A person-centred investigation of the associations between actual and perceived physical fitness among youth with intellectual disabilities.

The main objective of this person-centred study was to identify profiles of actual and perceived physical fitness among a sample of youth with intellectual disabilities (ID). Participants were 377 youth (60.4% boys) with mild (49.6%) to moderate (50.4%) ID recruited in Australia and Canada. Latent profile analyses revealed five profiles: (1) Underestimation of Average Physical Fitness (5.5% of the sample); (2) Moderate Overestimation of Low Physical Fitness (17.7%), (3) Moderate Underestimation of Average Physical Fitness (31.3%); (4) High Overestimation of Average Physical Fitness (28.3%); and (5) Moderate Underestimation of High Physical Fitness with an Accurate Estimation of Average Flexibility (17.2%). Profiles 1, 2, and 3 relatives to Profiles 4 and 5 included younger participants, more participants with moderate levels of ID, and participants with a higher body mass index. Additionally, profiles 1 and 3 also included a higher proportion of youth pursuing externally-driven motives and less frequently involved in sports outside of the school. In sum, our findings showed that the tendency of youth with ID to rely on upward or downward-lateral social comparisons may have resulted in a depreciation or overestimation of their low levels of physical fitness.

Physical Activity Para Report Card for Children and Adolescents With Disabilities in Lithuania.

Despite the recognized benefits of physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents with disabilities (CAWD), collective information on this is lacking in Lithuania. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current "state of the nation" PA levels of CAWD, based on the 10 indicators from the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Global Matrix 4.0 methodology. Scientific articles, practical reports, and published theses related to the 10 indicators from the Global Matrix 4.0 on CAWD age 6-19 years were reviewed, and data were converted to grades from A to F. (A) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis was carried out to interpret the grades by four experts. Data on organized sport participation (F), school (D), community & environment (D), and government (C) were available. Data on other indicators are largely missing yet are needed for policymakers and researchers to be aware of the current state of PA among CAWD.

Parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic: differences between seven European countries and between children with and without mental health conditions.

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.

Exploring special need students' perceptions of remote learning using the multimodal model of online education.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 forced institutions of higher learning to implement emergency remote learning and to change pedagogical approaches to enhance access and success for all students. Students have mixed views about remote learning. The purpose of this study is to examine special educational needs and disabled students' perspectives of remote learning in the United Arab Emirates. The study was conducted using a qualitative case study within an interpretivist paradigm. Thirty-three special educational needs and disabled students were selected to complete an open-ended questionnaire and participate in semi-structured interviews. It was found that students applauded extraordinary convenience and reasonable accommodation they were getting as a result of remote learning. However, post COVID-19, the majority opted for face-to-face instruction as they described it as 'irreplaceable'. The study concludes that students' nature of special needs and disabilities are influential towards their choice of a mode of instruction.

Gamification as technology enabler in SEN and DHH education.

Yearly in Mauritius, only a few Special Educational Needs (SEN) and especially Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students manage to get a passing mark in French language at elementary level. As at date, literature suggests that there is hardly any French language learning tools connected with pedagogical knowledge and technological tools suitable for those children. The rationale behind this paper is to show how gamification of French learning resources can positively affect SEN and especially DHH students' understanding and level of achievement in the language. Research questions were posed about the difficulties faced when students of that specific group learn to read and write in French, about how the gamification of textual resources can be used to improve the students' learning, and the impact the games have on the students. The aim of this research is to embed gamification in the teaching and learning process of French language. Advocating for both qualitative and quantitative methods, the project based itself on the pragmatic paradigm while the theoretical framework is based on action research. Using my methodological inventiveness, data was gathered using techniques such as surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussions through the lenses of narrative inquiry. On average, most students already did quite well when subjected to their teachers' teaching methods only and showed a slight improvement for some students when games were added as learning aid.

Internet of Things (IoT)-Enhanced Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for Special Education Needs.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has become a popular behavioral therapy in the special education needs (SEN) community. ABA is used to manage SEN students' behaviors by solving problems in socially important settings, and puts emphasis on having precise measurements on physical and observable events. In this work, we present how Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can be applied to enhance ABA therapy in normal SEN classroom settings. We measured (1) learning performance data, (2) learners' physiological data, and (3) learning environment sensors' data. Upon preliminary analysis, we have found that learners' physiological data is highly diverse, while learner performance seems to be related to learners' electrodermal activity. Our preliminary findings suggest the possibility of enhancing ABA for SEN with IoT technologies.

Gambling Related Cognitive Distortions in Adolescence: Relationships with Gambling Problems in Typically Developing and Special Needs Students.

The present study examined the link between problematic gambling and gambling related cognitions (GRCs) in a large sample of adolescents with (N = 266) and without (N = 1,738) special education needs (SEN) between the ages of 14 and 18 years attending several high schools in eastern central Ontario. The adolescents with SENs were identified as having various learning disorders and/or internalizing and externalizing problems [e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)]. All adolescents completed a self-report questionnaire package that included the GRC Scale (GRCS; Raylu and Oei in Addiction 99:757-769, 2004), as well as measures of problem gambling, negative affect, and ADHD symptomatology. Results showed that adolescents with SEN hold more erroneous beliefs about gambling and had a higher risk of developing problematic patterns of gambling behaviour than their typically developing peers. Moreover, the GRCS subscales were found to be strong predictors of problem gambling among adolescents both with and without SEN, accounting for a substantial amount of the variance even when controlling for the effects of age, gender, ADHD, and negative affect. It is suggested that intervention and prevention programs aimed at adolescent gambling need to give particular attention to those with SEN.

Print and digital reading habits and comprehension in children with and without special education needs.

BACKGROUND: Text comprehension is a major obstacle for many Primary school students with special education needs (SEN). Reading episodes bring students opportunities to be exposed to new vocabulary and knowledge, potentially boosting their development of text comprehension skills. AIMS: Our study seeks to understand how reading frequency (leisure and academic) and reading medium (print and digital) contribute to the development of text comprehension during Primary school in students with and without SEN. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We tested 2289 Spanish students from fourth to sixth grade, from which 212 had an official decision of SEN. Students self-reported their reading frequency (as a measure of their reading habits) and completed a standardized text comprehension test. We employed multiple regression models with a robust maximum likelihood estimator to test associations between reading frequency and comprehension. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Students' comprehension was positively associated with their leisure print reading habits, and negatively associated with their frequency of academic digital reading. Those associations were independent of SEN status. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results highlight the importance of promoting leisure reading in print to all students, regardless of SEN status. In addition, caution is advised when encouraging Primary school children to use digital texts when the emphasis is on comprehending texts for acquiring knowledge.

Perceptions of a virtual reality sensory room for adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

PURPOSE: Mental ill health and sensory processing difficulties often limit participation in everyday life for adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Interventions using technology such as virtual reality (VR) are increasingly accessible and may mitigate these difficulties. Understanding what contributes to the successful implementation of novel interventions is important for future use and evaluation. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of implementing a VR sensory room for adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities, their carers and support staff and to explore future iterations of the product and process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen stakeholders who participated in a pilot trial of a VR sensory room were interviewed. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis. RESULTS: Eleven themes were identified which indicated that adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities found the VR sensory room to be mostly acceptable and enjoyable with usage largely consistent. Individual variation and support requirements were highlighted for each user. Future use may require modifications to the headset, in-built customisation options as well as buy-in and training for support staff. CONCLUSIONS: The VR Sensory room is a promising tool to support adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities and results warrant further scaled research into the impact of this tool on outcomes for adults with disabilities.Implications for RehabilitationWhilst adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities may experience sensory processing difficulties which impact their everyday life, there is a paucity of interventions to address these difficulties.Implementation studies offer the opportunity to explore how evidence-based interventions may be implemented to facilitate the best outcomes.A Virtual Reality Sensory Room may offer an innovative alternative to a traditional sensory room for adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities where implementation is well supported.

Educational neuromyths and instructional practices: The case of inclusive education teachers in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND: Educational neuromyths are known to exist amongst teachers in Western countries, and some researchers argue that neuromyths may affect classroom teaching. METHOD: An online survey was designed and distributed to sixty-four Hong Kong inclusive education teachers. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, Hierarchical Multiple Regression, and Thematic analysis were used to analyzed the collected data. RESULTS: First, there is a relatively low prevalence of neuromyths among Hong Kong teachers. Second, neuromyths were not significantly correlated with inclusive teachers' instructional practices. Third, teachers' general knowledge of the brain was significantly correlated with neuromyths and is a significant predictor of neuromyths. Fourth, the work-related stress of teachers was the main barrier to learning about neuroscience and adopting evidence-based practices in classroom teaching in Hong Kong. CONCLUSION: Our findings raise awareness of environmental and cultural factors that need to be considered and might affect the prevalence of neuromyths studies in non-WEIRD contexts.

[Comparative study of stress and psychological well-being in parents of children with and without special education needs during the COVID-19 pandemic].

The COVID-19 pandemic, which rapidly spread worldwide in early 2020, has affected the daily lives of parents and their children in various ways. This study assessed the overall mental health status and stress experienced by parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and the differences between parents of children with special educational needs and parents of typically developing children. Additionally, we explored potential demographic factors that may influence these experiences. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected through questionnaires completed by a sample of 205 parents (103 of children with typical development attending regular mainstream schools and 102 of children with special educational needs attending special education schools) from February to April 2021. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-S), and a demographic questionnaire. Our findings confirmed that parents of children attending special education schools reported higher levels of anxiety, reduced coping abilities, and poorer overall emotional well-being during the pandemic compared to parents of children attending regular schools. The type of educational setting that children attended was identified through multivariate analyses as the only factor consistently influencing all psychometric outcomes. Factors influencing anxiety levels included gender, older age, and family status, while family status and unemployment negatively impacted coping abilities. Taken together, the pandemic appears to have had a greater impact on the mental health of parents of children with special education needs compared to parents of children attending regular schools, highlighting the need for increased psychosocial support within this population group.

Subjective well-being and social inclusion at school for students with a disability, according to their parents, in France.

BACKGROUND: Providing inclusive, quality education for all children is one of the United Nations' sustainable development goals for 2030. AIMS: The aim of this study, carried out in France among 491 parents of children with a disability aged 3 to 18 and enrolled in ordinary schools, is to measure the well-being and social inclusion of children and to identify the factors that promote well-being and social inclusion at school. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The parents fill in various questionnaires relating to the well-being and social inclusion of their child, the quality of their relationship with the teacher and their satisfaction with the accommodations offered at school. They also provide information about their child and their socio-economic situation. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Regression analyses show that well-being and social inclusion depend on the nature of the child's disability and decrease with age but do not significantly depend on child's gender and academic level or social background. Furthermore, well-being and social inclusion can be significantly improved when the quality of the parent-teacher relationship and school accommodations are satisfying. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results of this study encourage the development of quality parent-teacher relationships to promote well-being at school.

Psychosocial Difficulties Profiles Among Youth with Intellectual Disabilities.

This study sought to identify the various configurations, or profiles, of internalizing and externalizing behaviors found among a sample of youth with intellectual disabilities (ID). These behaviors were assessed twice over one year, using self, parental, and teacher reports. Six variables were hypothesized to predict profile membership: Parent-child relationship (i.e., warmth and conflict), student-teacher relationship (i.e., warmth and conflict), peer acceptance, and peer victimization. To this end, we conducted Latent Profile Analysis among a sample of 393 youth with ID (aged 11-22 years old) recruited in Canada (French-speaking; n = 142; 49.30% boys) and Australia (English-speaking; n = 251; 67.30% boys). Our results revealed five profiles: (1) Adjusted (13.48%), (2) Mild School-related Difficulties (34.38%), (3) Underestimation of Mild Difficulties (12.40%), (4) High Difficulties (19.45%), and (5) Internalizing Difficulties Unobserved at School (20.19%). These profiles, as well as profile membership, remained stable over time. Lower levels of student-teacher warmth, lower levels of peer acceptance, and higher levels of peer victimization were associated with a higher likelihood of membership into profiles characterized by above-average levels of psychosocial difficulties, especially self-reported. Based on these findings, future interventions addressing internalizing and externalizing behaviors could benefit from focusing on the school environment, notably peer acceptance and student-teacher warmth.

Inclusive classroom climate development as the cornerstone of inclusive school building: review and perspectives.

Education institutional guidelines around the world agree that building more inclusive schools is a priority. The reality of school practice, however, belies this institutional will. To help fill the gap, this theoretical review documents the value that the construct of classroom climate brings to research and practice in terms of inclusive school development. The article firstly points out that the current main challenge is to develop Inclusive Mainstream Teaching (IMT) in diverse classrooms. Indeed, IMT is needed in all classrooms to guarantee the effectiveness of special accomodating measures in schools that are targeted at special education needs students. Intervening at classroom level is both a pragmatic and powerful way of developing inclusive schooling. However, developing IMT in the classroom remains a challenge for both teachers and researchers. Thus this review documents the central role that classroom climate should play in the development of IMT. More precisely, the factors of classroom climate that are associated with inclusive outcomes are identified. We also highlight how these factors and the measurements associated with them are efficient tools to guide IMT development. These measures are proximal, sensitive, complementary, and pragmatic indicators of effective IMT. Such indicators are very useful in helping research empirically document effective IMT, ensure that any small improvement is assessed, monitor teachers' progress, and assist their professional growth. Theoretically positioned as a mediator between inclusive teaching in mainstream classrooms and inclusive school outcomes, inclusive classroom climate is a tool that appears to be effective in supporting IMT development and, consequently, in the establishment of more inclusive schools.

School Experiences and Anxiety Trajectories Among Youth with Intellectual Disabilities.

This study investigated how the school experiences and personal characteristics of youth with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) contribute to their longitudinal trajectories of anxiety. To this end, we relied on a sample of 390 youth with mild (48.2%) to moderate (51.8%) levels of ID, aged from 11 to 22 (M = 15.70), and recruited in Canada (n = 140) and Australia (n = 250). Across three yearly time points, all participants completed self-report measures of anxiety, school climate, and victimization. Our results revealed a slight normative decrease in anxiety over time and showed that experiences of school victimization were associated with higher levels of anxiety (initially and momentarily) and increases in victimization were accompanied by increases in anxiety over time. Perceptions of attending a school that fosters security and promotes learning also tended to be accompanied by lower levels of anxiety (initially and momentarily). Momentary increases in perceptions of attending a school that fosters positive peer interactions were associated with momentary decreases in anxiety, whereas momentary increases in perceptions of attending a school characterized by positive teacher-student relationships and an equitable treatment of all students both led to small momentary increases in anxiety once all other components of student school experiences were considered. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Growing resilience capacity for learners presenting with specific learning disability in learners with special education needs schools.

Background: Preventing adversity from accelerating among learners with specific learning disabilities (SLD) is imperative. Continuous adversities, such as social-emotional, psychological and academic difficulties, characterise learners with SLD. Prior studies have been conducted on learners with SLD developing a disorder because of the difficulties they face. However, very few studies offer evidence of how learners presenting with SLD cope despite their learning disability. Objectives: The study sought to investigate what resilience resources are available among learners with SLD in learners with special education needs (LSEN) schools and to provide stakeholders with evidence of resilience enablers for learners with SLD. Method: An exploratory quantitative research study was adopted, and 217 respondents with SLD were selected through purposive sampling in four LSEN schools. These learners completed the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and the custom table was used as a statistical technique. Results: Even though the presence of SLD negatively affects an individual's academic, psychological, social and emotional functioning, the results of this study show that individual qualities, relationships with caregivers and peers and contextual resources were resilience-enabling resources for learners with SLD. Conclusion: The study's results show that the combination of individual attributes, relational and environmental factors enables the resilience of learners with SLD. When given accessible and meaningful support, learners with SLD can develop resilience. Contribution: The study contributes to the dearth of knowledge regarding the resilience of learners with SLD in LSEN schools.

A study of inclusive education provision in Zambia: Curriculum reform.

Background: The study is conducted to investigate whether curriculum reform for learners with special education needs (SEN) is taking place in Zambia. Objectives: The study objective were to investigate the extent to which curriculum had been reformed to facilitate the inclusion of children with SEN in Zambia; and determine stakeholders understanding of inclusive education policy, to evaluate the success of an inclusive programme in supporting the full inclusion of learners with SEN. Method: This study used a mixed method research design which involved data collection in seven provinces of Zambia. The researchers employed purposive sampling. The largest number of respondents were SEN teachers and administrators. The qualitative data collection tools included semi-structured interviews of individuals and focus groups. The quantitative data came from a questionnaire completed by teachers and supervisors as well as from government documents. The quantitative data were analysed using SOFA Statistics, while the qualitative data were analysed using ATLAS-TI 7. Results: Limited curriculum reform remains one of the main impediments to the implementation of the inclusive policy for children with SEN in Zambia. Conclusion: It is concluded that without curriculum reform the implementation of inclusive education in Zambia will be challenging. Contribution: There is a dearth of information regarding curriculum reform in Zambia. This is one of the studies that is attempting to plug the information gap on curriculum reform.

Validation of an Adapted Version of the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for People with Intellectual Disabilities (GAS-ID).

The objective of the study was to validate adapted versions of the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for people with Intellectual Disabilities (GAS-ID) simultaneously developed in English and French. A sample of 361 youth with mild to moderate intellectual disability (ID) (M = 15.78 years) from Australia (English-speaking) and Canada (French-speaking) participated in this study. The results supported the factor validity and reliability, measurement invariance (between English and French versions), a lack of differential items functioning (as a function of youth's age and ID level, but not sex in the English-Australian sample), temporal stability (over one year interval), and convergent validity (with global self-esteem and school loneliness) of a bi-factor exploratory structural equation modeling representation of the GAS-ID. The present study supports the psychometric properties of the English-Australian and French-Canadian versions of the adapted GAS-ID.

Validation of the multidimensional attitudes toward preschool inclusive education scale in the bilingual context of Québec.

BACKGROUND: The Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES; Lohmann et al., 2016) seeks to assess preschool educators' attitudes toward inclusive education. It has been used in wide range of settings and with varied populations, but there has been a lack of systematicity in translation, adaptation, and validation procedures associated with it. For instance, its use in French or in a French-English bilingual context such as Québec (Canada) has yet to be validated. AIMS: The present study documented the translation and validation process for the MATPIES in bilingual early childhood education settings. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The MATPIES was completed by 211 French- and English-speaking early childhood educators and administrators in the province of Québec, Canada. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the original factor structure for the MATPIES was not replicated within the bilingual Québec sample.Exploratory analyses suggested a four-factor structure encompassing 15 items, which had good internal consistency (α = 0.87). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The factor structure of the MATPIES may vary across populations. This study underscores the importance of evaluating instruments in contexts that differ from those in which they were originally constructed to ensure the validity of results.

Specific Learning Disorders and Special Educational Needs during COVID-19 Pandemic; Pilot Survey Study Performed in Local District Schools in Italy.

Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are a group of heterogeneous health deficits frequently diagnosed in early childhood that cause difficulties in general intellectual functioning. In the last decades in Italy new laws have been developed to give practical guidelines for the best education plans for children with SLD. BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of the educational treatment on SLD in Primary and Secondary schools in the Italian city of Barletta. We acquired valuable data to evaluate Special Education Needs during COVID-19. METHODS: Our study was conducted from April to June 2021, during the second "lockdown" period in Italy. A fact-finding survey was conducted to schools with a questionnaire provided to the teachers to acquire data on the SEN applied in the management of distance learning for children. RESULTS: The study involved 15 male and 6 female pupils with SLD in Primary Schools and 18 male and 6 female in Secondary Schools. The schools participating in the study organized distance learning programs with a support teacher with a 1:1 ratio. Data showed that all children with SLD needed a support teacher. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this pilot study suggest that distance learning programs are able to achieve adequate educational goals, despite the difficulties of the lockdown period.