Chosen topics of supporting
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persons with a disability
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Chosen topics of supporting persons with a disability
edited by
Jolanta Baran Tamara Cierpiałowska Katarzyna Plutecka
Kraków 2013
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© Copyright by Pedagogical University of Cracow, 2013 © Copyright by O icyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Cracow 2013 Reviewers: prof. dr hab. Marzenna Zaorska dr hab. Małgorzata Sekułowicz, prof. DSW Proofread: Beata Bednarz Desktop publisher: Alicja Kuźma Cover design: Alicja Kuźma
Publication was funded by the Pedagogical University of Cracow
ISBN 978-83-7850-301-9
O icyna Wydawnicza “Impuls” 30-619 Kraków, ul. Turniejowa 59/5 tel./fax: (12) 422 41 80, 422 59 47, 506 624 220 www.impulso icyna.com.pl, e-mail: impuls@impulso icyna.com.pl Edition I, Kraków 2013
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Table of contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 7
I Some core ideas to be applied into suppor ng persons with a disability J
Z . Applying modern technologies in support of the development of children with a disability ......................................................... 11
K
B
. Life as a challenge for young people with limited ability ........... 25
A
Z . Developing friendship among children with a disability as a way of supporting their social integration ............................................................ 41
M
Z -S . Upbringing of youth with a disability to responsibility as a chance for effective psychosocial integration ................... 55
J
S ,M W . Psychosocial conditions and factors of social integration of people with a disability ............................................................ 69
I
K -S . The effectiveness of prevention programs as one of the forms of police activity in terms of social prevention and resocialization versus alternative solutions. The dilemmas of implementations ................................................................................................................... 79
K
M -Z . Development speci icity of large motor skills and spatial orientation in blind children aged 0–6 ..................................................... 91
II New approaches in the area of the development diagnosis of persons with a disability and empirical facts which prove the need to implement suppor ve prac ces B
S . A child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – diagnostics, functioning, support ........................................................................................ 103
K
B . Diagnosing school readiness of hearing-impaired children – contemporary approach. Presentation of a new diagnostic tool .... 117
T
C . The process of a complex logopedic diagnosis – theoretical assumptions and the case study analysis .................................................. 125 , K . Parents subjective perception of deaf children’s theory of mind development ............................................................................................................... 143
J A
L ,M S . Current status of cochlear implant provision in Slovakia and Germany .................................................................. 167
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Table of contents
K
P . The importance of the cochlear implant for the development of communication skills of deaf people ................................. 173
I
K ,A B . Strategies of coping with the stress of parents who have a small child with a disability .................... 183
Notes about authors and editors ................................................................................................... 199
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Introduc on Even though the theory and practice of both education and special education are moderately sensitive to societal transformations we experience one can perceive the constant changes in the ield of disability studies as well as in creating services for those who need help and supporting because of their functional dif iculties. A good example proving some of the ongoing social phenomena could be noticed in professionals’ ways of meaning and interpreting the sense, the aims and strategies used for serving the disabled persons. Nowadays, any kind of support is meant not only as a matter of caring or helping but also as an important sustainable element of educating and upbringing. In terms of theory and practice social support and supporting are recognised as core actions in social work as well as in rehabilitation and in special education. The thing is that supplementary concepts and terms follow the idea of support and supporting. Otto Speck (2005) calls many examples showing the multitude modi iers as: centres of supporting, demands for supporting, desires of supporting, abilities of supporting, diagnostics of supporting, means of supporting, offers of supporting, main points of supporting, necessity of supporting, placement of supporting, planning of supporting and forms of supporting (as above, p. 329). There are also another terms present in some readings and projects as well as in mission formulations and declarations made by national and international associations for disabled persons, i.e.: educational supporting, health supporting, cultural supporting and so on. It may lead anybody to conclusion that traditional pedagogical terminology related to upbringing and education is being removed or substituted by the term of support and supporting. And that fact appears speci ically clear when one note the importance of personalisation and entity as a paradigm, rule and attitude which is obvious in pedagogical relation and in any formal and informal social interactions. Next, it could be a consequence of promoting autonomy of each person and partnership as a basal assumption that should be exhibited in any contact between professionals and people they serve. Also the law regulations develop the ongoing phenomenon. The new legislation in Poland is going to determine a lot of changes for the prevention and the assistance for the development of pupils with special educational needs. Qualitatively modi ied model of organization of psychological-pedagogical support should be compatible with the following principles: – The principle of individualization of work with the student, – The principle of a support closer to the student, – The principle of a help closer to parent, – The principle of a support closer to the teacher, – The lexibility and adequacy of actions with the student, – The institutional and personal partnership, – The update on the classi ication of special educational needs,
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Introduc on
– The trust in the professionalism of teachers, – The con idence in the school-as an institution of a quick response. Under those rules, the students are the subjects of school activities. They should have a better chance to keep their cognitive, emotional and social needs, and should have a chance for a more effective normalization of a life situation as well. The book includes papers that show how the concepts of support and supporting are implemented into researches and practice. The authors describe their own meaning of the concepts and present their strong engagement in improving the life of disabled persons. The book consists of two parts. The irst part is devoted to some core ideas that ought to be taken into consideration while supporting persons with a disability. In the second part there are papers that present new approaches in the area of the development diagnosis of persons with a disability and empirical facts which prove the need to implement supportive practices. These published papers reveal solid connection between the theory and practice in the domains of prevention and supporting the development of people with disabilities at different stages of life. They are also the prove of the presence of the interdisciplinary and multithreaded approach in special education. Jolanta Baran Tamara Cierpiałowska Katarzyna Plutecka
References Decree of Ministry of National Education of 17th November 2010 on psychological and educational assistance provided in public pre-schools, schools and institutions. Speck O. (2005), Niepełnosprawni w społeczeństwie. Podstawy ortopedagogiki, GWP, Gdańsk.
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I
Some core ideas to be applied into suppor ng persons with a disability
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JOLANTA ZIELIŃSKA Pedagogical University of Cracow
Applying modern technologies in support of the development of children with a disability 1. In lieu of an introduc on Professor Zygmunt Bauman, a notable sociologist, philosopher, essayist and coformulator of the concept of post-modernism was asked in a TV interview held in 2010: “What sets the modern times apart in the history of the human race?” The answer he gave was that, up until now, sociological and technological progress had largely been separate and occurred in parallel, whereas nowadays, for the irst time in history, they have begun to overlap. Humanism can make no further strides without the aid of engineering – and vice versa. We are fortunate to bear witness and – simultaneously – lend our own hands to this fundamental process. Professionals involved in diagnosing and supporting children with a disability must act as observers and conscious creators, as they shape the present and future of those they aim to assist. They shouldn’t hesitate to apply modern technologies in support of their patients as well as in preventing disabilities.
2. Introduc on to cogni ve science According to dictionaries, cognitive science deals with the functioning of the human mind and attempts to model the relevant phenomena. Cognition also forms the theoretical foundation for a research domain called cognitive science – a multidisciplinary ield which draws upon such related sciences as cognitive psychology, neurology, philosophy of the mind, arti icial intelligence and linguistics. The central tenets of cognitive science include knowledge representation, languages, learning, mental processes, perception, consciousness, decision making and intelligence (i.e. cognitive intelligence). The aims of cognitive science can be expressed as follows: – explaining mental processes, – simulating mental processes with the use of computers, – developing various intelligent tools. Basing on these assumptions, it seems highly bene icial to employ computers as a cognitive tool in the course of education and mental development of children with disabilites. The computer, when used to model cognitive processes, may constitute an important element of the child’s educational space, ena-
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I. Some core ideas to be applied into suppor ng persons with a disability
bling the child to succeed in memorizing and applying useful skills. This ability is inexorably tied to the cognitive mechanisms of intelligence which underpin all learning processes. When discussing effective learning, we should focus on two distinct aspects. The irst is the duration of study. According to Bloom’s concept of imperative didactics, every child can be taught to master a given skill, although the time required to do so varies from child to child. The second aspect is the ability of applying rational concepts, which forms the cognitive expression of one’s intelligence. This ability relies on elementary cognitive determinants, such as attention span and memory capacity, but it also depends on more advanced phenomena, including the child’s learning strategies (Nęcka, 2003, p. 25). It is in relation to this notion that computers play a crucial role in the educational process and in improving the cognitive opportunities of handicapped children. In order to achieve success in this ield, two conditions need to be met. First, we require a suitable and properly programmed computer. Secondly, a competent special education teacher, capable of using such a tool, must be present.
3. The theory of informa on storage and processing as a theore cal basis for modeling cogni ve processes The theory of information storage and processing, which forms the theoretical foundation for the concepts presented in this paper, bases on the outcome of research in experimental cognitive psychology and computer science (Vasta, Haith, Miller, 2001, p. 115). This research treats humans as users of a symbolic language, with a capacity to process this language. It focuses on tracing the low of information in response to a given task. Cognition can be divided into a number of basic processes and events, which occur in a set order. These processes include: recognition, coding, searching, sorting, categorizing, developing links and coordinating various pieces of information. Information processing, when applied to the problem of cognitive development, can be traced back to Piaget’s theories which treat the child as an active participant in understanding the surrounding environment, predicating its own actions on two distinct processes, which shape cognitive structures. The irst of these processes is assimilation, i.e. extending existing structures to cover new information. The second is accommodation, i.e. modifying existing structures in response to the emergence of new information or to changes in its form, all the while preserving the internal balance of cognition (Vasta, Haith, Miller, 2001, p. 119). The models of cognitive development established in the course of research on information processing are – in comparison to Piaget’s models – more indicative of speci ic areas of development, easier to verify, more precise and more complete (and thus signi icantly less general). They base on two metaphors: multistorage and computer. The multistorage metaphor refers to the sequential memory model, which assumes that the short-term (operational) memory is a stage for a number
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of psychological processes occurring between data input (i.e. stimulus) and output (i.e. reaction) (Vasta, Haith, Miller, 2001, p. 120). For example, if the stimulus is a hitherto unknown word, it irst enters the aural register, in which it is held only for a short period of time (approximately 1 second). Subsequently, it is forwarded to short-term memory for active and conscious processing. The duration of this step is typically on the order of several seconds (up to 30), but it can be extended with the use of suitable learning strategies. The next step involves transferring the word to long-term memory, to be stored there inde initely. Thus, the long-term memory is the primary vocabulary storage mechanism for each individual. In children with hearing impairments, the presented process is derailed at the very beginning – i.e. during the sensory input stage. This necessitates replacing the malfunctioning aural receptor with a substitute – for instance, its visual equivalent. Subsequently, appropriate strategies need to be employed to ensure that the word is properly committed to the child’s memory and preserved in the long-term vocabulary store (Vasta, Haith, Miller, 2001, p. 121). Applying predetermined strategies when dealing with disabled children may prove dif icult and requires help in the form of stepwise algorithms or repeatable action schemes. The task must be clearly de ined and structured; its repeated execution should lead to behavioral automation and create cognitive synergies between related events. Tracing the consistencies and inconsistencies involved in this process enables us to categorize and de ine cognitive changes in children (Zielińska, 2004, p. 77). To summarize, we can say that proponents of the information processing theory aim to capture and describe a coherent low of information through the human cognitive system, in order to fully and accurately describe the processes which separate external stimuli from external responses. Thus, an important aspect of re ining the cognitive ield is the development of cognitive process schemes, with particular attention devoted to increasing the role of conscious control (both actionable and evaluative) in their execution. This leads us to the issue of gathering, organizing and presenting the available information (Meadows, 1997, p. 45).
4. The computer as a cogni ve tool in the handicapped child’s educa onal space The educational uses of computers are manifold. Computers help create rich and diverse study environments, introduce novel modes of communication and effect a fundamental shift from passive assimilation of knowledge to actively seeking useful information. When applied to a child’s educational space, the use of computers falls into two mutually complementing categories: they can be treated as modern tools of work or as modern study aids (in the wider context of multimedia systems). The former case enables children (particularly those with a disability) to execute tasks in a faster and more ef icient manner, while the latter deals with
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I. Some core ideas to be applied into suppor ng persons with a disability
augmenting and focusing the processes of gathering and processing actionable knowledge. Thus, computers facilitate generative and constructive cognition, enabling the child to acquire procedural and contextual skills (Siemieniecki, 2002, p. 56). This function is directly related to the use of computers as study aids and cognitive tools – an application ield which is still lacking in modern educational practice, despite the improving availability of computers at schools. Both the human congnitive system and computer architectures are capable of processing stimuli and generating responses in a systemic and intelligent manner. This ability requires access to preexisting information and well-de ined rulesets. Here, the application of computers may be discussed on several distinct levels. The most general level is analogous to the human cognitive process in general. Both humans and computers store symbolic representations of knowledge and apply speci ic rules, some of which may be subject to modi ications over time. These representations and rules are used to solve problems in a rapid and ef icient manner, but at the same time impose some constraints on the types of problems which may be solved (a comparative study of these constraints, while an interesting subject in itself, is outside of the scope of this paper). The next level covers the application of computer-related vocabulary to describing concepts and events. The inal, most speci ic level, involves computerized simulations of human behavior. This method is used to explain the cognitive processes which shape the way in which humans perform speci ic tasks. For example, when considering linguistic skills, complex human behavior may be simulated via appropriately complex computer programs. Such programs attempt to determine the rules which govern natural languages, as well as the principles through which small children are able to master the use of a language in a given period of time. They can also establish mathematical and formal descriptions of linguistic processes, thus proving that such processes are feasible in practice. These models have played an important part in theoretical studies, but have not yet gained widespread scienti ic acceptance, due to the fact that they are necessarily simpli ied and sometimes contrary to empirical observations (Vasta, Haith, Miller, 2001, p. 68). Both the concept of intelligence and the functioning of intellectual processes may be divided into four aspects, equivalent to four levels of information processing. The irst aspect relates to the ef iciency of the nervous system (i.e. the speed and reliability of transmitting impulses). The second covers the speed of processing actual information. The third involves processing strategies, i.e. selecting appropriate elements of the cognitive process and creating mental constructs which correspond to a given task. The inal aspect includes the ability to evaluate and control one’s actions (Nęcka, 2003, p. 95). The process of learning calls for the execution of a speci ic task, presented to the person who wishes to learn. Being a latent process, learning cannot be directly observed; it is, however, possible to evaluate the manner in which the given task is executed by the individual. Thus, information can be committed to memory in spite of its apparent absence in the conscious ield. Such information may later become expressed under suitable experimental conditions (or given suitable internal
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processing mechanisms). This process is sometimes termed “counterforgetting”. It is not a rarity, much like the process of information erasure and the corresponding reduction in the operating memory capacity (itself a result of storing information acquired during earlier learning attempts). Information may be expressed through the use of computers which help model cognitive processes associated both with the acquisition of knowledge and its subsequent practical use. The most important aspect of this mechanism is diagnosing the manner in which a given type of disability affects the cognitive processes of a person (in comparison with a healthy individual). This knowledge enables us to develop compensative measures, with the use of suitably programmed computers, properly trained educational experts and proper algorithms of action. In this environment, the programmer plays only a supportive and technical role, while all creative aspects remain under the control of the teacher, caregiver and validator (who – naturally – needs to be prepared to assume this responsibility).
5. Modern technologies as applied to preven ng and diagnosing disabili es The population of handicapped individuals, while highly nouniform, presents its own social and educational challenges. Thus, one of the principal issues faced by professionals who aim to assist such people is to select effective methods of support, ensuring rapid and appreciable results. Clearly, this is a ield where modern IT solutions may render invaluable assistance, both in terms of devising support programs and implementing them in practice. Our irst goal is therefore to present the applicability of computational technologies to diagnosing and assisting children with disability. It should be noted that most tools presented in this paper can be accessed with the use of a standard personal computer.
Exploi ng the poten al of the Internet in screening for speech, eyesight and hearing impairments Information technologies not only facilitate and increase the effectiveness of medical screening but also extend its potential scope. The ability to transmit large volumes of data and store it in centralized databases facilitates statistical research and enables the generation of epidemiological reports. The “TeleHealth” (Pl. “Tele-Zdrowie”) screening portal, used to test for (among others) speech, eyesight and hearing impairments comprises several multimedia applications, named “I hear…” (Pl. “Słyszę…”), “I see…” (Pl. “Widzę…”) and “I speak…” (Pl. “Mówię…”). The “I hear…” application can assess perception of sound and human speech in noisy situations; “I see…” tests for color and contrast perception and can detect symptoms of strabismus, while “I speak…” determines the effectiveness of vocalization and development of oral skills in preschoolers and schoolchildren (Czyżewski, Kostek, Skarżyński, 2002, p. 320).
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