Disability,the arts and the curriculum: Is there common ground?

This paper reports on the findings of a study that sought to examine firstly, the themes expressed in the art of disabled people in Greece and Cyprus and in interviews with these artists, and secondly, the ways that such art can serve the school curriculum. To this end, an electronic archive of the life stories and art of interest was analysed. The findings suggest that both the art and the interviews cover issues that are directly related to disability, and issues of general interest. A detailed analysis of two cases seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of the relevance of disabled artists and their work within the curriculum. The discussion focuses on issues emerging from the analysis, such as the potential of this art to enrich the school curriculum and promote inclusive education, and identifies the study’s contribution to the international literature about disability, the arts and the curriculum.     

Experiences of dyslexia and the transition to university: a case study of five students at different stages of study

ABSTRACT

Dyslexia is a common specific learning difficulty. In higher education two models of disability are prevalent, ‘disorder’ and ‘difference’, which each differentially conceptualise dyslexia and the nature of supports required. A lack of research has been undertaken in Ireland regarding students’ experience of dyslexia, and the move from second to third level education. A greater understanding of the challenges encountered is necessary to inform provision of resources to help students with dyslexia excel in higher education. Semi-structured interviews were completed with four undergraduate students and one postgraduate student with a diagnosis of dyslexia to explore their experiences of transitioning into university. Thematic analysis revealed four common themes: dyslexic identity, self-advocacy, transition experiences, and future advice. Various difficulties were identified regarding lack of appropriate academic resources, inconsistencies between supports provided in secondary and third level education, and low self-confidence which serves as a barrier to success. However, strengths including self-directed learning techniques and communication and self-advocacy skills were also evidenced, supporting a ‘difference’ view of dyslexia. The findings highlight the need to re-evaluate the current academic service provisions, in alignment with a model of dyslexia that allows individualisation and enables students, as opposed to disabling them.     

Parental perspectives on educational programmes for students with high support needs

This paper presents the outcomes of interviews with 29 parents of school-aged students with high support needs, centred on aspects of educational programming and service delivery. The aim of the study was to better understand the views and experiences of parents in relation to priority curriculum areas, programme development, perspectives on integration and socialization, and factors that support student alertness and engagement. This is an area that has received little attention to date in the literature.     

Who is out of school? Evidence from the Statistics South Africa Community Survey

The South Africa Schools Act requires every child to “attend school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven years until the last day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever comes first” (Republic of South Africa, 1996). This paper addresses three questions in relation to this. First, to what extent has this legal requirement been met? Second, what are the trends in relation to achieving universal access to compulsory education? And third, what are the factors related to and characteristics of those learners of compulsory school age who are not attending? To address these questions, we have made use of the Statistics South Africa dataset, Community Survey 2007. Our analysis suggests that the size of the compulsory age population who are not attending school may be slightly higher than some government sources have suggested. The trend associated with access remains consistent, with the only major change over the past 10 years being the improved levels of enrolment of six and seven year old children. With regard to the factors related to and the characteristics of children who are not attending school, our analysis reveals that certain sub-populations have higher non-attendance ratios: coloured boys; children whose parents, particularly mothers, have died; children born outside South Africa; children who have moved in the past five years; children with disabilities; and children living in some specific rural communities. A number of broad but interrelated factors may account for children not being in school: disability; family structure; children living in households that are eligible for social grants but are not receiving them; and geographic and racial characteristics. To be poor in South Africa may mean exclusion from the mainstream of the economy, but it does not necessarily mean exclusion from access to basic state services like enrolment in schooling or social grants. Children not attending are not only likely to be living in households that are excluded from participation in the mainstream economy, but are also on the fringes of state services; they may also be on the fringes of households. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research to identify reasons why children in these vulnerable sub-populations are less likely to be enrolled.     

ARL大学图书馆残障服务对我国大学图书馆之启示

从工作人员的协助、专用服务设施、专用计算机软件、专门硬件设备、服务政策、服务协调、服务提供者、辅助性技术和资金支持、网站的无障碍获取等多个方面,ARL对其成员馆的残疾人服务进行了调查。作为借鉴,我国大学图书馆残疾人服务应该转变观念、增强意识,明确法规、完善政策,配备完善的服务设施及设备,充分利用现代信息技术拓展服务能力,加强服务人员培训。     

Promoting access to education for disabled children in low-income countries: Do we need to know how many disabled children there are?

Poor people are most likely to be disabled, and the exclusion of disabled people from education means that they are also more likely to remain poor. Despite calls for better data to inform the extension of education for disabled children, data in this field remain weak. This paper asks whether a national survey of disability prevalence is the best starting point when promoting the educational inclusion of disabled children in low and middle-income countries. The paper analyses what information is needed about disability in education systems, and also analyses difficulties with measuring childhood disability. The paper concludes that the most pragmatic and ethical way forward is to make the most of knowledge we already have to develop and continue learning from existing provision.     

Discourses of Disability,Narratives of Community: Reclaiming an Autistic Identity Online

As increasing rates of autism diagnosis generate media interest, the autism community is bombarded with various disability discourses. Using netnographic methods, I explored how members of one online community, Aspies Central (AC), engaged these discourses to communicatively (re)claim a positive autistic identity. By assessing 561 posts on AC's forums, interviewing 10 individuals who frequent online communities, and interacting extensively with two informants, I located reclaiming discourses that allowed community members to shift their understanding of autism from a biomedical to a cultural perspective. Through these discourses, community members reclaimed (a) normalcy, (b) symptoms, and (c) agency. In this paper, I discuss implications for the narrative construction of disability identities and the activation of self-advocacy movements.     

Freedom Through Flight: Performing a Counter-Narrative of Disability

This project explores how discourses of difference sustain the separation of people with disabilities from community life and highlights the efforts of one organization, Passion Works, as members perform a counter-narrative of disability. Passion Works is a non-profit organization housed within a sheltered workshop sponsored by its local county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and provides innovative employment opportunities by supporting artistic collaborations between individuals with and without disabilities. Our ethnographic portrayal is based on our experiences as participant observers, narratives performed in daily routines and collected through in-depth interviews with staff artists, and document analysis. We unpack how artists perform a counter-narrative of freedom through flight that fosters both autonomy and connection, allows artists to accomplish mind and body, and provides opportunities for artists to perform the personal in the public sphere.     

Danger,danger! Evaluating the accessibility of Web-based emergency alert sign-ups in the northeastern United States

People with disabilities need access to emergency-related information at the same time that the general public receives that information. Many county and municipal-level governments suggest that citizens sign up on a Web page to receive emergency alert information. While the messages being sent out via e-mail or text message might be accessible, the sign-up processes are often inaccessible, preventing people with disabilities for signing up for these important information services. In this paper, all of the county-level emergency alert sign-ups in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland, were evaluated for accessibility. A total of 156 evaluations took place (6 evaluations for each of the 26 counties evaluated). Of the 26 counties evaluated, 21 of them had accessibility violations. Legal, policy, and design-related implications are presented in the following discussion.     

学障儿童与正常儿童心理理论四种成分的发展比较

采用统一背景的图片故事法,探讨7-12岁学障儿童（27人）和正常儿童（27人）在一级错误信念、二级错误信念、解释性心理理论和失言理解四个心理理论成分的发展趋势。结果表明,学障儿童的心理理论能力发展显著落后于正常儿童,主要表现在一级错误信念、二级错误信念、解释性心理理论方面;学障儿童的心理理论发展表现出随着年龄增长的特点,而正常儿童心理理论发展的年龄差异并不显著;整合全体被试探讨学龄期儿童心理理论诸成分之间的关系,结果表明,这四种心理理论成分的发展呈现复杂化的趋势。设计背景统一、内容简明的研究任务有助于全面考察心理理论能力的发展。