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What kind of a future?: supporting young people with Down's syndrome to lead full lives after they leave school
- Author:
- MORGAN Hazel
- Publisher:
- Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 42p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This booklet was produced by the Foundation for People with Learning Difficulties. It is for young people and their families, friends and supporters to read and talk about together. The booklet tells the stories of young people with Down's syndrome and how they come to lead full lives after they leave school. It is written in plain English and there is an easy read summary. At the end of each section there are ideas for young people and information about some easy read websites and booklets. There is a final section on useful addresses and information for families.
Help to move on: transition pathways for young people with learning difficulties in residential schools and colleges
- Authors:
- HESLOP Pauline, et al
- Publisher:
- University of Bristol. Norah Fry Research Centre
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 91p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
The study by the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol and HFT (The Home Farm Trust) found that the move from school or college is a stressful time for families and young people with learning disabilities. Despite government guidance on transition planning for this group of young people, the distance away from home often gets in the way of careful and timely planning for the next move. For the 15 young people who took part in the research, there appeared to be a lack of meaningful choice about what to do next other than remaining in residential education or training. Paid work did not feature as a strong possibility for the future. The study found that families and young people wanted more help and support to steer themselves through this tricky stage in their lives. Better information, more forward planning and sustained relationships with key professionals were all things which families thought would make a positive difference. Initial research findings from the study were used by ‘Action Learning Sets’ in five local authorities in south-west England who wanted to review and improve transition pathways for this group of vulnerable young people.
Social relationships and friendships of children with developmental disabilities: implications for inclusive settings. A systematic review
- Authors:
- WEBSTER Amanda A., CARTER Mark
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 32(3), September 2007, pp.200-213.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The engagement of children with developmental disabilities (DD) in social relationships with typically developing peers has become increasingly important as inclusive practices have become more the norm than the exception. This paper provides an overview of the research on social relationships between these two groups. Studies were included if they provided a naturalistic examination of the relationships between children with DD (from the age of 3 years to school exit) and peers they have met in school or in age-appropriate educational settings. A total of 36 studies are reviewed, providing a framework for analysis of the relevant research, with a particular focus on implications for inclusive settings. Three specific areas are addressed: (a) features of social relationships; (b) types of social relationships and roles assumed by the individuals involved; and (c) the existence and nature of friendship within these relationships. Research on relationships between children with DD and their peers in inclusive settings is patchy, limited in context, and non-linear in its development. Directions for future research are discussed, together with a range of methodological issues that should be considered.
Mainstream students' attitudes to possible inclusion in unified sports with students who have an intellectual disability
- Authors:
- TOWNSEND Michael, HASSALL John
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(3), May 2007, pp.265-278.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Schools in New Zealand do not normally include students with intellectual disability in their sports programmes. This study examined regular students’ attitudes towards the possible inclusion of students with an intellectual disability in an integrated sports programme within their school. A total of 170 school students at year 6 (10 years) and year 12 (16 years) at four Auckland schools completed an attitude scale assessing their acceptance of a possible unified sports programme at their school, a test of their knowledge about Special Olympics, and wrote open-ended comments about unified sports; a subsample at each age level was interviewed. Students had positive attitudes towards possible involvement alongside students with an intellectual disability in unified sports. These attitudes were moderated by age and gender, but not knowledge about Special Olympics. The strengthening of inclusion and normalization through unified sports would likely have positive peer social acceptance by typical students in New Zealand.
Perspectives of inclusive education in Russia
- Authors:
- LARSKAIA-SMIRNOVA Elena, ROMANOV Pavel
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 10(1), 2007, pp.89-105.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper discusses the issues of exclusion and inclusion of children with disabilities in educational policies. The background and context for inclusion in Russia is described, with a short overview of the history of special education and with the emphasis on the current legislative conditions for inclusion. The article analyzes peculiarities of the hidden curriculum in a Russian boarding school for children with disabilities, and discusses the ways in which special education constructs the students' identities. In particular, practices of socialization in an educational institution for children with motor impairments are considered using the qualitative methodology of ethnographic observation and interviews. In addition, the attitudes of contemporary mainstream school students towards the idea of inclusive education are explored and a case of integration of a disabled child into a regular school setting is considered. Finally, the authors outline some policy recommendations and the prospects for inclusion.