13,481 research outputs found

    Technology enhanced learning for people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral parallysis: the MAS platform.

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    Proceedings of: First International Conference on Reforming Education, Quality of Teaching and Technology-Enhanced Learning: Learning Technologies, Quality of Education, Educational Systems, Evaluation, Pedagogies (TECH-EDUCATION 2010), Athens, Greece, May, 19-21, 2010Education for students with disabilities now takes place in a wide range of settings, thus, including a wider range of assistive tools. As a result of this, one of the most interesting application domains of technology enhanced learning is related to the adoption of learning technologies and designs for people with disabilities. Following this unstoppable trend, this paper presents MAS, a software platform aimed to help people with severe intellectual disabilities and cerebral paralysis in their learning processes. MAS, as a technology enhanced learning platform, provides several tools that supports learning and monitoring for people with special needs, including adaptative games, data processing and monitoring tools. Installed in a special needs education institution in Madrid, Spain, MAS provides special educators with a tool that improved students education processes.Publicad

    Evidence-Based Best Practices in Physical Activity for Children with Serious Disabilities A Synthesis of the Research Literature

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    Serious disabilities are diagnosed in approximately 1 in 100 of children who have serious disabilities (Jasma, 1988). The development of the psychomotor domain in children with serious disabilities is typically below the development of their peers without special needs (Jasma, 1988). Generally, children with serious disabilities tend to be sedentary or lack opportunities to participate in physical activity compared with their peers without disabilities (Jasma, 1988). Traditional assessments such as TGMD-3 (Test of Gross Motor Development) or Brockport Physical Fitness Test, are not designed or do not have accommodations for children with serious disabilities (Grenier, & Miller, 2018). The purpose of this synthesis is to identify, based on research the best practices and programing recommendations in physical education for children with serious disabilities. In addition, facilitators and barriers to this process will be explored. The intent of this synthesis is to determine how to best increase physical activity performance in students with serious disabilities. The results of this synthesis indicated Aquatic environment is the most appropriate environment for physical activity for individuals with serious disabilities. Literature reveals that the main barriers are people’s perceptions of disability and level of support needed. Adequate professional preparation when working with and modifying activities for children with serious disabilities is extremely important for teachers and paraprofessionals

    Implementing Motivational Features for an Augmented Reality Game Encouraging Physical Activity for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

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    Evidence shows lower physical activity (PA) levels in persons with an intellectual disability (ID) compared to the general population. Physical activity promotes multiple health benefits, such as prolonged life and reduced risk for obtaining various chronic diseases. There are numerous applications targeting increased physical activity for the general population, but these tend to be too complex to use, and have therefore not been adopted, by persons with ID. Exergames promote increased physical activity by utilizing the entertaining aspects of games as a motivator, and some research has been explicitly aimed toward providing such a platform for persons with ID. One application targeting increased PA levels in persons with ID is Sorterius. While Sorterius promotes PA during utilization, it is somewhat limited in providing motivational elements to its users, and an increase in motivational elements could greatly increase usage of the application. Therefore, the main goal of this project was to enhance the overall enjoyment of playing Sorterius. To reach this goal, the project utilized knowledge gained from a prior literature review assessing which game aspects persons with ID perceived as motivating. The project also relied on continuous discussion with experts in the field. The resulting design includes a customizable mascot where users can unlock new items for their mascot and an automated difficulty adjustment based on user performance. To evaluate the application, a usability test was conducted on two experts and six persons with ID for a duration of two weeks. Due to various reasons, we were only able to retrieve written consent from one of the persons with ID before submitting the thesis. Results from testing indicated a similar degree of usability as the previous version while providing an increased number of motivational elements towards its users. The new version was also tested on the intended users compared to the previous version

    The potential of Serious Games to foster learning among children and adolescents with disabilities: A systematic review

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    Serious Games for children and adolescents with disabilities can enhance their learning and respond to their needs in an inclusive educational setting. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the potential of Serious Games for children and young people with disabilities, thereby providing an overview of effective Serious Games for schools and practitioners in the field of inclusive education. For this purpose, a systematic review of empirical literature found in the database Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) was conducted, applying a qualitative content analysis. Findings from the 21 reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies indicate that Serious Games provide effective support for achieving learning objectives in certain school subjects and facilitate optimal conditions for learning. We found that Serious Games have strong potential and can make an important contribution to the inclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities in school

    The Impact of Short Breaks on Families with a Disabled Child: Report One of the Quantitative Phase

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    This document reports on a cross-sectional sample of families with a disabled child using short breaks in England; it describes the characteristics of children and families using short breaks, the nature and quantity of the short breaks they are using, their experiences of and satisfaction with short breaks and which factors are associated with a range of outcomes for family carers, disabled children and their siblings. This report uses both quantitative data derived from standardised questions and qualitative data from family members’ written responses to open-ended questions in the survey instruments

    CorpOperatio: Game-inspired App for Encouraging Outdoor Physical Activity for People with Intellectual Disabilities

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    This thesis presents a serious mobile exergame for people with intellectual disabilities, to help people with intellectual disability be more physically active. Exergames are games with the purpose of physically engaging the user in the gameplay, and intervenes with sedentariness and repetitive behavior. The game is based around the use of augmented reality, which is described as bringing 3D virtual objects into a 3D real environment in real time. As the field of physical activity in people with intellectual disabilities is a low-research field, the project aims to create a technical solution to them improve their physical health. There are few solutions tailored for people with intellectual disabilities to aid in physical exercise, something we wanted to change. A physical activity mobile game was created using the Unity game engine and augmented reality. Requirements and design choices came through literature review, reference meetings and meetings with professional psychologists. The game was tested by intellectually disabled users in a controlled, randomized trial over the course of four days, with interviews after testing to get results. While evaluation of the application rvealed areas of potential improvement, the application is already usable for people with intellectual disabilities. Augmented reality proved to be challenging to understand initially, but also fun, once the concept was understood. We have created an application for encouraging physical activity for people with intellectual disabilities. The application shows promise, but also improvement points for it to be deployed to the public market

    Behavioral problems and solutions for children with intellectual disabilities in physical activity settings - A review of the literature

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    The purpose of this synthesis was to review common behavior issues in children with intellectual disability, explore barriers and facilitators of participation in physical activity, and to find intervention strategies so children can participate successfully in physical activity. Of eighteen articles that were reviewed, thirteen articles were used to answer the research questions: one) what are the physical activity levels and motor skills of children with intellectual disabilities? two) what are the most common behavioral issues in children with intellectual disabilities? three) what are the facilitators and barriers to physical activity for children with intellectual disabilities? and four) what are the most effective strategies for managing behavioral issues in physical activity settings for children with intellectual disabilities? Results indicated that children with intellectual disabilities have significantly lower physical activity levels, and face many barriers that can prevent them from participating in physical activity. The barriers for students with intellectual disabilities to physical activities are lack of supervision, sedentary activities, social impairments, physical impairments, and a scarcity of community programs or resources. The strategies that help children with intellectual disabilities participate in physical activity are behavior interventions, family involvement and encouragement, choice of activities, participation in early intervention programs, playground interventions, after school programs

    Digital mental health and intellectual disabilities: state of the evidence and future directions

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    The use of digital technologies in the management of mental illness, and more generally in the promotion of well-being and mental health, has received much recent attention and is a focus of current health policy. We conducted a narrative review to explore the opportunities and risks of digital technologies in mental healthcare specifically for people with intellectual disability, a sometimes marginalised and socially excluded group. The scope of digital mental health is vast and the promise of cheaper and more effective interventions delivered digitally is attractive. People with intellectual disability experience high rates of mental illness and could benefit from the development of novel therapies, yet seem to have been relatively neglected in the discourse around digital mental health and are often excluded from the development and implementation of new interventions. People with intellectual disability encounter several barriers to fully embracing digital technology, which may be overcome with appropriate support and adaptations. A small, but growing, literature attests to the value of incorporating digital technologies into the lives of people with intellectual disability, not only for promoting health but also for enhancing educational, vocational and leisure opportunities. Clearly further evidence is needed to establish the safety and clinical efficacy of digital mental health interventions for people with and without intellectual disability. A digital inclusion strategy that explicitly addresses the needs of people with intellectual disability would ensure that all can share the benefits of the digital world

    Simplifying Fitness Games for Users with Learning Disabilities

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    Motivating people with learning disabilities (LD) to carry out physical exercises is a difficult task. Simplified fitness games can address this problem. Yet we do not know much about the design characteristics of the fitness games for this particular user group. Based on Rouse’s process model, this paper explores the design characteristics in three development phases: ‘conceptual outline’, ‘implementation’ and ‘outcome’. A mixed-method approach has been adopted. First, interviews and observations were conducted. Based on the qualitative findings and a literature review, a questionnaire was generated addressing the important design characteristics in each phases. The questionnaire surveyed 235 people from both game and healthcare industries to assess their agreement to the design characteristics. By identifying critical design characteristics in each phase, our paper provides guidance for an inclusive and nuanced approach to designing games for the users with LD. It identifies concepts in fitness games that intrinsically motivate physical activities.
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