Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can cause significant social, communication and behavioural challenges. Introducing Therapeutic Robotics for Autism is the first book to explore the use of Robot Assisted Therapies (RAT) for children with ASD. Raheel Nawaz and Sara Ali present a holistic picture, exploring state-of-the-art robot assisted therapies available for supporting children with ASD, the impact of various robot assisted therapies on different communication skills, and challenges with robotic therapies. The book concludes with policy recommendations for parents, psychologists, therapists, and roboticists working in the domain. Written accessibly from the user's perspective, Introducing Therapeutic Robotics for Autism is a must read for researchers from related disciplinary backgrounds including robotics, educational psychology, cognitive sciences, and ASD.

In higher education systems, equal importance must be given to differently abled students. However, not all educational institutions have infrastructure and facilities to admit these students even though accessibility and support for these students is growing. There are many schemes, facilities, services, and financial assistance available to these students along with new assistive technologies that are making teaching and learning processes more effective. While using new technologies in education systems such as e-learning and blended learning, these students need special attention as well as some advanced training and additional features in the technology itself that better help them become familiar with it. Understanding the demands and requirements of differently abled students is the best way to provide them with quality education. Assistive Technologies for Differently Abled Students explores how to implement effective assistive technologies and other related services for providing differently abled students an education that is high quality and equal to their peers, enabling them to go on and excel in their field and obtain employment. Topics that are highlighted within this book include an overview for the different types of diverse assistive technologies for all types of students including students with visual impairments, learning disabilities, physical challenges, and more. This book is ideal for school administrators, researchers of higher educational institutes, non-governmental organizations, assistive technology experts, IT professionals, social workers, inservice and preservice teachers, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students looking for information on the types of assistive technologies being employed in education for all types of differently abled students.

Edited by Stephanie W. Cawthon and Carrie Lou Garberoglio, Research in Deaf Education: Contexts, Challenges, and Considerations is a showcase of insight and experience from a seasoned group of researchers across the field of deaf education. Research in Deaf Education begins with foundational chapters in research design, history, researcher positionality, community engagement, and ethics to ground the reader within the context of research in the field. Here, the reader will be motivated to consider significant contemporary issues within deaf education, including the relevance of theoretical frameworks and the responsibility of deaf researchers in the design and implementation of research in the field. As the volume progresses, contributing authors explore scientific research methodologies such as survey design, single case design, intervention design, secondary data analysis, and action research at large. In doing so, these chapters provide solid examples as to how the issues raised in the earlier groundwork of the book play out in diverse orientations within deaf education, including both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Designed to help guide researchers from the germ of their idea through seeing their work publish, Research in Deaf Education offers readers a comprehensive understanding of the critical issues behind the decisions that go into this rigorous and important research for the community at hand.

More students on the autism spectrum are taught in general education settings today than ever before, bringing an array of notable strengths and skills that add intriguing new dimensions to educational programs. But these students also present challenges that are broader, deeper, and more intractable than those of their typically developing peers. Because reaching and teaching students on the autism spectrum in an inclusive environment complicates the work of teachers, school and district administrators must be prepared to provide knowledgeable, mindful leadership. With warmth and wisdom informed by her experience as a school administrator, autism educator, clinician, and parent of a son on the spectrum, Barbara Boroson provides a holistic look at the challenges students on the spectrum face in the areas of anxiety, executive function, sensation, communication, socialization, engagement, and cognitive acquisition. You'll learn to decode the functional and behavioral manifestations of these challenges, and you'll gain practical and research-based preemptive, supportive, and responsive strategies. You will also find: Insight into the perspectives of parents and guardians, along with guidance on partnering with them in ways that acknowledge both their expertise and yours. Tips for modeling transparency and creative differentiation in order to set an inclusive tone throughout your school or district. Supplemental materials to help you engage and educate families and the entire school community about autism, inclusion, and best-practice policies. Decoding Autism and Leading the Way to Successful Inclusion empowers school and district leaders to ensure that students on the spectrum are welcome, supported, understood, and set up for success. It's an essential resource for any education leader committed to achieving a differentiated, equitable, and inclusive learning environment for all students in their care.

In the fall of 2009, Amy Lutz and her husband, Andy, struggled with one of the worst decisions parents could possibly face: whether they could safely keep their autistic ten-year-old son, Jonah, at home any longer. Multiple medication trials, a long procession of behavior modification strategies, and even an almost year-long hospitalization had all failed to control his violent rages. Desperate to stop the attacks that endangered family members, caregivers, and even Jonah himself, Amy and Andy decided to try the controversial procedure of electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. Over the last three years, Jonah has received 136 treatments. His aggression has greatly diminished, and for the first time Jonah, now fourteen, is moving to a less restricted school.

"Each Day I Like It Better" recounts the journeys of Jonah and seven other children and their families (interviewed by the author) in their quests for appropriate educational placements and therapeutic interventions. The author describes their varied, but mostly successful, experiences with ECT.

A survey of research on pediatric ECT is incorporated into the narrative, and a foreword by child psychiatrist Dirk Dhossche and ECT researcher and practitioner Charles Kellner explains how ECT works, the side effects patients may experience, and its current use in the treatment of autism, catatonia, and violent behavior in children.

Finding out that your child is on the Autism Spectrum is just the beginning. The diagnosis will give you some information, but the choices parents make next can impact the journey that the child and the family must follow. This journey is likely one of great highs and some very challenging lows. Parenting the Autistic child is a unique parenting experience for many reasons. First, your child may have difficulty communicating their needs. Second, the systems and organizations your child will have to navigate are rarely designed with Autism in mind. As a parent, you will need to be engaged in learning about Autism every day. Certainly, this includes learning about your child, but you must be seeking external knowledge too. Autism Parents must actively gain knowledge about necessary therapies, developmental pediatricians, available resources, autism support services, the school systems, the legal systems, the criminal justice system and on and on. While the learning curve is step, the challenge is intensified because the parents of autistic children are often very isolated. How can they obtain the critical information needed for them to develop and protect their child? This book offers insight into the information parents will need to support their Autistic child from their first day of school until their last. Each chapter provide knowledge regarding a critical aspect of parenting including specific steps, potential challenges, research and antidotes about different aspects of the Autistic individual's academic experience. This book will fill the gap between autism peer reviewed literature and self-help parented advice books. The objective is to offer critical information that parents will need to develop their child and keep their child safe throughout their academic experiences. Each chapter will include research, antidotes, resources, and critical steps to help navigate the special needs academic environments autistic children will experience. The chapters will be presented in a reader friendly format to support diverse parent learning needs. The book is designed to empower parents and to help parents empower their autistic children.

The ability of educators to provide a nurturing environment to support students' cognitive, social-emotional, and physical well-being can impact not only the classroom as a learning space but may also have a long lasting effect on children and families. Educators are seeking ways to become better informed on how trauma can affect learners, individually and as a group, while also searching for evidence based practices to support pedagogical decision-making. This book provides readers with the opportunity to critically reflect upon ways research connects to practice while considering how stressors can be minimized to support students. A special section related to educators' personal and professional growth is also included.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"Choice" Outstanding Academic Title 2003

"Burch's rich and well-researched chronicle of the U.S. Deaf community's efforts to claim and shape their full participation in public life between 1900 and 1942 reminds historians of the many forms debates have taken in U.S. history regarding how a proper citizen should look, act, and speak."
--"Reviews in American History"

"Burch offers insightful comparisons. Her book is important to the fields of Deaf studies and disability studies, but it will appeal to social historians as well."
--"Journal of American History"

"Forcefully and gracefully narrates Deaf people's dramatic struggle against hearing oppression in the early twentieth century. Incorporating new data from archival research and community interviews, Burch applies tools of social analysis to challenge earlier interpretations that underestimated Deaf people's success in preserving their core values. The resulting study is fascinating and important to students of American social history and disability."
--John Van Cleve, Gallaudet University

During the nineteenth century, American schools for deaf education regarded sign language as the "natural language" of Deaf people, using it as the principal mode of instruction and communication. These schools inadvertently became the seedbeds of an emerging Deaf community and culture. But beginning in the 1880s, an oralist movement developed that sought to suppress sign language, removing Deaf teachers and requiring deaf people to learn speech and lip reading. Historians have all assumed that in the early decades of the twentieth century oralism triumphed overwhelmingly.

Susan Burch shows us that everyone has it wrong; not only did Deaf students continue to use sign language in schools, hearing teachers relied on it as well. In Signs of Resistance, Susan Burch persuasively reinterprets early twentieth century Deaf history: using community sources such as Deaf newspapers, memoirs, films, and oral (sign language) interviews, Burch shows how the Deaf community mobilized to defend sign language and Deaf teachers, in the process facilitating the formation of collective Deaf consciousness, identity and political organization.

A volume in Critical Concerns in Blindness Series Editor Edward C. Bell, Louisiana Tech University All parents hope for an independent future for their blind/visually impaired child. To turn that hope into a reality, parents need to understand the scope of skill development that must be addressed, along with the importance of equal expectations for the child's development, proper training, and opportunity to practice and develop skills. But what if expectations are low, training in blindness skills is scanty or even absent, and overprotection prevents the blind/VI child from learning and practicing skills? The idea of an independent future can remain a distant dream. The purpose of this book is to guide parents and teachers in fostering the blind/visually impaired child's skill development in such critical areas as academics, independent movement and travel, social interaction, daily living, and self-advocacy, so that he or she will truly be on the road to an independent future. A practical, easy to use guide, written in plain English, the book warns about common problem areas and provides ideas for getting and keeping the child's education and development on track. It highlights the interplay between skills and competence, confidence, self-respect, and the respect of others. Of the small number of books and videos available on the subject, most were written by professionals in the field and many begin with the supposition that blindness is at best sad and at worst tragic. Few --maybe none --have the ardent passion for independence that the parent of a blind/visually impaired child brings to the subject. Instead of overwhelming parents and teachers with the difficulty of the undertaking before them, Getting Ready for College Begins in Third Grade will inspire their confidence and enthusiasm for the task at hand.

This empowering workbook and guide will help children and young people to develop a positive understanding of their autistic identity, whilst providing key adults with the tools needed to support their journey and initiate important conversations. The workbook is highly structured and visual, broken down into key sections such as Interests and Focus, Masking, Emotions and My Autistic Identity Statement to create a personal passport and to develop a deeper understanding of what autism means to the young person as an individual. The accompanying guide provides background information, covering topics such as the social and medical models of disability and Monotropism, as well as a clear approach to help the adult to initiate key conversations, with examples of 'possible prompts' as well as concrete, supportive strategies. Content has been shaped by autistic advisors and contributors, with first-hand experiences woven throughout both books. Having a positive understanding of your autistic identity is an indicator of higher self-esteem and wellbeing as an adult. This set supports the development of this and will be valuable for autistic children and young people aged 10+ and the adults working with them.

The challenges associated with the education and treatment of children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have proven to be both persistent and exceedingly complex. Thus, our best hope for improving outcomes for students with or at risk for EBD lies not in miracle cures or the eradication of all disorders, but in the incremental progress that furthers our understanding of the nature of EBD, enabling us to systematically refine interventions. Toward these goals, this volume focuses on emerging research and issues related to students identified with or at risk of EBD. Chapters within the volume include reports of original research, and summaries of new and emerging research issues. Specific topics include: bullying; technology-based self-monitoring; issues around the direct observation of both student and teacher behavior; the characteristics of youth served in residential or other alternative settings because of their EBD; and the application of function-based logic to social skills intervention. Two additional chapters examine issues around identifying evidence-based practice in EBD, including guidance for practitioners who may be overwhelmed by the challenges of teaching students with EBD, as well as the vast array of resources they must sift through to locate credible and reliable information on effective interventions.

Human-computer interaction studies the users and their interaction with an interactive software system (ISS). However, these studies are designed for people without any type of disability, causing there to be few existing techniques or tools that focus on the characteristics of a specific user, thus causing accessibility and utility issues for neglected segments of the population. This reference source intends to remedy this lack of research by supporting an ISS focused on people with visual impairment. User-Centered Software Development for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of innovative research on techniques, applications, and methods for carrying out software projects in which the main users are people with visual impairments. While highlighting topics including mobile technology, assistive technologies, and human-computer interaction, this book is ideally designed for software developers, computer engineers, designers, academics, researchers, professionals, and educators interested in current research on usable and accessible technologies.

While governing bodies have mandated that all students have the right to an education, with disabled students treated to the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled students, policymakers do not always agree on what all-inclusive education should look like. Challenges Surrounding the Education of Children with Chronic Diseases explores the needs that children with certain conditions-such as diabetes, cancer, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease-might have in the classroom. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics relating to pre-service teacher training, school administrators' policies, and the experiences of children with chronic health conditions, this book is an essential reference source for teachers, educators, school administrators, policymakers, and anyone else concerned with inclusive educational rights for all students.

Based on the Autism Works Now! (R) Workplace Readiness Workshop, this interactive resource shows how to help students aged 14-17 develop the necessary transition skills for getting and keeping a meaningful job, with accompanying worksheets available to download. Structured around 2-hour weekly sessions over an eight month period, the program is ideal for teaching to groups of students with autism. It covers essential topics such as organization and time management, interview skills, appropriate workplace attire, and networking. It advises on how to arrange a field trip to local businesses so students can gain experience of being in the workplace. Worksheets and questionnaires help to track progress and discover what types of job will be appropriate based on an individual's skills and interests, and the book also includes a template for creating effective resumes.

The aim of this practical and user-friendly A to Z handbook is to enable the interested reader to gain quick and easy access to entries relating to or associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It focuses on adult problems as well as those of children and adolescents. The entries clearly and succinctly define and explain emotional behavioral terms and some of the different ways in which emotional and behavioral problems can be approached or treated. Where appropriate, entries are accompanied by a brief bibliography. Useful addresses and contact phone numbers are also provided where appropriate. This guide is useful for all teachers, mentors, social workers, educational social workers, educational psychologists, counselors, care workers, students and other professionals and voluntary workers in allied fields. It will also be of interest to parents and carers.

High-risk youth are rarely able to succeed in school, on the job, in their family relationships, or in society at large. They often express hopelessness, frustration, anger. Even after they have acquired skills and have begun to work, they tend to lose jobs, fail again in schools, and become involved in crimes. There is a noted connection between youth who come from dysfunctional families and have low academic skills, nonexistent career goals, poor work history, drug and/or alcohol abuse, and involvement with the juvenile justice system.

Ivan C. Frank explains the need for longer term alternative educational programs in highly supportive environments for high-risk youth. He describes the features and coverage of programs in Israel and in some American cities that have rehabilitated high-risk youth.