Among the disabilities covered at the state and federal levels, autism and related conditions are a sharply growing diagnostic category among children and young adults. In education, administrators and practitioners working with affected learners are continually faced with confronting difficult problems such as getting adequate personnel training and choosing appropriate tools and techniques that best fit the specific needs of their students while at the same time satisfying their budget, technical resources, curriculum, and profile of the ASD population they serve. The choice of appropriate tools is especially complex due to the intrinsic connection between technical specifications, educational/therapeutic methods, and the wide variety of ASDs and related conditions. In this respect, tools chosen to support children may need to target those diagnosed not only with ASD but also with such co-morbidity conditions as attention deficit disorder. The instructional strategies and use of technology currently have room for improvement for online, hybrid, and face-to-face counseling settings. Also, an effective evaluation of educational technologies and tools would be fundamentally incomplete without a thorough understanding and assessment of the related special education practices as well as psychological and neurological issues specific for ASD and learning disabilities. Education and Technology Support for Children and Young Adults With ASD and Learning Disabilities provides an in-depth analysis on the use of available technology solutions, instructional design methods, and assessment techniques in the context of standards and regulations in classroom or counseling settings. The chapters contain theoretical analyses, vital practical information, and case studies that can function as guidelines for those involved in helping children and young adults with ASD or learning disabilities in online, hybrid, or face-to-face environments. While highlighting topics such as inclusive education, online gaming environments, assistive technologies, and cognitive development, this book is ideally intended for administrators, instructional technology specialists, special education faculty, counselors, instructional designers, course developers, social workers, and psychologists along with practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and academicians interested in education and technology support for children and young adults with ASD and learning disabilities.

People with neurological disorders may experience significant problems, isolation, detachment, and passivity while dealing with environmental requests. They constantly rely on caregivers and family assistance, which can create negative outcomes on their quality of life. An emerging way to overcome these issues is assistive technology-based interventions (AT). AT-based programs are designed to fill the gap between human/individual capacities or skills and environmental requests. These technologies can also bring about independence and self-determination and provide people with neurological disorders an active role, positive participation, and an enhanced status in being able to achieve functional daily activities by reducing the roles of their families and caregivers. The positive impacts of this technology are an important area of research, and its usage for neurological disorders is critical for the assessment and recovery of patients. Assistive Technologies for Assessment and Recovery of Neurological Impairments explores the use of AT-based programs for promoting independence and self-determination of individuals with neurological disorders. The chapters discuss AT-based interventions in detail with the specific technologies that are being used, the positive effects on patients, and evidence-based practices. This book also focuses on specific technologies such as virtual reality (VR) setups and augmented reality (AR) as valid ecological environments for patients that ensure methodological control and behavioral tracking for both assessment and rehabilitation purposes. This book is essential for occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, neurologists, caregivers, psychologists, practitioners, medical professionals, medical technologists, IT consultants, academicians, and students interested in assistive technology interventions for people with neurological impairments.

Among the disabilities covered at the state and federal levels, autism and related conditions are a sharply growing diagnostic category among children and young adults. In education, administrators and practitioners working with affected learners are continually faced with confronting difficult problems such as getting adequate personnel training and choosing appropriate tools and techniques that best fit the specific needs of their students while at the same time satisfying their budget, technical resources, curriculum, and profile of the ASD population they serve. The choice of appropriate tools is especially complex due to the intrinsic connection between technical specifications, educational/therapeutic methods, and the wide variety of ASDs and related conditions. In this respect, tools chosen to support children may need to target those diagnosed not only with ASD but also with such co-morbidity conditions as attention deficit disorder. The instructional strategies and use of technology currently have room for improvement for online, hybrid, and face-to-face counseling settings. Also, an effective evaluation of educational technologies and tools would be fundamentally incomplete without a thorough understanding and assessment of the related special education practices as well as psychological and neurological issues specific for ASD and learning disabilities. Education and Technology Support for Children and Young Adults With ASD and Learning Disabilities provides an in-depth analysis on the use of available technology solutions, instructional design methods, and assessment techniques in the context of standards and regulations in classroom or counseling settings. The chapters contain theoretical analyses, vital practical information, and case studies that can function as guidelines for those involved in helping children and young adults with ASD or learning disabilities in online, hybrid, or face-to-face environments. While highlighting topics such as inclusive education, online gaming environments, assistive technologies, and cognitive development, this book is ideally intended for administrators, instructional technology specialists, special education faculty, counselors, instructional designers, course developers, social workers, and psychologists along with practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and academicians interested in education and technology support for children and young adults with ASD and learning disabilities.

Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disease caused by mutations of the MECP2 gene, includes severe to profound developmental impairments. Communicative, intellectual, and motor disabilities are usually embedded. Children with Rett syndrome are individuals with multiple difficulties. Caregivers, families and professionals face to serious daily challenges due to clinical conditions determined by Rett syndrome. Accordingly, traditional interventions may not be adequate. Customized programs based on cognitive-behavioral approaches and assistive technology setups are highly warranted. The current book includes the newest empirical contributions to tackle functional consequences of Rett syndrome. Sleep and pain disorders were targeted in Chapter One. A cross-disciplinary investigation to enhance active participation and constructive engagement of children with Rett syndrome was detailed in Chapter Two. The importance of functional activities was emphasized in Chapter Three. Communication guidelines to support communication skills of individuals with Rett syndrome were critically discussed in Chapter Four. The relevance of music and music therapy to promote positive participation was argued in Chapter Five. A selective review on the use of assistive technology-based programs in individuals with Rett syndrome was provided in Chapter Six. A case report to help locomotion fluency of an adolescent with Rett syndrome through the use of microswitches and contingent positive stimulation was presented in Chapter Seven. The book was supported by illustrative examples described by the chapters' contributors and their professional experience. Readers may find helpful insights within each edited chapter. Caregivers, families, and professionals may have a practical guide to everyday settings and environments or contexts. Clarity and readability for a large audience are undoubtedly strengths and advantages of the current volume. Although technical terminology was used throughout, both future research and practice can widely find meaningful tips and tangible suggestions to tackle daily barriers and/or obstacles in individuals with Rett syndrome and severe to profound developmental delays.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) represents one of the most frequent neurological disorder in the infancy and in the childhood. It includes brain injuries or developmental defects. According to the World Health Organization, it is a main problem of public health. It may include communication, intellectual, and motor disabilities with negative consequences on children inclusion in daily life and caregivers burden. Rehabilitative interventions are primarily focused on promoting self-determination and independence of individuals with CP. Postural control, gait, and motor skills are usually embedded. Additionally, one may envisage request and choice programs aimed at enhancing the child's awareness of his/her own behavior. The volume summarizes some illustrative evidence-based contributions to emphasize the effectiveness and the suitability of the adopted programs. Beside stability of upper limbs and motor performance of children with CP (chapter one), the therapeutic effects of a horse riding simulator which was compared to a traditional physiotherapy on the sitting position of children with spastic CP (chapter two), the evaluation of stability in children with different form of CP was assessed through a rehabilitative platform was implemented (chapter three). The aforementioned experimental examinations presented between-groups investigations. Furthermore, four case-report studies were included. Assistive technology-based setups were used to promote an active role, constructive engagement, and positive participation of the enrolled children with CP and intellectual disabilities. The beneficial outcomes on their quality of life were considered. Chapter four describes a microswitch-based program to enhance ambulation responses of a child with CP. Chapter five provides a detailed illustration of such program to support locomotion fluency. Chapter six illustrates a cluster-technology aimed at pursuing the dual goal of fostering an adaptive response and reducing a challenging behavior. Chapter seven refers to a computerized system focused on enabling a child with CP and intellectual delays with academic performance and communication opportunities. Whenever available, the effects on indices of happiness and/or positive participation were analyzed. Social validation procedures involving external raters were conducted. Practical features of the retained treatments were privileged. Clinical, educational, psychological, and rehabilitative implications of the findings were systematically and critically discussed. Caregivers, educators, families of children with CP, practitioners, psychologists, speech and occupational therapists, medicine or psychology students, and teachers may find some useful insights for both research and practice in daily life settings.