Mothers as Advocates of Social Inclusion for Children With Communication Disorders

2022 ◽  
pp. 1455-1485
Author(s):  
Shalini Felicity Wickremesooriya

Social inclusion is based on acceptance and belonging irrespective of any status, disability, or disadvantage. The ability to communicate empowers humans in their quest for social inclusion. However, children challenged by communication disorders struggle to form friendships and make inroads into social groups. Mothers, the primary caregivers in most instances, with their intimate knowledge of their children, are considered the best advocates. This study set out to identify strategies that mothers engage in to pave the way for successful social inclusion of children with communication disorders. An online survey was conducted in different geographical locations. Mothers with children aged 6-13 years who had received speech therapy or are currently receiving speech therapy were invited to participate. Data were analyzed using a mixed methods approach. Outcomes suggest that all mothers believe in social inclusion despite facing a range of inclusion and exclusionary practices. Undeterred by these responses, mothers advocate for social inclusion by engaging in a range of strategies.

Author(s):  
Shalini Felicity Wickremesooriya

Social inclusion is based on acceptance and belonging irrespective of any status, disability, or disadvantage. The ability to communicate empowers humans in their quest for social inclusion. However, children challenged by communication disorders struggle to form friendships and make inroads into social groups. Mothers, the primary caregivers in most instances, with their intimate knowledge of their children, are considered the best advocates. This study set out to identify strategies that mothers engage in to pave the way for successful social inclusion of children with communication disorders. An online survey was conducted in different geographical locations. Mothers with children aged 6-13 years who had received speech therapy or are currently receiving speech therapy were invited to participate. Data were analyzed using a mixed methods approach. Outcomes suggest that all mothers believe in social inclusion despite facing a range of inclusion and exclusionary practices. Undeterred by these responses, mothers advocate for social inclusion by engaging in a range of strategies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174462952110221
Author(s):  
Darren McCausland ◽  
Esther Murphy ◽  
Mary McCarron ◽  
Philip McCallion

Person-centred planning (PCP) puts individuals with an intellectual disability at the centre of service and support planning, identifying how individuals wish to live their lives and what is needed to make that possible. PCP has been identified as having the potential to facilitate improved social inclusion and community participation. A mixed-methods approach combined quantitative analyses with qualitative case studies of individuals with severe-profound intellectual disability to assess the impact of PCP on community participation for adults with an intellectual disability at a disability service in Dublin. We conclude that PCP may provide a good basis to plan community participation and, with the right supports in place, may provide opportunities for people with complex needs to improve their community participation. Supports including familiar staff and family are critical to the success of PCP for people with complex needs, and their absence may undermine the best intentions of PCP for this population.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Merrill ◽  
Taren-Ida Ackermann

The use of the voice in everyday communication is vital for our understanding of human interaction. The singing of popular music often amplifies vocal features from speech, which can provide insights into vocal activity in the context of the intense emotional impact of music. Three studies with a mixed-methods approach aimed at evaluating rationales and features of disliked voices in the context of popular music. In an interview study (N = 20), rationales and features for disliked voices were identified using self-selected voices. In a group testing session (N = 48) and an online survey (N = 216), these disliked voices were presented to new participants, and the vocal features and evoked emotions by the singers were investigated, assuming that the participants did not have strong opinions about the voices. The results showed that participants justified their dislikes based on object-related/sound and emotional reasons, similar to findings from studies on musical taste. Specific features of disliked voices were confirmed in the following studies, including a specific feature of popular singing styles, the twang, perceived as a squeaky and nasal sound. Further disliked features include a pressed sound, imprecise and ordinary articulation and a uniform expression. Notably, a rough voice was no predictor of aesthetic judgments. Evoked feelings relate to vocal features with similar tension levels. The measures created in the current study will also be informative for studying voice perception and evaluation more generally, which is a tool to evaluate vocal expression and items to evaluate reasons for disliked voices.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-511
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Bogenschutz ◽  
Parthenia A. Dinora ◽  
Khalilah R. Johnson

Abstract Case management (CM) is one of the most commonly used services by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), but little is known about the workers who provide CM. This study used a mixed methods approach to gain understanding of the CM workforce in one U.S. state. An online survey was completed by 35 IDD service directors (87.5% of directors in the state); and 113 CMs and CM supervisors participated in semistructured interviews and focus groups. Results indicated an annual crude separation rate of 28.2%, and participants often complained that turnover resulted in caseload sizes that prevented optimal outcomes for people with IDD. A limited applicant pool, duties focused on regulatory compliance, and inadequate wages were cited as major challenges for CMs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094069
Author(s):  
Samantha Close ◽  
Cynthia Wang

The platformization of crafting in an unequal world encourages discriminatory attitudes toward ethnic Others. Imagining that the “magic circle” of a subcultural platform can insulate users from racism is deeply misguided. We examine this thesis through a mixed-methods approach combining an online survey assessing perceived experiences of racism online and willingness to communicate with people of different ethnicities, discourse analysis of crafters’ online posts, and ethnographic interviews. As the e-commerce platform Etsy allowed “manufactured goods” to be sold in their marketplace as handmade, Western crafters channel their frustrations with a broken platform economy into racist sentiment against Chinese crafters. This study explores the implications of these Orientalist sentiments as a reinforcement of Western exceptionalism around originality and creativity, and it analyzes White fragility and the assumption of Whiteness within the crafting subculture.


Author(s):  
Britta Wittner ◽  
Luisa Barthauer ◽  
Simone Kauffeld

Social support is a crucial factor for first-generation students’ (FGS) integration at university and their educational success. FGS are often assumed to lack social support and integration, but research shows mixed results. By means of a mixed-methods approach (combination of interviews and online survey), we aimed to shed light on the characteristics in FGS social networks that classify them as high-quality networks in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the structure and setup of the social contexts from which FGS receive support. Using these characteristics, we constructed types of socially supported students and related them to academic success. For that, we conducted N = 40 semi-structured interviews linked to Qualitative Social Network Analysis at an urban German University. Prior to the interviews, the interviewees filled out an online survey (1) consisting of demographic variables and psychological scales. During the interviews (2), we followed a problem-centred interview approach for the first part and then (3) asked about the FGS’s support networks during the beginning of their bachelor’s degrees. All the interviews were coded by applying content analysis. Network maps were analysed using qualitative structural analysis (QSA). Both maps and codes were used to build three types of support as received by the students. These types were in turn connected to the results of the support forms in content analysis and the psychometric scales to estimate how students perceive different structures in their networks as supportive. The results revealed three types: small and dense bijou networks, medium networks with emotionally close alters (close-knit networks), and large and diverse networks (have-it-all networks). The types show different results for university success and perceived support for their networks.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e046977
Author(s):  
Beatriz Goulao ◽  
Camille Poisson ◽  
Katie Gillies

ObjectiveWe aimed to find out if trialists involve patients and the public in numerical aspects of trials, how and what are the barriers and facilitators to doing it.DesignWe developed a survey based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. We used a mixed methods approach to analyse the data and to identify important domains.SettingOnline survey targeting UK-based trial units.ParticipantsStakeholders working in UK-based clinical trials, 18 years old or over, understand English and agree to take part in the study.Outcome measuresTrialists’ behaviour of involving patients and the public in numerical aspects of trials and its determinants.ResultsWe included 187 respondents. Majority were female (70%), trial managers (67%) and involved public and patient partners in numerical aspects of trials (60%). We found lack of knowledge, trialists’ perception of public and patient partners’ skills, capabilities and motivations, scarce resources, lack of reinforcement, and lack of guidance were barriers to involving public and patient partners in numerical aspects of trials. Positive beliefs about consequences were an incentive to doing it.ConclusionsMore training, guidance and funding can help trialists involve patient and public partners in numerical aspects, although they were uncertain about public and patient partners’ motivation to be involved. Future research should focus on identifying public and patient partners’ motivations and develop strategies to improve the communication of numerical aspects.


Author(s):  
Effrossyni (Effie) Fragkou

Mode switching is a frequent practice in healthcare interpreting, but has received very little attention. This research aims to bridge the aforementioned gap by investigating the instances of mode switching in interpreter-mediated healthcare encounters and the implications of this practice (or lack thereof) in managing effectively the administration of patients' care. To achieve this aim, the investigator created an online survey intended for trained healthcare interpreters alone. Seventy-five responses were collected over a period of three months (May to July 2019) and analyzed using a mixed methods approach. The objective was to demonstrate how interpreters envisage mode switching from the perspective of the training they received, the applicability of switching in relation to the nature of assignments that call for such shift in modes, the differences in mode switching between spoken and sign language, the institutional or other constraints (such as time limitations, number of participants, power differential among interactants) that call for or hamper mode switching, etc. The collected answers reveal a discrepancy between training and practice as well as between prescriptive requirements and reality in the field of healthcare interpreting. The respondents' comments allow the investigator to make key training recommendations.


Author(s):  
Xavier Ramon ◽  
Marcel Mauri-Ríos ◽  
Jesús Díaz-Campo ◽  
Juan Carlos Suárez-Villegas

In the current media landscape, accountability can be promoted through a wide range of established and innovative instruments. Focusing on the Spanish context, this article examines journalists’ perceptions of in-house accountability instrument effectiveness and analyses citizens’ knowledge and understanding of these mechanisms. A mixed-methods approach was employed: an online survey was administered to Spanish journalists (N = 228), and six citizen focus groups (38 participants in total) were established in several regions of Spain (Andalusia, Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid and Valencia). Findings showed that journalists’ evaluation of media accountability instruments is remarkably limited, scoring 5.82 out of 10 points in the highest case. From the citizens’ perspective, the overwhelming lack of visibility and relative distrust towards these instruments are revealed. This double disconnect from accountability brings to light the need to rethink and reinvigorate the existing instruments so they can effectively contribute to the goal of rebuilding trust in journalism.


2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Swartz ◽  
Farzan Irani ◽  
Rodney Gabel

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to gain a deeper understanding about coping strategies by adults who stutter (AWS). Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to gather responses from 61 participants in response to a questionnaire with forced choice and open-ended questions. Participants were recruited via speech-language pathologists who forwarded the questionnaire to present and past clients who stutter. Results: Successful coping with stuttering had a positive correlation with a lower stuttering severity. The following themes where indicative of successful coping with stuttering: (1) living your life with stuttering, (2) managing stuttering with no negative impact, and (3) positive effects and speech therapy and techniques on stuttering. Unsuccessful coping with stuttering was described as: (1) avoidance, (2) negative impact on life, (3) treatment did not work, and (4) coping is difficult. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicated that AWS with a lower severity of stuttering cope better with their stuttering. Qualitative responses provided insight into how AWS perceive successful and unsuccessful coping with stuttering and how that impacts their overall quality of life.


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