的困境与优化路径——基于西南地区522名残疾学生家长的调查分析

送教上门作为一种特殊的教育安置形式,对保障残疾儿童少年受教育权利,推动教育公平具有重要意义.本研究采用自编问卷调查了西南5省48所义务教育学校注册登记接受送教上门服务的522名残疾儿童少年的家长,结果发现残疾儿童少年送教上门的现状不容乐观,还面临诸多困境:送教服务的频率与时长不足;送教服务的内容适配性低;家长对送教的认...     

Supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities in the foreign languages classroom

Due to misconceptions about the challenges of language learning, foreign languages classrooms have not always been accessible spaces for all learners. This article seeks to address the needs of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the foreign languages classroom and challenge the notion that this group of students cannot or should not learn languages. Current research tends to focus on specific learning difficulties in language learning, but little research considers the language learning experiences of children with SEND more broadly. Accordingly, this article delineates the advantages of language learning for learners with SEND, drawing on emerging research that shows that second language acquisition is not only possible but positive for many learners with additional needs. It then considers some of the specific challenges that SEND learners may face in the foreign languages classroom before outlining key strategies to facilitate inclusion among this diverse group of learners.

Key points

• Learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) should not routinely be removed from the foreign languages classroom, but instead should be provided with opportunities to thrive within it. This article discusses the unique importance of foreign language learning for learners with SEND.
• Research evidence suggests that learning new languages is, on the whole, possible—and perhaps hugely beneficial—for children with developmental differences and learning difficulties, but will depend on the circumstances and profile of the individual child.
• The article explores some specific challenges that students with different additional needs might encounter in their foreign languages education, based on the four areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health difficulties; and sensory or physical needs.
• To conclude, the article presents a range of key strategies that foreign languages teachers might implement in the classroom to support learners with different special educational needs and disabilities.

     

Creating effective teaching and learning environments: Building a positive behavioural support (PBS) model for UK special schools

The importance of reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in special schools has been recognised across the four nations of the UK. Government guidance for England and Wales, and recommendations produced by Restraint Reduction Scotland, both reference Positive behavioural support (PBS) as an evidence-based approach that can be used to proactively support pupils with, or at risk of, behaviours that challenge. The Department of Education of Northern Ireland recommends the development of behaviour support plans to support children with special education needs and disabilities. Special schools, however, also have a responsibility to set high expectations for every pupil, to provide access to the respective national curricula and to meet individual needs. School-wide positive behavioural support (SW-PBS), originated in the USA in the 1990s in response to a body of evidence that showed improved social and academic outcomes when behavioural interventions were implemented across whole school settings. It is increasingly being adopted in the UK. Drawing upon examples from schools in England and Wales with which the authors are familiar, this paper outlines the rationale for a special schools' model of SW-PBS and illustrates the ways in which this can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of each setting.

Key Points

• Reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in schools is a high priority across all four nations of the UK.
• Special schools also have a responsibility to provide children with special education needs and disabilities positive learning environments that maximise learning opportunities and meet individual needs.
• School-wide positive behaviour support (SW-PBS) provides a useful framework to help special schools meet these expectations.