Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Special Education
- Creators: DiGangi, Samuel
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
Having a child with special needs can be overwhelming, emotionally draining and extremely stressful for parents and their family members. Research identifies the support systems families need in order to have quality-of-life. The current study uses mixed methods to evaluate the degree to which parents and other primary caregivers in Arizona view the educational and health related services that their child with special needs and/or other health impairments received when they entered kindergarten. It evaluated the degree to which the caregivers themselves perceived the support/services that they received in order to access quality of life for themselves, their child with special needs and other family members. Finally, the research identified reoccurring themes to better understand the intricacies involved within these support systems/services that promoted or hindered positive family and child outcomes.
ContributorsOkraski, Ronni Jeanne (Author) / Swadener, Elizabeth (Thesis advisor) / Mathur, Sarup (Committee member) / DiGangi, Samuel (Committee member) / Perry, Nancy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Children with cognitive disabilities are frequently included in general education classes to access grade level curriculum and socially interact with peers. To assist with the inclusion of students with disabilities, some schools assign instructional assistants to support general education teachers. However, there is often a lack of planning time or a planning protocol for the general education teachers, special education teachers, and instructional assistant to plan for the inclusion of students with cognitive disabilities. This action research project intended to increase the collaboration among instructional assistants, general education teachers, and special education teachers by developing a Community of Practice among the three groups of professionals. The action included a jointly attended professional development opportunity on strategies to include students with cognitive disabilities in the general education classroom, followed by monthly structured collaboration meetings in which the team jointly planned for the students with disabilities. Effectiveness of the project was judged using survey and interview questions derived from Theory of Planned Behavior and the self-efficacy construct from Social-Cognitive theory. The implementation of a team planning protocol increased the team’s collaboration by positively improving communication and connectivity among the team members.
ContributorsShurman, Jo L (Author) / Marley, Scott C. (Thesis advisor) / DiGangi, Samuel (Committee member) / Sallu, Adama (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Social skill impairments and executive dysfunctions caused by epilepsy adversely affect the social, psychological, and cognitive wellbeing of children and their families.
Studies show that children with epilepsy are exposed to social, emotional, academic, personality, and behavioral problems when compared to healthy peers. This study focused on identifying the gaps between social skills and executive functioning among children with PCDH-19.
The researcher relied on the responses from the sampled population to create reliable findings, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations for this project. The study used quantitative design and self-report approach whereby the participants completed survey that was comprised of various rating scales. The study sample consisted of 25 participants. Results demonstrated a close correlation between social skills and executive functions among the children with PCDH-19 epilepsy. SSIS assessment indicated that children exhibited problems in social skills, academic competence, and behaviors. BRIEF-2 rating showed planning, attention, problem-solving, cognitive and emotional problems. The findings exhibited that the significant challenges encountered by girls with PCDH-19 include low levels of social competence which affect decision making in friendships, communicating, and interaction.
Keywords: social skills, executive functioning, PCDH-19, epilepsy, seizures, social assessment, cognitive measurement
Studies show that children with epilepsy are exposed to social, emotional, academic, personality, and behavioral problems when compared to healthy peers. This study focused on identifying the gaps between social skills and executive functioning among children with PCDH-19.
The researcher relied on the responses from the sampled population to create reliable findings, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations for this project. The study used quantitative design and self-report approach whereby the participants completed survey that was comprised of various rating scales. The study sample consisted of 25 participants. Results demonstrated a close correlation between social skills and executive functions among the children with PCDH-19 epilepsy. SSIS assessment indicated that children exhibited problems in social skills, academic competence, and behaviors. BRIEF-2 rating showed planning, attention, problem-solving, cognitive and emotional problems. The findings exhibited that the significant challenges encountered by girls with PCDH-19 include low levels of social competence which affect decision making in friendships, communicating, and interaction.
Keywords: social skills, executive functioning, PCDH-19, epilepsy, seizures, social assessment, cognitive measurement
ContributorsSmith, Lourdes G (Author) / DiGangi, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / Bryce, Crystal (Committee member) / Barnett, Juliet (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019