A Cognitive and Augmentative Communication System for Special Needs Education

A triple component system which can serve basic communication and cognitive needs of developmentally disabled children in the Arab world is proposed. This system is based on a combinational cognitive model which merges Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory. The system aims to benefit three main groups of children: 1) children with hearing impairments (HI), 2) children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and 3) children with Down syndrome (DS) and other intellectual disabilities (ID), in their struggle for augmentative communication and enhanced learning. This study elaborates on the cognitive models and the methodologies for each of the three proposed components: Pedagogical approach, Dynamic Arabic text translation to multimedia elements, Multimedia-based system for daily living task learning, as well as Cognitive multimedia tutorials and exercises. The proposed Multimedia-based triple component system has been tested on a group of 100 children, 50 with DS and 50 with other IDs. Evaluation results from these studies demonstrated that the multimedia system is effective in terms of cognition and motivation for children with DS and ID.

Parent Involvement in the Education of Children with Chronic Diseases

Through parent involvement, children with chronic diseases have a lot of gains with respect to their achievement, cognitive skills, behavior, and motivation. However, although involving parents is not a new issue in the education of children, there are potential challenges while implementing parent involvement in the education of children with chronic diseases. Teachers and parents need clues and directions to figure out how to work together in order to achieve a common goal. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide information about (1) the background and benefits of parent involvement focusing on the education of children with chronic diseases, (2) the challenges encountered by parents and practitioners through this process, and (3) the solutions for those potential challenges. Lastly, recommendations for successful strategies for successful parental involvement are discussed.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and Education in Primary School Children

This chapter per the authors describes the impact that juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) has on the functioning of children within elementary school settings. Suggestions for teachers, educators and administrators regarding the ways in which they may assist children in adapting to obstacles encountered at school (academic and social), as they relate to the disease. Exploration of the partnership between a child with JIA, his/her family and members of the health care and educational teams is examined.

The Experience of Cancer and Asthma in the Pediatric Patient

This chapter describes a family physician's perspective of two chronic diseases. The purpose of the chapter is to share some of the insights of a family doctor in treating children's chronic diseases, specifically pediatric cancer and asthma. The physician's experience spans over 36 years of practice in three countries: France, Israel, and Canada—three first-world countries whose medical systems are continually adapting new protocols of practice based on findings and recommendations from rigorous theoretical and empirical research. A short review of these two diseases and their prevalence among children is provided. Recommendations for schools and teachers who work with children who have chronic diseases are discussed.

Imagining Social Equity

In my view, work in special and inclusive education, and early childhood special education intervention is challenging and exciting. The children and young people (and adults) with complex special needs have become the shared responsibility of both educators and many other allied health professionals in recent years. The unique patterns of special education service delivery to these children and young people require work in interdisciplinary teams. The mission and concern of the chapter offers the interdisciplinary community in the education sector including teachers, academics, graduate students, policy makers, researchers, non-governmental organisations, government officials, school boards, medical and paramedical professionals, and advocacy groups the opportunity to work together to explore what notions of social equity mean, and to investigate ways of ameliorating disadvantage in special and inclusive education, and early childhood special education intervention sectors.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in the Inclusive School Setting

This chapter will provide readers with a general overview of the pathophysiology and treatment of type one diabetes mellitus. Signs and symptoms of potential diabetic emergencies will be highlighted allowing educators to better care for their students with this disease. Laws protecting this group of students will be reviewed. The different types of education and medical plans available for these students. Lastly, the authors present a comprehensive literature review highlighting the possible neurocognitive effects of this disease.

The Educational Rights of Students with Chronic Disease

Effective implementation of services for students with chronic disease in any school district relies on a solid understanding of the rules and regulations governing the educational rights of those with disabilities. This chapter enumerates the history of the educational rights of students with disabilities, describes the key laws as promulgated by the federal government, provides a definition of a disability based on these laws, possible categories of special education services and the qualification process for 504 or special education services. This chapter discusses the consideration for education in the least restrictive environment, and key components in the development of both IEP's and Section 504 plans, issues related to providing a free appropriate public education, and the Family and Educational Rights Privacy Act. It concludes with a discussion of working with related services personnel. The two main ways students with chronic disease receive services is under IDEA in the category of Other Health Impaired or under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Challenges for Children with Special Health Needs at the Time of Transition to School

In this chapter, the transition from pre-school to kindergarten for children who need assistance with developmental/physical disabilities or chronic illnesses (children with “special health needs”) will be discussed. Services available during this transition are often inadequate to facilitate a successful school entry among children with special health needs. Administrative challenges involving multiple services agencies and differences in philosophy of pre-school and kindergarten service providers reduce the continuity of services during transition. While there are numerous strategies in place to facilitate the transition process, parents have reported many barriers to a smooth transition. These include lack of communication with staff at school, lack of preparation of education professionals, late and inadequate levels of service provision. Several service recommendations have been proposed to address these barriers, whose effectiveness remains largely understudied. Additional studies are needed to examine the role of diverse strategies in achieving successful transition.

Parents as Advocates for Children with IBD at School

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is an “invisible” chronic illness, which is largely internal without significant observable external symptoms. Children with IBD experience painful and fluctuating physical symptoms caused by intestinal inflammation, as well as side effects from the medications. As a result, they necessitate special accommodations while they are in school. The Quebec Education Act (2010) stipulates that adequate services for a diverse student population must be provided. A case study conducted by Gordon (2013) with five families that participated in individual, semi-structured interviews revealed that families with a child with IBD functioned relatively well. These outcomes are contrary to the literature on families of children with disabilities. However, in Quebec public schools, parents and their children experienced teachers who lacked awareness of IBD and who provided insufficient classroom support. Hence, parents-(predominantly mothers) played an integral role in advocating for necessary accommodations on their child's behalf. This chapter will present the parents' school experiences and conclude with practical recommendations for teachers and families.

Supporting Students' Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being in Inclusive Classrooms

Many governments, organizations, and school boards have recently committed to focusing their attention on children's Mental Health and Emotional Well-being (MHEW) (e.g., Kidger, Gunnell, Biddle, Campbell, & Donovan, 2010; Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013; Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013b). Although often left out of the conversation, teachers play a critical role in supporting and fostering children's MHEW. The purpose of this chapter is threefold: (1) to introduce educators to a critical mental health literacy (CMHL) approach, (2) to identify the teacher's role in supporting MHEW in inclusive classrooms, and (3) to support educators in their efforts to provide inclusive classrooms that accommodate all needs, including MHEW, through the introduction of mindfulness and critical media literacy.