Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Examining the rights of children with intellectual disability in South Africa: Children's perspectives
- Authors:
- DONOHUE Dana K., BORNMAN Juan, GRANLUND Mats
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 39(1), 2014, pp.55-64.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Human rights provide fundamental conditions for people to maintain dignity and self-determination and protect a nation's most vulnerable citizens. In South Africa, children with intellectual disability who experience socioeconomic disadvantage may be particularly vulnerable due to their cognitive impairments and inability to garner needed resources. Method: The perceptions of children with intellectual disability regarding their access to basic amenities in their home environments were examined to determine whether their positive human rights were met. Risk factors were examined in relation to these perceptions. Results: The results suggested that participants generally reported high degrees of access to basic resources. Logistic regressions suggested socioeconomic risk factors (e.g., income, education, household size, relationship status) were negatively related to children's reports of access to food and their own beds and positively related to having someone available to explain confusing concepts to them. Conclusions: The positive human rights of children living in high-risk environments should be monitored to ensure all South Africans have their rights met. (Publisher abstract)
An attachment-focused parent–child intervention for biting behaviour in a child with intellectual disability: a clinical case study
- Authors:
- MOHAMED Ahmed Riaz, MKABILE Siyabulela
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 19(3), 2015, pp.251-265.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Attachment and attachment-related psychopathology has increasingly gained focus since Bowlby introduced the concept into the clinical repertoire. However, little has been done to explore attachment, or attachment-based interventions, within the context of intellectual disability. Clinical experience, however, has demonstrated significant attachment-related problems in children with intellectual disability. This article explores one such case of a 13-year-old girl with moderate intellectual disability and severe and persistent externalizing behavioural difficulties – biting, in particular. Once the severity of the behaviour was formulated within the framework of attachment, a structured attachment-focused parent–child intervention was designed in order to repair the damaged attachment between mother and daughter as a way of addressing the problematic behaviour. Outcomes demonstrated a sustained – immediately, at 3- and 6-month follow-up – positive impact of the intervention not only on the presenting problem but also on the quality of the relationship between mother and daughter. Research and clinical implications are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Rights discourses in relation to education of people with intellectual disability: towards an ethics of care that enables participation
- Authors:
- MCKENZIE Judith Anne, MACLEOD Catriona Ida
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 27(1), 2012, pp.15-29.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article argues that human rights approaches people with learning disabilities have failed to recognise the complexity of rights claims made by and on behalf of this group. Drawing on a research project into discourses of education for intellectually disabled people in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, it discerns three rights discourses; namely, rights to full participation, rights to special services and rights to protection. These draw off a social model, a medical model and a protective model, respectively. The authors note that these discourses may be set up in contestation with each other. However, the article argues that they can be seen as complementary if viewed within an ethics of care that enables participation. Within this conceptualisation, participation is viewed within relations of care but is subject to a critique that examines the role of context and disciplinary power in constructing dependency.
The use of disciplinary and escapism methods for coping with the behavioural problems of a child suffering from Tourette syndrome
- Author:
- DAVIS L.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Maatskaplike Werk, 35(1), March 1999, pp.1-10.
Describes methods for dealing with problem behaviours of children with Tourette syndrome.
Environmental barriers experienced by urban and rural disabled people in South Africa
- Authors:
- MAAT S., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 22(4), June 2007, pp.357-369.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The aim of this study was to investigate the experience of disabled people with regard to environmental barriers in an urban as opposed to a rural setting. The specific objectives were to identify which items within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) checklist of environmental factors presented people with disability with the most barriers and to see whether the barriers were different for those living in a rural as opposed to an urban setting. The study was conducted amongst Xhosa speaking people in the Eastern and Western Cape areas of South Africa which have, respectively, 5.8% and 4.1% disability prevalences. A descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study was used to gather the data. The primary data collection tool was the Xhosa version of the ICF checklist. The sample consisted of 468 respondents, with 375 living in the Eastern Cape and 93 in the Western Cape. Physical problems were reported by 54.6 % of the sample, 14.6% had had an intellectual impairment and 9.9% had visual, hearing or speech problems. Approximately 2% of the sample reported more than one impairment. The prevalence of the different types of impairments between the two areas was similar. Respondents from the urban area reported experiencing more barriers in the categories Products and technology and the Natural and built environment, while respondents from the rural area experienced more barriers with Attitudes. An equivalent number of people in the respective areas identified barriers in the Services category. In this study the face and construct validity of the ICF appeared to be acceptable and it is recommended that further studies be conducted to establish the reliability and content and concurrent validity of the instrument.
Complainants with learning disabilities in sexual abuse cases: a 10-year review of a psycho-legal project in Cape Town, South Africa
- Authors:
- DICKMAN Beverley Jo, ROUX Amanda Jane
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(3), September 2005, pp.138-144.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The authors describe a project established in 1990 to assist complainants with learning disabilities in sexual assault cases in Cape Town, South Africa. Complainants are prepared for court and psychologists advise investigating officers and prosecutors, and provide expert testimony. This paper examines 100 cases seen over a 10-year period. The article describes the demographics and sexual abuse history of the cohort as well as documenting speed of investigation and outcome of the trials. Almost all charges were of rape and most complainants had learning disabilities in the mild or moderate categories. No men with learning disabilities were among the accused. Questions are raised about which cases are perceived as evidentially strong. The conviction rate of 28% was almost identical to the best conviction rate in such cases in the general population in South Africa. In contrast to recent research into conviction rates in South Africa, these cases appear to have been vigorously pursued.