Special Educational Support for University Students in the Czech Republic

The education of school children and university students with special educational needs is enabled mainly due to the creation of an inclusive educational environment. In the Czech Republic, inclusive educational environment support is being carried out from an early age within the framework of social services. Within this scope, this analytical paper describes the inclusive environment of the university and the disability support services provided. At the same time, the article focuses mainly on the issues of the inclusive environment within university education and describes the situation at the University of Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Results of the situation analyses are showing that providing the students with special educational needs with access to university studies leads to an equality of their educational opportunities

Maawandoonan: early childhood disability support services in Constance Lake First Nation

This paper details an institutional ethnography conducted in Constance Lake First Nation, a rural Oji-Cree community in northern Ontario, Canada. The study is a part of a larger project called the Inclusive Early Childhood Service System Project, which is partnered with several municipalities and service organizations in four communities across Ontario. The current project examined six family narratives of accessing disability support services for young children. The project seeks to understand how the service system functions from the perspective of families, and the impact of institutional interactions on families within the service system. Employing critical disability theory and Indigenous perspectives of child development, the study seeks to develop a culturally-based conceptualization of disability support for Indigenous children with disabilities or gifts.

Maawandoonan: early childhood disability support services in Constance Lake First Nation

This paper details an institutional ethnography conducted in Constance Lake First Nation, a rural Oji-Cree community in northern Ontario, Canada. The study is a part of a larger project called the Inclusive Early Childhood Service System Project, which is partnered with several municipalities and service organizations in four communities across Ontario. The current project examined six family narratives of accessing disability support services for young children. The project seeks to understand how the service system functions from the perspective of families, and the impact of institutional interactions on families within the service system. Employing critical disability theory and Indigenous perspectives of child development, the study seeks to develop a culturally-based conceptualization of disability support for Indigenous children with disabilities or gifts.

Social Implications of the Social Media Use by Students with Disabilities at the University of Jordan: Facebook as a Model

This study aimed to measure the benefits of using the social media website as perceived by students with disabilities at the University of Jordan. The sample consisted of 150 students with disabilities and used a 5-point Likert scale to rank the perceived benefits on a 12-item survey. On average, the students indicated that using social media websites provided a moderate level of social benefits. In contrast, the students indicated that social media websites provided a high level of social benefit for increasing the number of new friends, deepening their relationship with others who have a disability or who are concerned with disabilities, and identifying societal attitudes toward disability and disability support services.

Research on College Professors’ Perception of Classroom Disability Support Services in South Korea

The present study is designed to examine college professors’ perception of classroom disability support services. A survey questionnaire was developed to measure college professors’ perception of three areas including: 1) expanding higher education opportunities for students with disabilities, 2) types of classroom disability support services, and 3) barriers in providing services, and implemented with eighty-two college professors. Overall, results indicate that college professors are permissive in providing disability-related classroom support, although they showed differences in terms of the type and scope of service depending on the nature of the discipline. To improve college disability support service in South Korea, the present study suggests to increase educational opportunities such as booklets, guidelines, and training workshop, specifically designed for college professors who are not familiar with classroom disability support services.

Experiences of LGBTIQA+ People with Disability in Healthcare and Community Services: Towards Embracing Multiple Identities

Healthcare and disability support services are increasing their efforts towards inclusion and recognising the needs of different groups. This research project was conducted by academic and peer researchers (LGBTIQA+ people with disability) in Victoria, Australia using four focus groups with LGBTIQA+ people with disability. We report on two overarching themes relating to participants’ experiences of accessing health services as LGBTIQA+ people with disability: difficulties in managing multiple identities and the impacts of community services and supports. Participants described having to repeatedly ‘come out’ in a range of ways and contexts as complex and layered processes in which it was difficult to present their full range of needs and experiences to services. We also found that the role of community in promoting a sense of belonging and resilience increased capacity to manage health service use and advocacy. Services and communities aiming to be inclusive to all have the opportunity to recognise and respond to the issues faced by LGBTIQA+ people with disability as a way to pay attention to how overt and subtle practices of discrimination continue to operate despite repeated attempts at or claims of being ‘inclusive.’ Our research suggests actual inclusive, accessible services can be achieved in part through policy and practice that actively responds to the specific needs of LGBTIQA+ people with disability, in addition to LGBTIQA+ education for disability services and disability and accessibility education for LGBTIQA+ focused services. As we do in this article, we argue that this work must be done by prioritising authentic participation of LGBTIQA+ people with disability in the services and research that is about them.

Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: Predictors of Adaptation to College

This study examined the relationship between acceptance of disability, perceived stigma of students on a college campus and adaptation to college for students with disabilities. One hundred forty-five surveys were collected from student participants via the disability support services offices at sixteen colleges or universities in the northeast and mid-west United States. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed two statistically significant relationships, students with a higher level of acceptance of disability were more adapted to college, and higher GPA was associated with less adaptation to college. The exploratory test of mediation revealed that the relationship between acceptance of disability and adaptation to college was significantly mediated by perception of stigma on a college campus. The implications for higher education support services and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Factors Associated With Disability Self-Disclosure to Their Professors Among College Students With Disabilities

This study examined factors associated with disability disclosure to professors among students with disabilities ( n = 289) who either registered or did not register with disability support services (DSS) in postsecondary education from six public colleges and universities located in a Mid-Atlantic U.S. state. Past experience in requesting accommodations and perceptions of faculty’s willingness to provide accommodations were correlated with willingness to disclose disability. Multiple regression results revealed that gender, grade level, and past experience in requesting accommodations predicted students’ willingness to disclose their disabilities. Implications for counselors and transition educators working with students with disabilities are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.