Handicapped Students and Minimum Competency Testing

Minimum competency testing (MCT) programs have become a prominent, if not dominant force in contemporary public education. Provisions made for exceptional students in testing programs by most of the 39 states which have set minimum standards do not afford moderately and severely handicapped students an opportunity to demonstrate competence. The range of accommodation includes some testing programs that categorically exclude the handicapped from participation to others that require their participation with no alternations in testing whatsoever. Somewhere in between these extremes lies the provision of braille and large print editions, extra time, testing in brief segments, alternate-format booklets, individual administration, and readers for handicapped students. Another alternative exists as well: defining separate minimum standards for certain segments of the exceptional student population, standards which reflect the different expectations society and educators hold for many special education students and the special curriculum that enables those expectations to be realized.     

Early detection of handicapping conditions in infancy and early childhood: Toward a multivariate model

The major purpose of this study was to relate to infancy the occurence of significant learning or behavioral problems in adolescence. Original participants in the National Collaborative Perinatal Project in Rhode Island, who were also judged as handicapped after school entry, comprised the sample for this study. Environmental factors and child performance data collected at birth and at 4, 8, and 12 months of age were examined in terms of their power to predict handicapping conditions in the adolescent. Our results indicated that maternal education was a more accurate predictor of later learning and behavioral competency than the child's own developmental status up to 12 months of age. Furthermore, combining child-centered data and maternal education did not enhance predictive accuracy beyond that of maternal education considered in isolation. These findings underscore the critical role of molar environmental variables as antecedents of school failure, and suggest that models for screening in the first year of life and of multidisciplinary team diagnosis for handicapped children should include both environmental and child-focused dimensions to minimize overall classification error.     

Mental Handicap and Citizenship

ABSTRACT Mentally handicapped people have been taken in philosophical work as an obvious exception to the canons which are applied to other, 'rational'individuals. This paper argues that mentally handicapped people should be accorded the same rights as others. If there are human rights, then mentally handicapped people are entitled to them as humans; and if there are rights which apply in general to citizens, the same rights apply equally to mentally handicapped people. The argument for the inclusion of mentally handicapped people as citizens is first, that there is a presumption of inclusion: if citizenship is accorded to all other individuals, there is no reason why citizenship should not be accorded to mentally handicapped people on the same basis as others. Second, mentally handicapped people cannot successfully be excluded without effectively challenging the presumption of inclusion applied to other groups. Third, and perhaps most important, there are positive reasons why mentally handicapped people, as a particularly vulnerable group, need to have rights to protect them against particular abuses.     

Favourite objects of autistic children

Favourite objects (FOs) of autistic children were compared with the FOs of healthy preschool and school children as well as mentally handicapped children. Three clusters of objects were obtained for normal children (comprising primary transitional objects and their forerunners, secondary transitional objects, and non-cuddly toys). When autistic children and mentally handicapped children were included, a fourth cluster of deviant objects was found. Frequency distributions of the two handicapped groups in the clusters were similar. Similarities between the two handicapped groups were also found within each cluster. The occurrence of secondary transitional objects was rare in the handicapped groups. The characteristics of "autistic" FOs reported in earlier case studies (e.g. being hard, often having an exciting effect, not being used in their adequate functions) were typical only of objects in the fourth cluster.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN

The present study was primarily concerned with the communication skill development of physically handicapped children. Since these children often are denied contact with peers because of their disabilities, it was suggested that they may be unable to develop the perspective-taking ability necessary for adapting communication to a specific listener. It was also suggested that the increased contact provided by moving the handicapped into regular public school classrooms may help alleviate this problem. First-, third-, and sixth-grade children, handicapped and nonhandicapped, with and without the others in their classes, were tested on their listener-adaptation abilities in general and their adaptation to handicapped children, using pictures as stimuli for messages. The results support the hypothesis that handicapped children are deficient in listener adaptation. Classroom association with “normals” seems to improve this, but does not raise them to the level of their nonhandicapped peers. Nonhandicapped children are unable to adapt to handicapped children, and contact with the handicapped does not seem to improve this situation. Being in an integrated class seems to have some positive effects on handicapped children and few effects on the nonhandicapped.     

视觉障碍儿童人格特征的比较研究

以《缺陷儿童人格诊断量表》为工具对视觉障碍儿童进行人格评定,并将其测验分数与先前有关其他特殊儿童和正常儿童的同一量表测验结果加以比较。比较结果表明．视觉障碍儿童与正常儿童、智力落后儿童的人格特性有明显差异,而与听觉障碍儿童的人格差异相对要小一些。随年龄、障碍程度的不同．视觉障碍儿童的人格特性也有明显差异。     

Display vs. memory search for digits and faces among mentally handicapped and MA-matched non-handicapped youngsters

This experiment was designed to explore possible explanations for handicapped individuals' characteristically poor performance on memory scanning tasks. Independent variables included group (mentally handicapped vs. non-handicapped), type of search (display vs. memory), type of stimuli (digits vs. pictures of unfamiliar boys' faces), and load (2, 3, or 4 items to be searched). Results indicated that handicapped and non-handicapped groups did not differ when searching displays but did when searching memory, which suggested that the handicapped group's most significant impairment was specific to some aspect of memory search. Handicapped youngsters were also hindered by increasing loads more than control youngsters were. This result as well as impairment in memory search may have been due to handicapped youngsters' relatively short visual spans. The groups did not differ in their response to the two types of stimuli, faces and digits. Facial search was a considerably more demanding task than digit search for handicapped and normal children.     

Play behaviors of handicapped preschool children in the presence and absence of nonhandicapped peers

Sixteen minimally handicapped children and 18 nonhandicapped children were observed playing as separate classes and as a combined group on their preschool playground. Play behaviors directed toward self, toys, teachers, and peers were recorded using a time sampling procedure. Repeated measures analyses revealed that: (1) handicapped children engaged in less peer-directed and more teacher-directed behaviors than the similar chronological age but developmentally more advanced normal children; (2) a comparison between a subsample of normal and handicapped children who were approximately equivalent on developmental age suggested that the normal children only vocalized more often; (3) when integrated with the normal children, handicapped children engaged in more peer-directed and less teacher-directed behaviors than when playing in the non-integrated situation; (4) during the combined group play situation, normal children directed more behaviors to their own classmates while handicapped children directed approximately equal amounts of behavior to their own classmates and to their normal peers. These results suggest that the normal children were not negatively affected and the handicapped children were positively affected by the integrated play situation.     

Acknowledgment of handicap as a tactic in social interaction

Nonhandicapped people often report discomfort and uncertainty when interacting with handicapped individuals. The three studies reported here investigated a possible tactic that handicapped people could use to reduce a fellow interactant's discomfort and uncertainty. Nonhandicapped subjects watched two videotapes of handicapped individuals being interviewed. Each subject then chose the handicapped person with whom he would prefer to work on a cooperative task. Results of all three studies supported the hypothesis that a handicapped person acknowledging his handicap will be preferred to a handicapped person who does not acknowledge his handicap. In Study 1, subjects significantly preferred a handicapped person who acknowledged his handicap to a handicapped person who did not disclose anything personal. In Study 2, subjects significantly preferred an acknowledging person over one who made a personal disclosure other than about his handicap. In Study 3, subjects preferred the individual acknowledging a handicap over one who disclosed something else personal even when the acknowledging individual was clearly nervous about doing so. These results suggest that acknowledging the handicap may be a promising tactic.     

The structure and function of social support networks in families with handicapped children

Three structural characteristics of social support networks (size, density, and boundary density) and two relationship characteristics (reciprocity and dimensionality) were assessed in a sample of 56 families with a child with spina bifida and 53 matched comparison families. The results indicate that social networks of families with handicapped children tended to be smaller than the networks of comparison families, particularly with regard to mothers' total and friendship networks. The networks of families with handicapped children were more dense as well. As predicted, there was greater boundary density in spousal networks in families with handicapped children. Differences in network reciprocity were inconclusive while the results indicate that families with handicapped children tended to rely more heavily upon multidimensional network contacts than did comparison families. The results are discussed in light of our understanding of stress, social support, and the social ecological context of families.     

Differential Predictability: Selection of Handicapped and Non-handicapped

This research is concerned with the question of differential predictability of handicapped and non-handicapped subgroups. The specific question posed was: Is the performance of non-handicapped subgroups of skilled, clerical, and non-skilled workers more predictable than that of handicapped subgroups when aptitude measures are used as predictors? Correlations between scores on selected scales of the GATB and a composite performance criterion were obtained for each of the subgroups. Results showed a pattern of consistently lower validities for the handicapped which suggests that aptitude measures typically used in selection may not be appropriate for the handicapped, and that validity coefficients may be diluted by the inclusion of this subgroup with the non-handicapped in validity studies.     

School competence needs of mildly handicapped adolescents

Mildly handicapped adolescents have been identified by their deficient social skills as well as by their learning difficulties. School failure may be due not only to academic difficulties but to ineffectiveness in meeting the demands of the school environment. Using a naturalistic emergent design, this study identifies specific areas of need in coping with the high school environment. Individual interviews were conducted with "stakeholders" in the education of mildly handicapped high school students: 41 teachers, 12 handicapped students, and 12 parents of handicapped students. An analysis of the qualitative data indicated that study and organizational skills, communication, and social skills are areas of particular concern. Specific skill areas are delineated (i.e., class participation, handling criticism, and test taking), and recommendations for direct instruction that could affect both school and postschool success are made.     

Children's attitudes toward physically handicapped peers

The present study is a detailed exploration of children's attitudes toward physically handicapped peers. Subjects were 52 children, 26 handicapped and 26 nonhandicapped, ranging from 2nd through 8th grade. Along with 11 drawings depicting various physical impairments, children were administered an adjective checklist measure to assess affective responses toward target pictures, a preference questionnaire to assess behavioral intentions toward target pictures, a ranking task to assess perceptions of the physical capabilities of the target pictures, and a social desirability questionnaire to assess the children's desire to appear socially acceptable. In general, results indicated that older nonhandicapped children were more positive toward handicapped peers than were younger children and this was especially true for target pictures they perceived as least physically active. In addition, handicapped children held less positive attitudes toward the more “normal” target pictures than did nonhandicapped children. The present findings have important implications for the mainstreaming of physically handicapped children.     

The Marxist-Leninist concept of personality and its significance for the integration of psychiatric patients

The Marxist view of man as the "ensemble of social relations" is a prerequisite for understanding the personality of the mentally handicapped. The dialectic relationship between biological and social events permits the conclusion that restrictedly developed versions of the personality must be accepted as natural. The particular obligation of society is to ensure the all-round integration, encouragement and care of such handicapped persons. The task of the medical fraternity is to establish a comprehensive system to prevent such handicaps.     

Psychosocial characteristics of preschool siblings of handicapped and nonhandicapped children

This project examined psychosocial characteristics of 24 preschool-aged siblings of handicapped children in relation to a control group of 22 siblings of nonhandicapped children. Subjects were matched on family size and income, sibling age, birth order, sex, age spacing, and marital status of their parents. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between groups of children on measures of perceived self-competence and acceptance, understanding of developmental disabilities, empathy, and child care responsibility. Significant group differences were found where brothers of handicapped children were rated by their mothers as being more depressed and aggressive than brothers of nonhandicapped control children. Sisters of handicapped children were rated by mothers as being more aggressive than sisters of nonhandicapped children. Sisters of handicapped children and brothers of nonhandicapped children had significantly fewer privileges and more restrictions on their home activities than other groups. Results are discussed in relation to previous research on older silbings of handicapped children and the general literature on family stress and childhood disability and disease. The importance of examining sibling functioning via multiple measures of child behavior is stressed.The authors are grateful to the children and families who participated in the project. The assistance of Dr. Ricardo Barrera, Christine DiBlasio, Lisa Kaye, Paola Bellabarba, Jeanne Logozzo, Donna Motley, Jennifer Harter, and Tina Meisell is also gratefully acknowleged. This project was funded by Grant Number G008300345 from the U.S. Department of Education.     

Competency development and career success: The mediating role of employability

The present study aims to unravel the relationship between competency development, employability and career success. To do so, we tested a model wherein associations between employee participation in competency development initiatives, perceived support for competency development, self-perceived employability, and two indicators of subjective career success (i.e. career satisfaction and perceived marketability) have been specified. A survey was conducted among a sample of 561 employees of a large financial services organization. The results support the idea that employee participation in competency development initiatives as well as perceived support for competency development is positively associated with workers' perceptions of employability. Moreover, self-perceived employability appeared to be positively related with career satisfaction and perceived marketability. A full mediation effect was found for the relationship between participation in competency development initiatives and both career satisfaction and perceived marketability, while a partial mediation effect was found in case perceived support for competency development was the predictor variable. The implications of our findings for understanding the process through which individuals and organizations can affect subjective career success are discussed.     

Social reciprocity in handicapped and nonhandicapped children in a dyadic play situation

Social reciprocity behavior was compared for handicapped and nonhandicapped preschool children when they were in play situations with both handicapped and nonhandicapped partners. In a counterbalanced design, handicapped and nonhandicapped children were paired with both handicapped and nonhandicapped play partners, and the social initiation and response sequences of the dyads were observed. Types of initiation observed were friendly statements, friendly questions, mildly negative advances, and demanding statements. Friendly, ignoring, and negative responses were observed to these initiations. Handicapped and nonhandicapped children did not differ on overall number of initiations. However, they did differ on the types of initiation they made. Handicapped children asked fewer friendly questions and engaged in more demanding initiations than expected. Both groups made more initiations when paired with handicapped partners than when paired with nonhandicapped partners, but the groups did not differ on the types of initiation made to handicapped and nonhandicapped partners. The handicapped children made more ignoring and negative responses to friendly initiations than the nonhandicapped children. Behaving similarly, both groups tended to respond negatively to negative and demanding initiations.     

学习困难学生语义分类编码策略的研究

通过对３８名学习困难学生与４８名学习优秀学生使用语义编码策略的比较研究,发现学习困难学生不能像学习优秀学生那样自觉地在学习的信息加工过程中使用学习策略;学习困难学生不使用学习策略的机械学习成绩与学习优秀学生无显著差异;教育训练有助于学习困难学生将语义编码之类的活动运用于信息加工过程而促进学习。     

The family of the severely handicapped child: the sibling perspective

The presence of a severely handicapped child is a source of prolonged crisis and stress for the child's family. Parents may redefine their roles and develop coping strategies aimed at responding to the needs of the handicapped child but which may hamper the development of well siblings. Two cases of siblings of severely handicapped children who developed adjustment difficulties are presented and discussed from a family system perspective.     

ATTITUDES INFLUENCING EMPLOYMENT OF THE HANDICAPPED

This study investigates the effect of existing attitudes on employment practices of two groups of Texas employers, the first employing visually handicapped persons, and the second employing physically handicapped persons. After personal interviews, all 24 participants were administered the Survey of Interpersonal Values (SIV) and the Action, Cognition, and Emotion Test (ACET). Among conclusions drawn from the findings were that employers of the visually handicapped indicate their willingness to hire persons with physical disabilities, that employers who show willingness to employ handicapped personnel at the professional level tend to value leadership traits in employees, that employers may not carry through with actual employment of the handicapped even though they communicate interest in and tolerance for these individuals, that employers' positive attitudes appear to relate significantly to positive experiences with handicapped workers, and that the larger the population center the more receptive the attitudes of employers toward the handicapped.