Do children and adolescents with Down syndrome have deficits in motivation?

There appears to be a general acceptance that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have deficits in motivation. Yet research with infants and young children has usually identified few differences in motivation for children with ID compared with those of the same mental age who are developing typically. Studies of motivation in children with ID in the middle years of childhood or adolescence are almost non-existent. However, research conducted more than 30 years ago (Harter & Zigler, 1974) continues to be cited as evidence of motivational deficits in those with ID even though the life experiences of people with ID have changed dramatically since that time.

The Journey of Becoming Involved in Urban Spaces by Children with Diverse Mobility

Participation is a word frequently espoused in the literature of childhood and urban studies. It has also been made sacrosanct through the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other rights-based policy and programming. Despite this importance, what it means and how it is experienced in the everyday lives of children with diverse abilities is not well understood. This chapter provides insight into the everyday experiences of participation by ten children 9-12 years of age, who have diverse personal mobility from various physical conditions that affect muscle and movement differently, including: Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, and Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases. The children participants live in the outer suburbs and inner regions of south-east Queensland, Australia. The chapter discusses a new way of understanding and theorising participation as a journey of becoming involved. This knowledge emerged through the children’s body-space-time routines (body ballets) and their descriptions of inhabiting urban space. This chapter also establishes how body-space-context interplays shape the experiences of becoming and being involved in everyday life, as well as the preconceptions of body embed in space which divide and constrain children and families actualisation of full and genuine participation.

Strengthening Social and Emotional Learning in Children with Special Needs

Locally and globally, guiding children’s social and emotional development is no longer optional for educators. Research undertaken over the last 20 years provides compelling evidence that early and ongoing development of socio-emotional skills contributes to an individual’s overall health, wellbeing and competence throughout life. Moreover, competence in this domain is now recognised as fundamental to school readiness, school adjustment and academic achievement. As a consequence, social and emotional learning (SEL) is an important theme in current educational policy, curriculum frameworks and classroom practice. This chapter focuses on a particular group of vulnerable learners – children with special needs – and highlights key strategies for educators to use in their everyday classroom practices to strengthen SEL in children from early years through to the end of primary school.

The quik fix study : a randomised controlled trial of brief interventions for young people with alcohol-related injuries and illnesses accessing emergency department and crisis support care

Background: Alcohol is a major preventable cause of injury, disability and death in young people. Large numbers of young people with alcohol-related injuries and medical conditions present to hospital emergency departments (EDs). Access to brief, efficacious, accessible and cost effective treatment is an international health priority within this age group. While there is growing evidence for the efficacy of brief motivational interviewing (MI) for reducing alcohol use in young people, there is significant scope to increase its impact, and determine if it is the most efficacious and cost effective type of brief intervention available. The efficacy of personality-targeted interventions (PIs) for alcohol misuse delivered individually to young people is yet to be determined or compared to MI, despite growing evidence for school-based PIs. This study protocol describes a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of telephone-delivered MI, PI and an Assessment Feedback/Information (AF/I) only control for reducing alcohol use and related harm in young people. Methods/design: Participants will be 390 young people aged 16 to 25 years presenting to a crisis support service or ED with alcohol-related injuries and illnesses (including severe alcohol intoxication). This single blinded superiority trial randomized young people to (i) 2 sessions of MI; (ii) 2 sessions of a new PI or (iii) a 1 session AF/I only control. Participants are reassessed at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months on the primary outcomes of alcohol use and related problems and secondary outcomes of mental health symptoms, functioning, severity of problematic alcohol use, alcohol injuries, alcohol-related knowledge, coping self-efficacy to resist using alcohol, and cost effectiveness. Discussion: This study will identify the most efficacious and cost-effective telephone-delivered brief intervention for reducing alcohol misuse and related problems in young people presenting to crisis support services or EDs. We expect efficacy will be greatest for PI, followed by MI, and then AF/I at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months on the primary and secondary outcome variables. Telephone-delivered brief interventions could provide a youth-friendly, accessible, efficacious, cost-effective and easily disseminated treatment for addressing the significant public health issue of alcohol misuse and related harm in young people. Trial registration: This trial is registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000108718.

Effects of dietary folate intake on migraine disability and frequency

Objective Migraine is a highly disabling disease affecting a significant proportion of the Australian population. The Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) C677T variant has been associated with increased levels of homocysteine and risk of migraine with aura (MA). Folic acid, Vitamin B6 and B12 supplementation has been previously shown to reduce increased levels of homocysteine and decrease migraine symptoms. However the influence of dietary folate intake on migraine has been unclear. The aim of the current study was to analyse the association of dietary folate intake in the form of dietary folate equivalent (DFE), folic acid (FA) and total food folate (TFF) on migraine frequency, severity and disability. Methods A cohort of 141 adult females of Caucasian descent with MA was genotyped for the MTHFRC677T variant using restriction enzyme digestion. Dietary folate information was collected from all participants and analysed using the “FoodWorks” 2009 package. Folate consumption was compared to migraine frequency, severity and disability using linear regression. Results A significant inverse relation was observed between DFE [R2= 0.201, P= 0.045, CI (-0.004, -0.001)] and FA [R2= 0.255, P= 0.036, 95% CI (-0.009, -0.002)] consumption and migraine frequency. It was also observed that in individuals with the CC genotype for the MTHFR C677T variant, migraine frequency was significantly linked to FA consumption [R2= 0.077, P= 0.029, CI (-0.009, -0.005)]. Conclusions The results from this study indicate that folate intake in the form of folic acid may influence migraine frequency in female MA sufferers.

“I’m Happy with Who I Am” : A Discursive Analysis of the Self-characterisation Practices of Boys in “Behaviour” Schools

In this chapter, I draw on poststructural theories of language to examine the self-characterisation practices of 33 boys attending special schools for students with disruptive behaviour. During a semi-structured interview, each boy was asked to describe his personality and then to choose from a selection of positive/negative word pairs. The objective was to determine whether these young people would characterise themselves in positive or negative ways. Participants were then asked if there was anything they would change about themselves if they could. Responses were analysed and compared against a discourse model developed from media reports and interviews with their principals. Findings suggest that while discourse may well ‘form the objects of which it speaks’ (Foucault, 1972, p. 49) in the eyes of teachers, principals, psychiatrists and paediatricians, it also offers a means through which the constituted subject can re-author itself in a more positive frame.

Paradigm shifts : global copyright politics and disability rights

Governments around the world need to take immediate coordinated action to reverse the 'book famine.' Disability rights don't conflict with 'normal exploitation' but copyright owners have been wary about all of the possible solutions to providing greater access. The Marrakesh Treaty promises to level out some of the disparity of access between people in developed and developing nations and remove the need for each jurisdiction to digitise a separate copy of each book. It is one of the only international agreements to mandate positive exceptions and may be the start of a pardigm shift in global copyright politics, made all the more remarkable in the face of heated opposition by global copyright industry representatives. It's not a legal problem, but one of political will. Resistance comes from a conflict with ideology: exceptions should be limited and international law should set only minimum standards.

Design after design to bridge between people living with cognitive or sensory impairments, their friends and proxies

A carer or teacher often plays the role of proxy or spokesperson for a person living with an intellectual disability or form of cognitive or sensory impairment. Our research undertook co-design with people living with cognitive and sensory impairments and their proxies in order to explore new ways of facilitating communication. We developed simple functioning interactive prototypes to support people with a diverse range of competencies to communicate and explore their use. Deployment of the prototypes enabled use, appropriation and design after design by our two participant groups; adults living with cognitive or sensory impairments and children identified with language delays and autism spectrum disorder. The prototypes supported concrete expression of likes, dislikes, capabilities, emotional wants and needs and forms of expression that hitherto had not been fostered, further informing design. Carers and designers were surprised at the ways in which the technology was used and how it fostered new forms of social interaction and expression. We elaborate on how design after design can be an effective approach for engaging people living with intellectual disabilities, giving them greater capacity for expression and power in design and offering the potential to expand and deepen their social relationships.

The educational context and services of children with additional needs in their first years of school in Australia

In Australia, children with additional needs are now primarily educated in mainstream regular classes and schools. While discussion has focused on teacher attitudes, teacher preparation and professional development to support the academic progress of children with additional needs, there is limited research examining the educational contexts and services provided to such children in Australian schools. This descriptive paper examines the educational contexts of 563 Australian children with additional needs, in reference to 3600 of their typically developing peers. Data in relation to educational setting, retention, prevalence of additional needs, access to specialist services, learning support, and individual programming are reported.

Efficient web browsing with a single-switch

This paper presents a new approach to web browsing in situ- ations where the user can only provide the device with a sin- gle input command device (switch). Switches have been de- veloped for example for people with locked-in syndrome and are used in combination with scanning to navigate virtual keyboards and desktop interfaces. Our proposed approach leverages the hierarchical structure of webpages to operate a multi-level scan of actionable elements of webpages (links or form elements). As there are a few methods already exist- ing to facilitate browsing under these conditions, we present a theoretical usability evaluation of our approach in com- parison to the existing ones, which takes into account the average time taken to reach any part of a web page (such as a link or a form) but also the number of clicks necessary to reach the goal. We argue that these factors contribute together to usability. In addition, we propose that our ap- proach presents additional usability benefits.

Playful interactions for people with intellectual disabilities

For people with intellectual disabilities, there are significant barriers to inclusion in socially cooperative endeavors. This paper investigates the effectiveness of Stomp, a tangible user interface (TUI) designed to provide new participatory experiences for people with intellectual disability. Results from an observational study reveal the extent to which the Stomp system supports social and physical interaction. The tangible, spatial, and embodied qualities of Stomp result in an experience that does not rely on the acquisition of specific competencies before interaction and engagement can occur.

Patterns of service use among persons with Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

Objective: This study assessed 12-month service use patterns among people with psychotic disorders and sought to identify determinants of service use. Methods: As part of a large two-phase Australian study of psychotic disorders, structured interviews were conducted with a stratified random sample of adults who screened positive for psychosis. Demographic characteristics, social functioning, symptoms, mental health diagnoses, and use of psychiatric and nonpsychiatric services were assessed. Data were analyzed for 858 persons who had an ICD-10 diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and who had been hospitalized for less than six months during the previous year. Results: People with psychotic disorders had high levels of use of health services, both in absolute terms and relative to people with nonpsychotic disorders. Those with psychotic disorders were estimated to have an average of one contact with health services per week. Use of psychiatric inpatient services was associated with parenthood, higher symptom levels, recent attempts at suicide or self-harm, personal disability, medication status, and frequency of alcohol consumption. Services provided by general practitioners (family physicians) were more likely to be obtained by older people, women, people with greater availability of friends, those with fewer negative symptoms, and those whose service needs were unmet by other sources. People who were high users of health services also reported having more contact with a range of non-health agencies. Conclusions: The predictors of service use accounted for small proportions of the variance in overall use of health services. The role of general practitioners in providing and monitoring treatment programs and other psychosocial interventions needs to be acknowledged and enhanced.

Moving forwards with the aim of going backwards fast : high performance rowing as a learning environment

Background and Purpose: - This paper focuses on the learning culture within the high performance levels of rowing. In doing so, we explore the case of an individual’s learning as he moves across athletic, coaching and administrative functions. This exploration draws on a cultural learning framework and complementary theorisings related to reflexivity. Method - This study makes use of an intellectually, morally and collaboratively challenging approach whereby one member of the research team was also the sole participant of this study. The participant’s careers as a high performance athlete, coach and administrator, coupled with his experience in conducting empirical research presented a rare opportunity to engage in collaborative research (involving degrees of insider and outsider status for each of the research team). We acknowledge that others have looked to combine roles of coach / athlete / administrator with that of researcher however few (if any) have attempted to combine them all in one project. Moreover, coupled with the approach to reflexivity adopted in this study and the authorship contributions we consider this scholarly direction uncommon. Data were comprised of recorded research conversations, a subsequently constructed learning narrative, reflections on the narrative, a stimulated reflective piece from the participant, and a final (re)construction of the participant’s story. Accordingly, data were integrated through an iterative process of thematic analysis. Results - The cultural (i.e., the ways things get done) and structural (e.g., the rules and regulations) properties of high performance rowing were found to shape both the opportunities to be present (e.g., secure a place in the crew) and to learn (e.g., learn the skills required to perform at an Olympic level). However, the individual’s personal properties were brought to bear on re-shaping the constraints such that many limitations could be overcome. In keeping with the theory of learning cultures, the culture of rowing was found to position individuals (a coxswain in this case) differentially. In a similar manner, a range of structural features was found to be important in shaping the cultural and personal elements in performance contexts. For example, the ‘field of play’ was found to be important as a structural feature (i.e., inability of coach to communicate with athletes) in shaping the cultural and personal elements of learning in competition (e.g., positioning the coxswain as an in-boat coach and trusted crewmate). Finally, the cultural and structural elements in rowing appeared to be activated by the participant’s personal elements, most notably his orientation towards quality performance. Conclusion - The participant in this study was found to be driven by the project that he cares about most and at each turn he has bent his understanding of his sport back on itself to see if he can find opportunities to learn and subsequently explore ways to improve performance. The story here emphasises the importance of learner agency, and this is an aspect that has often been missing in recent theorising about learning. In this study, we find an agent using his ‘personal emergent powers to activate the resources in the culture and structure of his sport in an attempt to improve performance. We conclude from this account that this particular high performance rowing culture is one that provided support but nonetheless encouraged those involved, to ‘figure things out’ for themselves – be it as athletes, coaches and/or administrators.

Name-calling by a child diagnosed with asperger’s syndrome

Rendle-Short, Wilkinson, and Danby show how social interaction is directly relevant to maintaining friendships, mental health and well-being, and supportive peer relations. Using conversation analysis, the chapter focuses on conversational participants’ pursuit of affiliation and intimacy from a language as action perspective. It focuses on the use of derogatory naming practices by a 10-year-old girl diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. The analysis shows how derogatory address terms, part of a wider pattern of behaviour evident in this child’s interaction, result in behaviour that might be thought of as impolite or lacking in restraint. It also illustrates how a single case study can draw attention to the context-specific nature of interaction when working with children with Asperger’s Syndrome. The chapter contributes to our understanding of the difficulty in pinpointing, with precision and with clear evidence, what counts as a ‘social interaction difficulty’ due to the context specific nature of interaction.