Individual and Social Model of Intellectual Disability in Teachers’ and Students’ Beliefs
Pages 85-95
Monika Parchomiuk

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2013.01.02.1

Published: 30 December 2013

Abstract: Author’s research discussed in the following article was aimed at determining which model of intellectual disability is preferred by teachers and students, and what the differences are between these respondents in this respect. The assumptions characteristic for the individual model focused on the person with disability, and in particular, on his or her biological (physical) defects. The defects that caused limitations in functioning were treated as the basis of disability. Professional activities (mostly medical) focused on adjusting to the state of limited functioning, seen in a reductionist way: as accepting the loss of ability or independence. The social model situated the origin of disability in society. In this perspective, it defined disability as the product of specific social and economic structures, and its main interest focused on the problems of oppression and discrimination of persons with disability. Research was carried out with special needs teachers who work with individuals with intellectual disability, teachers working with able-bodied individuals, and students of special pedagogy. The Likert type scale, called “The model of an intellectual disability”, was used to determine the model of intellectual disability. The research had a cognitive goal but also a significant practical goal related to the specialists’ professional training. The article offers general recommendations for shaping attitudes and assessments connected with noticing possibilities in the lives of individuals with intellectual disability, taking into account the influence of environmental factors.

Instructional Methods that Foster the Reading Development of Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities
Pages 13-20
Colleen Wood-Fields, Sharon Judge and Silvana M.R. Watson

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2015.03.01.3

Published: 26 March 2015

Abstract: Educational legislation has made reading a priority for students with significant intellectual disabilities (ID) and associated speech, language, sensory, or physical impairments. Historically, reading instruction for students with significant ID has focused on sight word instruction, with limited exposure to other essential reading skills. This article focuses on the evidence-based instructional methods that effectively and efficiently foster the reading development of students with significant ID. The authors reviewed the literature from the past 20 years on reading interventions for students with significant ID. In spite of access and opportunity barriers that have inhibited the reading development of students with significant ID, a synthesis of the empirical research on reading instruction suggests that students with significant ID and associated disabilities can learn phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills with direct instruction. Implications for providing reading instruction that effectively promotes reading development are discussed and areas for future research are identified.

Inducing Visuomotor Adaptation Using Virtual Reality Gaming with a Virtual Shift as a Treatment for Unilateral Spatial Neglect
Pages 170-184
A.R. Carter, M.H. Foreman, C. Martin, S. Fitterer, A. Pioppo, L.T. Connor and J.R. Engsberg

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2016.04.03.4

Published:19 October 2016

Abstract: Unilateral spatial neglect after stroke is characterized by reduced responses to stimuli on the contralesional side, causing significant impairments in self-care and safety. Conventional visuomotor adaptation (VMA) with prisms that cause a lateral shift of the visual scene can decrease neglect symptoms but is not engaging according to patients. Performing VMA within a virtual reality (VR) environment may be more engaging but has never been tested. To determine if VMA can be elicited in a VR environment, healthy subjects (n=7) underwent VMA that was elicited by either wearing prisms that caused an optical shift, or by application of a virtual shift of the hand cursor within the VR environment. A low cost VR system was developed by coupling the Kinect v2 gaming sensor to online games via the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) software. The adaptation phase of training consisted of a reaching task in online games or in a custom target pointing program. Following the adaptation phase the optical or virtual shift was removed and participants were assessed during the initial portion of the de-adaptation phase for the presence of an after-effect on their reaching movements, with lateral reaching errors indicating the successful induction of VMA. Results show that practicing reaching in a VR environment with a virtual shift lead to a horizontal after-effect similar to conventional prism adaptation. The results demonstrate that VMA can be elicited in a VR environment and suggest that VR gaming therapy could be used to improve recovery from unilateral spatial neglect.

Integrative Therapy Focused on Trauma for People with Intellectual Disability (TIT-ID): A Therapeutic Answer to Abuse and Intellectual Disability Experience in the Individual and the Family 
Pages 29-40
Mercedes Hernández Núñez-Polo, Alberto Alemany Carrasco, Israel Berenguer Muñoz, María Recio Zapata and Almudena Martorell Cafranga

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2016.04.01.4

Published: 14 March 2016 

Abstract: Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) have ten times more risk of suffering abuse than persons without ID. When somebody is born with ID, his/her story is printed by trauma of ID (primary trauma). If we add the trauma from disability to the trauma from abuse (secondary trauma), we find very vulnerable population with a high probability of being re-victimised. Victim Support Unit for Persons with Intellectual Disability (UAVDI) proposes an Integrative Therapy focused on Trauma for people with ID (TIT-ID). This therapy is focused on trauma, including the victim and their families and professionals, through different approaches. It intervenes from individual pathoplasty, taking into account side effects caused by abuse. It also works from a systemic perspective of the primary trauma due to ID and primary grief in the individual and his family. It includes a person-centre intervention with attachment theory and organised through phases from theory of structural dissociation. It is very important to do a rigorous analysis of variables involved in the impact of grief (primary trauma) and later in the impact of abuse experience (secondary trauma). The goals of therapy will be planned according to the individual diagnosis. The cross-cutting objectives are the establishment of consistent links to enable the person to restore their feelings of security and sense of self-worth, and also the development of a resilient personality.