scholarly journals Facilitators and Barriers of Assistive Technology and Learning Environment for Children with Special Needs

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchitporn Lersilp ◽  
Supawadee Putthinoi ◽  
Theeratorn Lersilp
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Technology And Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers

The purpose of this research was to study the facilitators and barriers of assistive technology (AT) and the learning environment for children with special needs in special education schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The informants were one hundred and sixteen children with special needs, who studied in nursery to Grade 12, or with their caregivers. The instrument was a questionnaire applied by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and examined for content validity by five specialists. The results in terms of AT showed that a majority of children with physical disability needed it for mobility and use of school buildings and those with hearing disability for communication. However, most of the children did not need to use AT for culture, recreation, or sports, while many considered it as a facilitator for education. In terms of the learning environment, most characteristics of the physical environment were facilitators for children with special needs, as were those of the social environment for all groups of such children. The results of this study were useful in providing information for AT and design of a learning environment relating to the varied characteristics of children with special needs in special education schools.

scholarly journals Home Features and Assistive Technology for the Home-Bound Elderly in a Thai Suburban Community by Applying the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supawadee Putthinoi ◽  
Suchitporn Lersilp ◽  
Nopasit Chakpitak
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
International Classification ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Disability And Health ◽  
Ageing In Place ◽  
Personal Use ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

The ageing population is having an impact worldwide and has created a serious challenge in Thailand’s healthcare systems, whereby healthcare practitioners play a major role in promoting independent interaction of their client’s abilities, as well as environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to survey features of the home and assistive technology (AT) for the home-bound elderly in the community of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Home evaluation included features inside and outside the home, and AT was based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) concept. Methods included observation and an interview that were used by the researcher for evaluation. The study found that every home had at least one hazardous home feature such as inappropriate width of the door, high door threshold, tall stair steps, no bedside rail, and inappropriate height of the toilet pan. AT was found in houses as general products and technology for personal use in daily living and for personal indoor and outdoor mobility as well as transportation. Therefore, home features and AT can afford the home-bound elderly independent living within the community. Perspective AT according to the ICF concept could provide a common language for ageing in place benefits.

scholarly journals Using Tablet Computers with Elementary School Students with Special Needs: The Practices and Perceptions of Special Education Teachers and Teacher Assistants / Utilisation des tablettes électroniques avec des enfants d’école primaire à besoins spéciaux

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Marie Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Tablet Computers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Teacher Assistants

Twelve special education teachers and teacher assistants who have instructional experience using iPads with children with special needs completed a survey that queried their practices and perceptions. In general, teachers and assistants were extremely positive about the value of iPads for children with special needs, particularly for children with autism, attention deficits and limitations of fine motor control. Special education teachers and teacher assistants reported most frequently using iPads to promote student language and literacy skills, although mathematics learning activities were also commonly reported. Enhanced student motivation was the most frequently reported benefit of using tablet computers in school followed by instructional planning advantages. Tablet computers appear to have the potential to be an essential aspect of individual program plans. Teaching tasks might reasonably include downloading and organizing specific applications on specific children’s tablets and professional development might increasingly focus of evaluation of tablet applications. Douze professeurs en éducation spéciale et aides-enseignants utilisant les iPads dans leur enseignement avec des enfants à besoins spéciaux ont rempli un questionnaire relatif à leurs pratiques et à leurs perceptions. En général, les enseignants et les aides-enseignants se sont révélés extrêmement positifs quant à la valeur des iPads pour les enfants à besoins spéciaux, en particulier pour les enfants avec autisme, avec un déficit d’attention et avec un contrôle limité de la motricité fine. Le plus souvent, les enseignants en éducation spéciale et les aides-enseignants ont indiqué avoir utilisé les iPads pour améliorer les compétences linguistiques et de littératie des élèves, bien que des activités d'apprentissage des mathématiques aient aussi été mentionnées fréquemment. Le renforcement de la motivation des élèves constituait l'avantage le plus souvent associé à l’utilisation des tablettes à l'école, suivi par des avantages liés à la planification de l’enseignement. Les tablettes pourraient devenir un élément essentiel des plans de programme individuel. Les tâches d'enseignement pourraient inclure le téléchargement et l'organisation d’applications spécifiques sur les tablettes particulières des enfants, et le perfectionnement professionnel pourrait de plus en plus être consacré à l'évaluation des applications pour tablettes.

scholarly journals Historical Background of Inclusive Education Development in the Nordic Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Andriichuk
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Education Development ◽  
History Of

The article analyzes and interprets the comprehensive presentation of the development of inclusive education in some Nordic countries, namely Sweden, Norway and Iceland. The article states that the special education is still an alternative form of education for children with special needs who cannot attend secondary schools in the majority of the countries. Thus, the relation between inclusive and special education allows the author to draw some parallels between these two types of study to trace the transition from one to another. The author concludes that the history of inclusive education formation in Sweden, Norway and Iceland has much in common, but the Icelandic education system has characteristics which distinguish it from the two others

scholarly journals ICF as a Problem Solving Tool in Transdisciplinary Teams

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Pretis ◽  
Silvia Kopp-Sixt ◽  
Melek Er-Sabuncouglu ◽  
Katerina Todorova ◽  
Christina Grüner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Disability And Health ◽  
Transformation Processes ◽  
Common Understanding

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) (WHO, 2005) represents an international tool to address, plan, and evaluate complex psychosocial interventions. ICF represents a common metalanguage which aims to overcome conceptual profession-specific terminology and increase common understanding and coordination of complex health intervention processes. Even though strongly recommended by the WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, etc., its use is still limited due to the necessary transformations of specific constructs (e.g. in psychology) into the new meta-categories. The paper addresses attempts to transform traditional constructs in psychology and special education into the metalanguage of ICF and provides selected empirical evidence by means of performed usability studies in Austria and Germany of these transformation processes.

Challenges and Dilemmas in the Education of Children With Special Needs in Romania

2022 ◽  
pp. 191-201
Author(s):  
Emilia Oprisan
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Integrated Education ◽  
The Road ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Inclusive Schools ◽  
Difficult Challenge

Educating children with special needs is a difficult challenge for both families and society. The newest trends in education for these children in Romania are represented by their inclusion in inclusive classes or inclusive schools. It is a beginning of the road both from a legislative point of view and from the point of view of analyzing the efficiency of the system. The issue of the resources dedicated to special education is concerned, this aspect being related both to the level of material resources and to the human resources, their availability, and the level of their training. The analysis of the progresses and the challenges that the Romanian-integrated education is encountering is an important step in identifying possible solutions for increasing the quality of special education in Romania.

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