International Journal of Developmental Disabilities最新文献

For decades, differentiated instruction (DI) has been utilized as a generalist teaching approach and an inclusive practice in order to enhance the participation of all learners in the mainstream classroom, including learners with special educational needs. The extensive use of differentiation in mainstream classrooms as the gateway to inclusive education denotes the academic and social participation of all learners in a diverse environment. However, the lack of consensus on the specific implementation of DI has the potential for exclusionary tendencies based on nuances in its implementation and approach. While several educational systems prescribe differentiation in their policies as the main way of inclusive practice, it comes with minimal guidance or training on how it should actually be implemented. In the case of Bahrain, DI is infused through pre-service and in-service education programs, as well as advised and expected by the main quality assurance agency in the kingdom. This article discussed the dichotomy of DI and how the undermining dualism to its execution can have a counterproductive impact on students' academic and social inclusion. The research questions pertaining to this study are therefore: how is DI conceptualized and implemented in primary classrooms in Bahrain? How does the degree to which this was observed contribute or hinder the academic and social inclusion of diverse learners? Data were collected from four participating teachers through a series of classroom observations and follow-up interviews. The article examined the qualitative data in primary level classrooms through a multiple case study design which elicited six main themes relating to the practice of DI: diverse teaching in response to classroom heterogeneity, mixed ability grouping arrangements, collaborative work, the peer pairing strategy, learning through play, and tiered assignments. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data based on a pre-conceived construction of the main factors of DI including differentiating content, process, and product; in response to students' readiness, learning profile, and interests. The article proposed an approach to DI that is more conducive for both the academic and social inclusion of all learners. These practices are assigned as inclusionary or exclusionary practices based on: overt versus covert differentiation; individual versus collaborative work; teacher's choice of differentiated task versus student's choice of task; and teacher's conceptualization of differentiation.

This study explored the perceptions of special education teachers of students with intellectual disabilities at three elementary schools in Saudi Arabia regarding the instructional practices and content used for teaching such students mathematics. The research employed a qualitative multiple case study design and used an open-ended questionnaire, artifacts, and teacher interviews with 14 special education teachers. By employing thematic analysis of the data collected, the following major issues were identified: (a) there is a strong focus on teaching only numbers; (b) there is an emphasis on teaching functional life skills rather than academic mathematics skills; and (c) mathematics instruction emphasizes procedural mathematics rather than mathematical understanding, also known as conceptual mathematics. These findings illustrated that elementary school students with ID in the sample did not receive comprehensive mathematics education in terms of either content or instructional practices. It might be beneficial for future studies to replicate and extend this research to incorporate observations of the classroom to obtain objective data on teachers' actual practices while instructing students with ID in mathematics.

Over the past 20 years, significant developments have occurred in Jordan to create more inclusive school settings. This is in part due to new national policies such as 2017 Public Law no. 20, Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and partly a result of international organizations' support and funding. The collective efforts are dismantling historical attitudes and beliefs about disability, yet often, intellectual disabilities remain marginalised in schools and communities. The current study explores the perceptions of parents whose children are attending inclusive public schools. Data was collected through focus groups in three districts representing central, northern and southern Jordan as a part of a needs assessment for broader inclusion work in these districts. Past research reveals that parents in Jordan are often divided on their support of inclusive education, and the survey research results do not clearly explain this division. The data indicates that parents welcome the idea of their children attending inclusive schools while expressing concerns about bullying and isolation at the hands of the other students. This is compounded by a worry that teachers lack sufficient experience supporting students with disabilities. These findings align with international research with parents of youth with disabilities and have significance within Jordan, where inclusion continues to be at the forefront of the educational agenda. The implications for this research indicate that while inclusive education is more prominent and disability is more widely discussed, there are still traditional challenges to enactment.

Objectives: Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been reported to be more likely to experience lower levels of mental health as a result of the increased challenges associated with care provision and social inclusion of their children. Social inclusion in Arab countries differs in terms of quality and practices due to ecological and cultural variations. Based on an expected impact of culture and resilience, this study investigated the relationship between social inclusion practices and mothers' mental health in two Arabic-speaking countries.

Methods: A total sample of 660 mothers of children with ASD from Oman and Egypt participated in the study and were administered measures of perceived social inclusion practices, mental health, and resilience.

Results: Multi-group path analyses showed that culture and resilience have an impact on the association between social inclusion practices and mothers' mental health.

Conclusions: Our findings have significant implications for social inclusion practices. They underscore the need to build mothers' resilience to improve their mental health. Additionally, social inclusion practices need to be prioritized by policy makers and professionals in Arab countries in order to develop a model of best practices of social inclusion across Arab countries.

This study examines the parental use of social media within autism spectrum disorder (ASD) families in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), focusing on perspectives and challenges in promoting social inclusion. Through semi-structured interviews with 21 participants, including 16 females and 5 males aged between 36 and 47, insights were gained into their experiences navigating social media platforms. Using thematic analysis, findings reveal varied approaches to leveraging social media for fostering social inclusion, alongside challenges such as misinformation and stigma. The study underscores the importance of understanding parental strategies and barriers in utilizing social media for supporting children with ASD in the UAE.

The current study aims to explore parents and service providers' attitudes towards the social inclusion of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities into society, through exercising their rights in various financial transactions and personal status matters in the State of Qatar. Additionally, the study aims to explore any differences in the participants' attitudes towards social inclusion based on their role, gender and the child's disability type. Eighty-two service providers (46 Female) and sixty-five parents (40 Female) of children with Intellectual Disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder participated in this study. They completed the Attitudes towards social inclusion of people with disabilities (ASIPD) Scale. Findings showed that the participants believe that the Shari'ah (Islamic law) places a high premium on the social inclusion of the people with neurodevelopmental disabilities and predates various modern theories on the subject. In addition, the Islamic law permits the persons with mild neurodevelopmental disabilities to engage in many contracts in the realms of financial transactions and personal status. Parents and service providers have neutral to positive attitudes towards social inclusion of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities in terms of performing some financial transactions and some personal status rights like marriage and divorce according to severity of disability. Results were discussed and further recommendations were provided.

The aim was to investigate the mediating role of emotional regulation and emotional expression in the relationship between autistic traits and empathy in Saudi students. Participants were undergraduate students at Umm Al-Qura University. A total of 398 questionnaires were sent out, and 260 valid questionnaires were received. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were conducted on the variables hypothesized in the study; on this basis, the structural process model modeling method was used to examine the impact of autistic trait empathy after controlling for factors unrelated to age and gender. This study investigated the relationship between empathy, emotional expression, cognitive reappraisal, and autistic traits in Saudi students. A statistical analysis to test the posited hypotheses was undertaken using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26. Key descriptive statistics were undertaken using the software, making it possible to study the distributions of successive measured variables. The results found that autistic traits can directly and negatively predict empathy, and also through negative emotional expression and cognitive reappraisal can indirectly predict empathy, and can even predict empathy through the chain mediation of negative emotional expression and positive emotional expression to cognitive reappraisal. However, autistic traits did not predict empathy through positive emotional expression.

This comprehensive study delves into the family quality of life (FQOL) of caregivers in Saudi Arabia, focusing on those caring for individuals with autism, intellectual disabilities, and other disabilities and those without any disabilities. Employing the Arabic version of the Beach Center FQOL Scale, the research encompasses a diverse group of 1065 family members. It reveals that caregivers of individuals without disabilities experience notably higher FQOL, especially in domains such as family interaction, parenting, emotional, and physical/material well-being. The study also identifies unique FQOL challenges encountered by caregivers of individuals with autism. These insights underscore the necessity for specific support mechanisms catering to the distinct needs of caregivers, particularly those handling autism-related challenges, highlighting a critical area for targeted interventions and policy formulation.

This paper explored the transition of a disability inclusive employment programme in a private landscaping company into a standalone social enterprise ENABLE, offering horticultural training and sustainable jobs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The research question that guided this study is: How did ENABLE evolve from a sheltered employment programme into a social enterprise that provides sustainable employment for persons with IDD? And what is the prevailing influence on the employees and the society at large? Through qualitative descriptive analysis, we explored ENABLE's development, operations, and community influence. Multiple data collection methods were utilized including semi-structured interviews with key employers, observation of employees with IDD during their working hours, and analysis of related documents. By critically analysing this journey, this study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial inclusive employment for individuals with IDD, addressing challenges faced by organisations that support disability employment in the UAE and beyond.