Adapting Educational Programs for Students with Disabilities

Zoos Victoria, in an endeavor to comply with legislation regarding disability inclusion, has sought to make adaptations to its educational programs. Existing methods for teaching students with disabilities were identified through interviews with school administrators, Victorian Department of Education officers, zoo and museum staff, and special education teachers. Specific programming at Zoos Victoria was assessed to identify accessibility issues and barriers to learning for students with disabilities. The knowledge gained from this research was used to develop a framework for adapting educational programs at the zoo. The framework encompasses principles of universal design as well as specific accommodations for students with mobility, hearing, vision, and cognitive impairments

Testing literacy educational software to develop design guidelines for children with Autism

Multimedia computer programs have been found to facilitate learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the effectiveness of these resources is limited due to poor design or a lack of consideration of the ASD cognitive profile, particularly at the lower-functioning end of the spectrum. This paper attempts to tackle the problem of the lack of design guidelines, with the aim of facilitating the development of effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The case study reported here evaluated two literacy educational computer programs, by observing five low-functioning children with ASD, compared to five neurotypical children (control cases). The two types of reading-support software contrasted in the study presented different characteristics. The children’s data analysed here concern observations of child-software interactive sessions based on video recordings and coded for attention deployment to each program, including motivation and engagement indicators. The results identify different patterns in the responses of the children with ASD when using the two types of software. On the basis of this case study and work by other authors, a set of guidelines is proposed, that are intended to help in designing effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The guidelines emphasize a multi-disciplinary framework using methodologies from various research areas including software engineering, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Child Computer Interaction (CCI), mental health, education and neuropsychology

Rett Syndrome

Rett syndrome is a thief! It robs little girls of their projected life. It lulls their families into a false sense of security while their little girls develop normally for 6 to 18 months. Then it insidiously robs them of their skills and abilities until they are trapped in a body that won't respond. These little girls are called "silent angels" (Hunter, 2007). Rett syndrome (RS) was originally identified in 1966 by the Austrian neurologist Andreas Rett, but his research and findings were written in an obscure form of the German language the medical world could not and did not translate. It wasn't until 1983, that Rett syndrome was re-identified and labeled as its own disorder (Hunter, 2007). The Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (2006) summarizes the condition best with: Rett syndrome is a debilitating neurological disorder diagnosed almost exclusively in females. Children with Rett syndrome appear to develop normally until 6 to 18 months of age when they enter a period of regression, losing speech and motor skills. Most develop repetitive hand movements, irregular breathing patterns, seizures and extreme motor control problems. Rett syndrome leaves its victims profoundly disabled, requiring maximum assistance with every aspect of daily living. There is no cure. (Retrieved October 14, 2008 from http://www.rsrf.org/about_rett_syndrome/) Research is ever going to regards to Rett syndrome. What is known as of now is that Rett syndrome is caused by a mutation of the gene MECP2. It is not passed down in families and it knows no ethnic boundaries. The majority of Rett girls live to adulthood (RSRF, 2006). The male child doesn't usually survive birth with Rett syndrome

Accessible Font. A typeface for teaching strategies of autistic individuals based on latin script

The present research is based on studies in the areas of psychology, pedagogy and design. It was investigated the reading process and reading education strategies of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with the purpose of developing a typographic system to assist pedagogues and to develop educational aids appropriate for child's reading problems. It was used interdisciplinary research methodology in this thesis with literature study, interviews with experts and a survey study. The survey was based on the opinions and experiences of special education teachers and the following findings were presented: • The student with autism may have difficulties learning to read. • They may mistake similar letters with each other, for example b and p, due to the similarity in letter shape. • Their reading pattern may be characterized by impaired or normal delayed reading pattern. According to the combined results of special education teachers’ common opinions, legibility studies and literature study, the prototype of a typeface for individuals with autism, learning disabilities was developed. The Accessible Typeface v.1, v.2, v.3, v.4, v.5 family has been developed with the intention to ease individuals ability to learn reading and minimize mistakes in reading. However, before being implemented, this font family should be tested to conclude whether it is beneficial or not to teach an individual who has an autism or learning disabilities in reading

Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens

This second edition provides key information, updated program ideas, and practical tips that will help library workers feel more prepared to serve members of this prevalent population. Since the first edition of this landmark guide was published, there has been increased interest in services for library patrons on the autism spectrum; indeed, more people of all ages now self-identify as autistic. Those who understand the unique characteristics of autistic young people know that ordinary library programming guides are not up to the task of effectively serving these library users. Well qualified to speak to this need, Anderson is an educator, library researcher, and former public librarian who has helped to develop two IMLS funded initiatives that train library workers to better understand and serve autistic patrons. … [Amazon.com]https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/stemps_books/1003/thumbnail.jp

iPads and Autism: The Impact of iPads on Social and Academic Development in Autism

In October of 1938, Dr. Leo Kanner, an Austrian native who had founded the first children’s psychiatry clinic at Johns Hopkins University eight years prior, received a thirty-three page letter from a disgruntled and worried father about his son who he referred to as Donald T. The letter explained to Dr. Kanner several aspects of the child in gripping detail, stating that Donald T “was happiest when he was alone…drawn into a shell and living with himself…oblivious to everything round him. He had a mania for spinning toys and liked to shake his head from side to side and sprint around in circles while having routine tantrums when disrupted” (Fischbach, 2007). It was from this letter that Dr. Kanner initially realized that Donald T. was not at all like many of the other five year old boys with which he had been working. After reading the letter, Kanner requested a meeting with young Donald T., and his initial suspicions about the child were quickly confirmed. Donald T not only showed many of the symptoms that were explained earlier by his father but he also showed several explosive tendencies that included the use of irrelevant words and constant repetition of statements; he also almost always referring to himself in the third person. It was this very meeting with Donald T that led to Dr. Kanner’s further research into the disorder, which would be later named Autism (Fischbach, 2007)

Utilizing Mobile Technology to Improve Accessibility for Museum Visitors with Autism

What if museums could provide an app that makes interaction easier for visitors with autism and allows them to enjoy the museum any day of the week like their neurotypical counterparts? This research discusses how museums can utilize downloadable apps for personal devices to provide easily accessible resources for children on the autism spectrum and their families to use so they can have a more inclusive and sensory-friendly museum experience. To determine the feasibility of this, I worked in collaboration with an app developer, Peter Laurin, to create a prototype-app called SenseEase: Strong Museum for the Reading Adventure Land exhibit area at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester. The app caters to children ranging from four to twelve years of age, and aims to help prepare them and their families for their museum visit and help them cope with the overwhelming sensory stimulation that occurs in this particular museum environment. To evaluate the effectiveness of the app, I conducted two rounds of user testing, one with a general audience and one with my target audience for the app, and found that SenseEase: Strong Museum was a well-received and effective aid for children on the autism spectrum and their families navigating the unfamiliar and overstimulating environment at the museum

Standardising the design of educational computer reading programs for children.

Educationalists working in the sphere of special education, psychologists and software engineers continue to debate the efficacy of technology interfaces and the merits of information technology with regard to supporting learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and the need to standardise software design for this group. This research argues that, for these children to optimise the use of this technology, it must be designed to meet the learning needs and characteristics of this condition, and so a design/development standard is needed. There is currently no instruction to aid educational professionals in choosing suitable computer programs that can be employed to support learning to read in children with ASD. The present research offers a rigorous comparative analysis of the multimedia conditions. A selection instruction (SI) was developed to facilitate the choice of appropriate computer programs for children with ASD, and forms part of the pilot study for this investigation, which was later modified and developed into an educational computer programs design standard. This SI serves as a set of guidelines that is intended to assist professionals and the parents/guardians of children with ASD in their search for good, useable programs that will assist in the acquisition of early reading skills by this group. This research advocates the development of effective computer programs based on individualistic considerations and the stringent application of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) principles in the design of multimedia computer technology for children with ASD. Two educational programs were employed in the investigation, and the data collection method included quantitative (pre-tests; a comparative study of children with ASD and typically developing children in videorecorded sessions, and post-tests) and qualitative (interviews, and an attitude questionnaire) methods. This approach was triangulated, thereby promoting the validity and rigour of the investigation. The present research concludes that, although there were recorded gains in the application of computer technology to teach new words to children with ASD, there were problems relating to the appropriateness and suitability of the programs for the children employed in this research, as detected during the interviews and from the attitude questionnaires, noting the need for autistic preferences in the design and development of these educational computer programs. This investigation offers a broader approach to the theoretical understanding and explanation of autistic learning styles, reading methodologies and issues relating to the design, development and usability of multimedia computer technology. Attention is drawn to the inadequacy of the existing technology and research into ASD and how the disorder affects learning in these children