Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation

07-23

Authors: Frank CANKAR, Tomi DEUTSCH, Bojana GLOBACNIK, Andreja PINTERIC

Introduction: In the last years, the demand to include children with special needs in the mainstream kindergartens and schools in Slovenia has grown. This brought with it the need for changing the role of the special schools and institutes for children with special needs and for their transformation into resource centres. Methodology: We pilot tested a resource centre for support of blind and visually impaired children. We included 15 educational institutes and one blind or visually impaired pupil from each institute. Data were collected at the beginning of the school year 2010/11, and at the end of the school year 2011/12. In both cases the same instruments were used, which made comparison of the collected data possible. Results: The results have shown progress in the development of competences, attitudes, and rehabilitation competences in the participants of the study. Discussion: The results confirmed the efficiency of the initially designed model. By investing into its staff capacity building, we expect that the centre will gain recognition and increase its quality. In this way, it will be able to realise its developmentally-supportive role for the children with visual disability in Slovenia. Keywords: inclusion, resource centre, blind and visually impaired pupils, competences

43-58

Authors: Ranko KOVACEVIC, Samir SULJAGIC, Dzenita LJUCA, Edin MUFIC

The aim of this paper is to examine recidivists’ and non-recidivists’ differences in characteristics of the psychosocial functioning after a treatment in a Disciplinary Centre for Juveniles in Sarajevo Canton, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research was conducted on a sample of 131 juvenile delinquents adjudicated with the educational measure of referral to the juvenile disciplinary centre. The statistical analysis was performed in the SPSS 17.0 program package. The differences between recidivists and non-recidivists were measured using Mann-Whitney test on all variables. A group of four variables were compared by: (a) school factors, (b) family factors, (c) spare time activities and peer relationships and (d) personality and behaviour of juveniles. The results have shown that risk factors are more pronounced in recidivists in all four areas of the psychosocial functioning. The largest difference is in the areas related to spare time activities and peer-relationships, as well as family functioning. The results indicate that the intensified treatment should focus on these areas in order to prevent recidivism. Keywords: recidivism, educational measure, responsiveness factors

77-94

Authors: Monica REICHENBERG

The present intervention study reveals that students diagnosed with an intellectual disability (ID) are able to construct meaning from written expository text through guided social interaction. There were 31 students recruited from four special schools participating in this intervention study.The study involves a pre-test phase and a post-test phase. The students were divided into two intervention conditions: (a) reciprocal teaching (RT), which involved practice in four reading strategies—prediction, question generating, clarification, and summarisation—and (b) inference training (IT), which involved practice in answering inference questions, i.e., where you have to read between the lines to find the answer. The training included 16 sessions over 8 weeks. Pre- testing and post-testing included seven tests. Improvement of test results was obtained in both conditions to about the same extent, indicating that both conditions were beneficial. Keywords: structured text talk, reciprocal teaching, inference training, reading comprehension, intellectual disability

111-127

Authors: Ritwika LASKAR

Introduction: Education of children with special needs is an important field of study. Children with special needs deserve to be educated like any other human being. Over the years, several provisions have been made and laws have been passed to ensure education of children with special needs. A visually impaired child’s needs and goals for learning are not different from that of his sighted peers. Only the means of achieving those goals are different. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalent method of teaching and the system of examination for students with Visual Impairment studying in the special schools for the blind in India and Japan. Methodology: The study was delimited to i) blind students only and ii) the special schools for the blind in Kolkata and Tokyo. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 teachers (25 each from the special schools for the blind in Kolkata and Tokyo). The researcher interviewed the teachers. Semi–structured information schedules were used to collect data and the data were analyzed only qualitatively. Findings: The method of teaching the blind students was similar in both Kolkata and Tokyo. Differences were observed mainly in the type of teaching equipments used. Regarding the system of examination, differences were observed within the special schools in Kolkata. In Tokyo, however, all the special schools followed a uniform system. The study revealed that in Kolkata a strict pass/fail criterion existed. In Tokyo, on the other hand, there was no strict pass/fail criterion. Conclusion: This study is important because not many comparative studies have been done between India and Japan. Most of the comparative research work is either between Japan and the U.S.A or between Japan and the U.K. This study was conducted mainly to find out the differences between a Developing and a Developed nation. Being a developed country, it is always assumed that there will be a lot to learn from Japan. Through this research study an attempt has been made to find out whether this assumption is true and if it is true then, to what extent the system can be implemented and practiced in the Indian scenario. Keywords: Method of teaching, system of exa¬mi¬nation, special schools for the blind, Kolkata, Tokyo

130-132

Authors: Irena NOVACHESKA

The International Congress of the students from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, named ERFUSS…’14, orga¬nized by the students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, was held from 11 - 13 April 2014, at University Campus Borongaj. ERFUSS…’14 presents the desire of the students from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation for unification of the complementary fields, with one goal - team work and inter/trans/multidisciplinary approach, contained in the name of Congress, which is an abbreviation for: “Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation in collaboration with …”. At the Congress, which was sponsored by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic, the City of Zagreb and the Association of graduate students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, there were 247 students from Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Poland and Finland. The rich and the diverse program of the Congress included 6 plenary lectures, 17 workshops, 42 active students’ pre¬sen¬ta¬tions, as well as cultural and entertainment activities. The congress was opened with a welcome speech by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic, which in his absence was read by a member of the Organizational Committee, followed by the speeches of the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, Prof. Antonija Zhizhak, PhD; the Vice-Rector for Studies and Students at the University of Zagreb, Prof. Blazhenka Divjak, PhD; and the President of the Association of graduate students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, Prof. Zrinjka Stanchikj, PhD. The program was enriched by the presence of representatives of the City of Zagreb: Lada Zhamarija, an associate at the City Office for social care of persons with disabilities and Vanda Bazmenjak, counselor at the City Office for Education, Culture and Sport. The ceremonial part was completed with a video message from the members of Organizational and Program Committee of Congress, through which they welcomed the present. The students’ presentations were organized in three days, divided into two sessions, morning session and afternoon session, between which interactive workshops were held, which aroused great interest among students. The Institute for Special Education and Rehabilitation, at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, was represented by 10 undergraduate students, accompanied by Irena Novacheska, MA. Ana Kostadinovska and Lina Miloshevska, under the mentorship of Prof. Daniela Dimitrova-Radojichikj, PhD. They presented the topic: Braille alphabet as a tool of communication of the blind people; Gordana Blagojevska and Lazar Trifunovikj, under the mentorship of Prof. Zora Jachova, PhD, presented the Psychological basis of the signs of filed religion in American Sign Language and Macedonian Sign Language; and under the mentorship of Prof. Vladimir Trajkovski, PhD, 6 students had their presentations: Nermin Rashitovikj and Marija Dimovska on the topic: Early intervention for children with autism; Stefani Nakova and Simona Taneska talked about Nonverbal communication in people with cerebral palsy; and Ema Donevska and Andrijana Kudranovikj presented the topic Inclusion of children with Down syndrome in regular classes. The large number of students’ presentations with different topics, were followed by great interest, numerous questions and productive discussion by the audience, which of course resulted in exchange of theoretical and practical experiences in the field of education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, and increasing their professional competencies. The congress was officially closed by the speech of the Vice Dean for Education, Prof. Mirjana Lenchek, PhD, and a representative of the Committee of the Congress, with hope and desire for reunion, collaboration and fellowship. At the end there was a musical program and lunch for all participants.

135-136

Authors: Aleksandra KAROVSKA RISTOVSKA

The Macedonian Sign Language is a natural language, used by the community of Deaf in the Republic of Macedonia. This doctoral paper aimed towards the analyses of the characteristics of the Macedonian Sign Language: its phonology, morphology and syntax as well as towards the comparison of the Macedonian and the American Sign Language. William Stokoe was the first one who in the 1960’s started the research of the American Sign Language. He set the base of the linguistic research in sign languages. The analysis of the signs in the Macedonian Sign Language was made according Stokoe’s parameters: location, hand shape and movement. Lexicostatistics showed that MSL and ASL belong to a different language family. Beside this fact, they share some iconic signs, whose presence can be attributed to the phenomena of lexical borrowings. Phonologically, in ASL and MSL, if we make a change of one of Stokoe’s categories, the meaning of the word changes as well. Non-manual signs which are grammatical markers in sign languages are identical in ASL and MSL. The production of compounds and the production of plural forms are identical in both sign languages. The inflection of verbs is also identical. The research showed that the most common order of words in ASL and MSL is the SVO order (subject-verb-object), while the SOV and OVS order can seldom be met. Questions and negative sentences are produced identically in ASL and MSL. In order to be standardized, the Macedonian Sign Language must pass 4 phases: selection, codification, elaboration and dissemination. It is necessary to promote MSL through mass media; to change the law for use of sign languages; increase the number of licensed sign language interpreters; increase the number of differentiated vocabularies; publication of manuals; implementation of comparative linguistic studies as well as involvement of the deaf persons in the decision making process. Keywords: American Sign Language, Macedonian Sign Language, iconicity, lexicostatistics, SVO-order, standardization

7-23

Authors: Tsafi TIMOR, Jana HARTANSKA

The goal of this study was to explore the similarities and differences in the attitudes of two groups of student-teachers from different cultures: a group of Israelis and a group of Slovaks.The two groups were divided into pairs who carried out an e-mail correspondence on the topic The Inclusion of Students with Special Needs in Mainstream Education. The content analysis of the posts addressed three categories: Theoretical and practical knowledge of special needs, Attitudes towards special needs and inclusion, Strategies for coping with differences in heterogeneous classes. The findings yielded a similarity in the positive attitudes towards inclusion between the two groups. However, the groups differed in their theoretical and practical knowledge because the Slovak group had limited teaching experience and no academic courses on inclusive education. The findings break the existing link between academic courses/teaching experience, and positive attitudes towards inclusion, and suggest a different way of thinking. They also highlight the need to explore conceptual differences between cultures.

43-58

Authors: Sheffali GULATI, Biswaroop CHAKRABARTY

Goal: To highlight the recent recommendations and future trends in diagnosing and managing autistic spectrum disorder. Methodology: Comprehensive search was done in the electronic database, journals, reference lists and dissertation related to the field. Results and conclusion: Autistic spectrum disorder is characterized by onset before the age of 3 years, qualitative impairment in social and communication skills along with repetitive behavioural pattern and restricted interests. Multiple pathways involving genetic, structural and environmental factors have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis. Diagnosis is primarily clinical, based on caregiver interview and observing the patient. However, certain biochemical, radiological and electrophysiological investigations are indicated in relevant scenarios. The mainstay of therapy is behavioural intervention with pharmacotherapy indicated for certain behavioural issues. Complementary and alternate treatment, dietary and stem cell therapies are still investigational with some benefits.Various newer therapeutic options are currently being investigated, exploring the molecular and genetic basis of causation.

75-90

Authors: Annelies CEULEMANS, Tom LOEYS, Karel HOPPENBROUWERS, Annemie DESOETE

Many studies tested the association between numerical magnitude processing and mathematical achievement with conflicting findings reported for individuals with mathematical learning disorders. Some of the inconsistencies might be explained by the number of non-symbolic stimuli or dot collections used in studies. It has been hypothesized that there is an object-file system for ‘small’ and an analogue magnitude system for ‘large’ numbers. This two-system account has been supported by the set size limit of the object-file system (three items). A boundary was defined, accordingly, categorizing numbers below four as ‘small’ and from four and above as ‘large’. However, data on ‘small’ number processing and on the ‘boundary’ between small and large numbers are missing. In this contribution we provide data from infants discriminating between the number sets 4 vs. 8 and 1 vs. 4, both containing the number four combined with a small and a large number respectively. Participants were 25 and 26 full term 9-month-olds for 4 vs. 8 and 1 vs. 4 respectively. The stimuli (dots) were controlled for continuous variables. Eye-tracking was combined with the habituation paradigm. The results showed that the infants were successful in discriminating 1 from 4, but failed to discriminate 4 from 8 dots. This finding supports the assumption of the number four as a ‘small’ number and enlarges the object-file system’s limit. This study might help to explain inconsistencies in studies. Moreover, the information may be useful in answering parent’s questions about challenges that vulnerable children with number processing problems, such as children with mathematical learning disorders, might encounter. In addition, the study might give some information on the stimuli that can be used to effectively foster children’s magnitude processing skills.

109-121

Authors: Brittany L. HOTT, Fahad M. ALRESHEED, Harvetta R. HENRY

A limitation in social interaction is a critical defining characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Peer tutoring is one of the most widely utilized interventions for improvement of social interaction and academic performance. This synthesis examines the effectiveness of peer tutoring interventions in the United States using percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND). Results suggest that peer tutoring is a viable intervention for supporting social and academic development. Limitations, implycations for practice, and future research directions are reported.

126-127

Authors: Manuela KRCHANOSKA

Organized by the Student Parliament of Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Belgrade, the Seminar of Students of Special Education and Rehabilitation "Zlatibor 2013" was held from November 20th to 24th. Parallel to this seminar, there was a seminar organized by the Students Parliament of Majeure Medical School, Belgrade. Enveloped in the beauty of Zlatibor, housed in the student resort "Ratko Mitrovic", this congress was attended by 287 students from the Balkans, of which 146 were students of special education and rehabilitation, 17 of them were from Macedonia, 14 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 from Croatia, 6 from Slovenia and the rest were from Serbia. Officially, the seminar was opened by the President of the Student Parliament of Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Belgrade Nikola Nicin. After his introductory address, the speech was led by Prof. Vladimir Trajkovski, PhD. The students’ presentations were organized throughout three days in morning sessions and afternoon sessions. Institute for Special Education and Rehabilitation of Macedonia was represented by six undergraduate students and one postgraduate student. On November 20th, Lazar Trifunovic and Voislav Dosev presented a topic: Attitudes of Primary School Teachers from "Dane Krapchev" in Skopje, on inclusion of students with special needs. During the same day, the afternoon session was opened by Krchanoska Manuela, who spoke on topic Access in Public Libraries for Persons with Disabilities in Macedonia, and afterwards Ana Kostadinovska and Gordana Blagojevska presented the topic Analysis of the Pshyhological Base of American and Macedonian Sign Language. On the same day, Ema Donevska presented the topic: Reactions of the Parents at the First Announcement of the Developmental Disabilities of Their Child. On the second day, morning session was opened by Marija Dimovska’s presentation on the topic: Inclusion of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in the Regular Pre-school Institutions in Skopje. Many papers written by students in special education and rehabilitation on various topics were presented there, which effected on increasing of knowledge and competence in future educators. The Seminar was enriched with the presentation held by Christina Davidovic, PhD and Marko Pavlovic that was entitled “Presentation Skills”. On the next day, the same subject was held as a workshop, which was really successful. Lastly, to make the impression even stronger, there was a presentation of Prof. Milenko Kundachina, PhD, who talked of academic writing. In an hour and half as the course of his lecture, Professor Kundachina explained how to write a scientific paper. Seminar was officially closed by the speech of the President of the Student Parliament of Faculty of Rehabilitation and Special education in Belgrade Nikola Nicin, president of the Student Parliament of Majeure Medical School, Savo Papic, Prof.Vladimir Trajkovski, PhD and representatives from each country. After their closing speeches all participants were awarded with certificates. Organisational board of this congress hopes that this congress is just the beginning and that organizing congresses of this kind will become a tradition.

131-133

Authors: Irena NOVACHESKA

The Master’s thesis is presented on 149 pages. The paper contains the following sections: Introduction, Theoretical approach to the problem of the research, Research section which contains: Research methodology, Analysis and interpretation of the results, Discussion, Conclusions, Recommendations, Articles and Literature. The Introduction explains the concept of behavioral disorder and the different sets of risk factors that lead to the appearance of behavioral disorder. Commonly, we distinguish two main groups of etiological factors that lead to behavioral disorder: environmental factors and factors related to the person’s functioning. In the recent decades, the number of children with behavioral disorders is increasing more and more, and this increase entails the need for timely identification of the risk and the protective factors, which means that prevention and early intervention, as a permanent and active process, must begin as early as possible, and the best moment is in the preschool period. The Theoretical basis gives definition of the term behavioral disorder from several aspects (legal, medical, special-educational and empirical), mentions different terminology which is used in scientific literature, as well as data for the prevalence, comorbidity and various classification systems, within which the behavioral disorder is covered. Also, the risk factors that lead to behavioral disorder, divided into several groups: individual factors, family factors, factors related to school, peers and factors related to the social environment are elaborated. Besides the risk factors, the factors for protection and their division are elaborated too. An important part of the theoretical basis takes the definition for prevention and early intervention, including the types of prevention and the models of early intervention that are commonly used in working with students with behavioral disorder. The Research section presents the methodology of the research and defines the subject, the purpose and the character of the research, the goals, the hypothesis, the variables, the methods, the techniques and instruments, the sample, the statistical data processing, the place, the time, the organization and the course of the research. The underlying purpose of this research is to determine the risk factors for the emergence of behavioral disorder among students from primary schools and also the need for taking some measures for prevention and early intervention. The sample of the research consisted of 70 teachers and class teachers from five primary schools in Prilep that have students with behavioral disorder in their classes. They are divided in two groups: 35 teachers and class teachers are from schools in the urban community and the rest 35 are from schools in the rural community. The methodological structure is based on the descriptive method and the method of comparative analysis. The analysis of documentation, survey and scaling were used as techniques. For data collecting two types of questionnaires were used: Questionnaire for teachers/class teachers and The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The collected data was grouped, tabled and graphically displayed and the distribution of frequency, ponder arithmetic mean and χ2 was calculated using PSPP for Windows 7 (for the statistically significant difference we used the difference that has a significance level of p < 0.05). The Analysis and interpretation of the results shows that the risk factors for the emergence of behavioral disorder among students from primary schools are associated with the individual characteristics of the student, the family, the school and the peers’ influence. The verification of the hypothesis gives the following conclusions: the behavioral disorder is more prevalent among boys than girls (81.42%); in most of the cases (41.42%) the behavioral disorder appears between the age of 9 - 12 years; 60 % of the students with behavioral disorder live in families with low material incomes; 50% of the students with behavioral disorder are in company only with friends who also have behavior problems. The fact that most of the students with behavioral disorder (54.28%) have an intense need for intervention is worrying. Based on the results and the conclusions we can give the following recommendations (social-protective, medical, educational and legal): timely recognition and detection of behavioral disorder, identification of the risk factors and the strengthening factors for protection; planning, development and implementation of programs for prevention and early intervention of the behavioral disorder locally and nationally; organization of the free time of these students; promotion of the cooperation between school, family, the Center for social work and the local community.

7-21

Authors: Zoran KITKANJ, Emilija GEORGIEVA

Adolescents with intellectual disabilities, due to deficits in their intellectual functioning, are exposed to even greater risk of developing various forms of behavioral disorders. Goal: to determine the risk of emergence of behavioral disorders in adolescents with mild intellectual disability. Respondents: adolescents (211) with mild intellectual disability, educational staff in special secondary schools (39) and members of the expert team (5). Methods: descriptive method, method of comparative analysis Procedures: survey and semi-structured interviews with the educational staff and expert team. Statistical data processing: Windows Tool R x C for contingency tables analysis and Fisher Exact Test, and as significant were considered the differences with significance level of p<0.05. Results: with the statistical data processing we came to the conclusion that the school achievements affect the emergence of undesired behavior (p<0.001). Conclusion: we came to the conclusion that different forms of behavioral disorders appear in students and they haven’t been sufficiently informed about the possible consequences and they rarely voluntarily initiate conversation in respect of the problem. The behavioral disorders in this category of students are conditioned by multiple factors by the type of housing, the duration of the period in a student home, the school achievements, the age and the sex.

43-60

Authors: Monica REICHENBERG, Kent LÖFGREN

In Sweden, schooling for children who are regarded as intellectually disabled is organised in a special school, Särskolan. The overall aim of this article was to investigate the teachers’ attitudes towards the social practice of reading and writing instruction in Särskolan.Therefore, 40 teachers from Northern Swedenwere sampled for the em­pi­rical study. The teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire. One of the findings was that the teachers reported different attitudes towards the social practice of reading and writing instruction. Another finding was that the teachers reported they did not practice the documentation of reading and writing difficulties. Furthermore, the practice of documentation was associated with professio­nal competence in reading and writing literacy. The study suggests that literacy educa­tion did have an effect on teachers’ attitu­des towards their practice of docu­men­ting. However, the openness towards organizational learning was polarized, and consequently, it produced a threshold for change. Accordingly, more studies are necessary for further descrip­tion and explanation of the complexities of the present findings.

78-98

Authors: Vera RAJOVIC, Olja JOVANOVIC

The study provides a comparative review of 15 independently written studies on teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion in Serbia between 2002 and 2012. It also attempted to describe teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education depending on the type of special need, as well as the main obstacles and benefits of a successful inclusion from the in-service teachers’ pointof view. The findings show that shifts in teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion are slow despite numerous reform changes. The results are discussed in two stages, first before and then after the inclusion legislation was enacted. Furthermore, the overview showed that teachers in Serbia hold the most negative attitude toward inclusion of students with sensory impairments in mainstream schools. Despite resistance toward inclusion, teachers in Serbia realize its benefits, emphasizing the importance of developing social skills as well as reducing prejudice toward people with disabilities. The main obstacles to inclusion, as teachers perceive it, are insufficient education and inadequate professional development programs for teachers in Serbia, low peer status of children with disabilities in regular classrooms and lack of resources, which is in line with reform goals in Serbia. The implications for further reform implementation are discussed, as well as the need for further clarifications in future research.

115-132

Authors: Gnanathicam Victoria NAOMI, Chandran HEMAMBIGAI

Introduction:most teachers of hearing and visually impaired children in India have to learn more about the prevalence and characteristics of Usher Syndrome. Keeping in mind the need to address this neglected population, the present study was designed and executed in South India. Goals:the goals of the study were to identify students with Usher Syndrome in educational settings using indigenous techniques, and to develop and describe a protocol for identifying these students. Methodology:seven hundred hearing impaired students studying in residential and inclusive schools in four districts of the State Tamil Nadu were screened using tools which included screening for distance and near vision, field of vision, dark adaptation, glare and contrast sensitivity. Results:ten students between the age of 14- 20 were found to be at risk of having Usher Syndrome. Finally, 6 subjects who had a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa were clinically identified with Usher Syndrome. Conclusion:these identification strategies will assist special education and rehabilitation pro­fess­ionals in recognizing symptoms of Usher Synd­rome so that they will be able to refer these children for diagnostic and supportive services.

135-136

Authors: Bisera MLADENOVSKA

On 2 April 2013, on the occasion of World Autism Day,representatives of the Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism (MSSA), parents, children with autism spectrum disorder and other NGOs dealing with this issue, had a meeting with the President of the Republic of Macedonia Gjorgje Ivanov and his wife Mrs. Maya Ivanova. At the President`s Residence at Vodno, the delegation emphasized the challenges and introduced the President with the problems that the organizations and families face regarding the treatment of autism. The urgent need of specialized Center for autism, which will be engaged in early detection, diagnosis and treat­ment of children with autism spectrum disorder, was highly emphasized. Professor Vladimir Trajkovski, president of MSSA, underlined the increased prevalence of autism as immense society disorder and large mentally-health issue. He appealed to the populace to approach to the problem more seriously. He also pointed out the necessity of rather narrow professional education and training (medical doctors, special needs edu­ca­tors, therapists and other stuff) of the staff that will be engaged in the treatment of autism. In order to provide the rights of the people with autism and in order to improve the governmental services for families and persons with autism Prof. Trajkovski called for mutual cooperation between the association and the ministries during the decision making.

139-141

Authors: Olivera RASHIKJ-CANEVSKA

Every hour someone receives a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Although it is not most common disease, or biggest threat to the huma­ni­ty, its chronic, variable and unpredictable course can have a devastating impact on all those who have it, or care about someone who does. Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is an incident, which brings big challenges and changes in the life course, especially if there are relapses and exacerbations of the symptoms. Depending on the clinical course of the illness, the persons with MS need to adapt to the new situation and undergo multidisciplinary rehabilitative treatment; also it is necessary to make appropriate adaptations of homes,which in general will enable maximal utili­zation of the remaining patient’s abilities.

7-19

Authors: Natasha CHICHEVSKA JOVANOVA,Daniela DIMITROVA RADOJICHIKJ

Parents’ reactions, in the moment when they find out that their child is with developmental disabilities, are absolutely individual. A lot of parents need months, while some of them need years to face the fact that their child is with developmental disabilities. The state and the crises that arise are very hard to be prevented, however they could be overcomed by a good professional help and support. The aim of this research is to examine the stress level that the parents of these children experience as well as the support that they receive by the family and the local community. Thirty one parents of children with intellectual disabilities, cerebral paralysis and visual impairment have been inquired. The questionnaire referred to the way of communication between professionals and parents, the stress level that they experienced because of their child and the support they received from their close family and other family members, their friends and the local community. For parents, the most stressful thing is the moment of finding out their child’s developmental disabilities. The biggest support they receive from their partners and parents.

33-44

Authors: Osisanya AYO, Adeniyi Sam OLUFEMI, Udoh Godwin GREGORY

Individuals with hearing impairment are confronted with a lot of problems due to the condition of their disability. This has a negative impact on their social and psychological well-being with multiplying effect on their interpersonal relationship. Therefore, this study investigated the psycho-social influence of hearing impairment on interpersonal behavior of youths with hearing loss. Methodology The study adopted a survey research design. A sample consisting of 211 participants with hearing loss were purposively selected from the Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, Nigeria. A questionnaire, part of Psycho-social Competence Scale (PCS), was used for data collection with reliability coefficient of 0.72. Results The findings revealed that hearing impairement affects social interaction of youths with hearing impairment, hearing loss affects emotional well-being of youths with hearing impairment and youths with hearing impairment feel inferior in company of persons without hearing impairment. Based on this, it was recommended that a friendly home environment should be made and youths with hearing impairment should be advised to accept their loss and take it as a challenge that can be used to achieve a better end and the society should have right attitude and beliefs toward youths with hearing impairment.

55-65

Authors: Jin ZHENG

This study examines Deaf/hard of hearing college students' implicit and explicit self-esteem, with thirty-six 18 to 21 year old (Age ± SD, 19.4±0.9) subjects. Following are the results of this study: Just as hearing students, Deaf/hard of hearing students also have significant implicit self-esteem effect; none of the observed correlations with explicit esteem is significant for either attributive IAT or the affective IAT; Implicit self-esteem of males is higher than that of females; No significant correlation exists between implicit self-esteem and the level of depression. Social comparisons and negative evaluations and attitudes of others always tend to damage explicit self-esteem of Deaf/hard of hearing students. However, positive self-attitude characterizations still exist in their self-schema.

79-97

Authors: Ram LAKHAN

Background: Inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and multiple disabilities (MD) in regular schools in India is extremely poor. One of the key objectives of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is to include ID & MD children in regular schools. This study attempted to find out association with age, ID severity, poverty, gender, parent education, population, and multiple disabilities comprising one or more disorders cerebral palsy, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders with inclusion among 259 children in Barwani Block of Barwani District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Aim: Inclusion of children with intellectual and multiple disabilities in regular schools through CBR approach in India. Method: Chi square test was conducted to investigate association between inclusion and predictor variables ID categories, age, gender, poverty level, parent education, population type and multiple disabilities. Result: Inclusion was possible for borderline 2(66.4%), mild 54(68.3%), moderate 18(18.2%), and age range from 5 to 12 years 63 (43%). Children living in poor families 63 (30.6%), not poor 11(18.9%), parental edu­ca­ti­on none 52 (26%), primary level 11 (65%), midd­le school 10 (48%) high school 0 (0%) and bachelor degree 1(7%), female 34 (27.9%), male 40 (29.2%), tribal 40 (28.7%), non-tribal 34(28.3%) and multiple disabled with cerebral palsy 1(1.2%), epilepsy 3 (4.8%) and psychiatry disorders 12 (22.6%) were able to receive inclusive education. Sig­ni­ficant difference in inclusion among ID ca­te­gories (c2=99.8, p < 0.001), poverty (c2=3.37, p 0.044), parental education (c2=23.7, p < 0.001), MD CP (c2=43.9, p < 0.001) and epilepsy (c2=22.4, p < 0.001) were seen. Conclusion: Inclusion through CBR is feasible and acceptable in poor rural settings in India. CBR can facilitate inclusion of children with borderline, mild and moderate categories by involving their parents, teachers and community members.

100-102

Authors: Nada POP JORDANOVA

COST project entitled ESSEA (Enhancing the Scientific Study of Early Autism) (2010-2014) is aimed to establish an interdisciplinary scientific European network to improve the detection of the earliest signs of autism, as well as to combine techniques from cognitive neuroscience with those from clinical sciences in order to establish practice guidelines on early identification and intervention of autism. The Macedonian team that actively participates in this project is composed of four participants: Acad. N. Pop-Jordanova, S. Markovska-Simoska PhD T. Zorcec, PhD and Prof. V. Trajkovski. The latest activity in this project was to obtain information about the usual early treatment in each country. For this aim, a questionnaire concerning the early treatment procedures used in each country have been translated and distributed to parents of children, younger than 6 years, with diagnosis ASD. Responses from 16 European countries, including Macedonia were obtained. I find it interesting to announce to our colleagues some of the obtained results.

105-106

Authors: Irena NOVACHESKA

The Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, in 2013 year celebrates the anniversary “20 years from the beginning special education and rehabilitation studies” and in that occasion it is organizing the 4th International Conference with the main topic “Modern aspects of the special education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities”. The Conference will be held from 17th until 19th of October in Ohrid, the city of UNESCO, also known as Balkan and European Jerusalem. A Book of abstracts and a Book of papers (only from the papers which will be presented) will be published from the Conference. One person can be an author of maximum one paper, and a co-author of maximum three papers. The deadline for submission of the abstracts is 31st of March, 2013 year and the deadline for submission of the whole paper is 31st of May, 2013 year. Abstracts and papers received after the deadline will not be considered and included in the Conference program and in the Book of abstracts and the Book of papers.

7-19

Authors: Markus GEBHARDT,Susanne SCHWAB,Mathias KRAMMER,Klicpera Barbara GASTEIGER

In Styria 77.3% of all students with special needs are educated in integrated classrooms. Currently, it is not known much either about the school performance nor the active class participation of these students. This study examined 230 fifth grade students – 43 with and 187 students without special educational needs (SEN). Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that the available data for this study represents the first wave of larger longitudinal study. The school performance of the students with SEN ranged one standard deviation below the level of the students without SEN. All students felt emotionally well integrated in the school settings, but the differences in the degree of social integration were evident. In fact, the students with SEN mentioned that they got along well with their classmates less frequently than the students without SEN.

39-54

Authors: Emily L. WILLIAMS, Manuel F. CASANOVA

The diagnostic histories of autism, dyslexia, and hyperlexia are complex. Because these conditions share both convergent and diver­gent properties, it is important to under­stand these relationships, especially in the case of research and how we interpret bodi­es of work which span decades of fluc­tuating criteria. It is also important to syn­the­size what we already know about the morpho­logy of these con­di­tions and pinpoint what we still don’t. Autism and dyslexia, for instance, share antipodal cerebral morpho­logies, such as minicolumnar den­sity, neuropil width, cell size, corpus callo­sal volume, gyral complexity, gyral window size, and cerebral volume, while hyperlexia has not been studied in this fashion, although it sha­res much in common with autism. Mean­while, the fluctuation in criteria of dyslexia over the years, means that older studies, such as some of the most highly cited in post­mortem research, have potentially used more heterogeneous groups of subjects than dys­lexia research typically uses today. Con­sider­ably, these older studies are often the basis of current animal model and genetics research. In conclusion, in consideration of the continued flux in criteria, particularly the proposed change from “Reading Disorder” to the broa­der “Specific Learning Disorder” within the DSM-5, we strongly recommend a separation of the various reading disorders under their own headings to promote specificity of diag­nosis and treatment, and to support better research.

69-84

Authors: Ranko KOVAČEVIĆ, Edin MUFTIĆ, Meliha BIJEDIĆ, Hariz ŠARIĆ

The primary goal of this research was to ascertain which risk factors could serve as the most precise predictors of violent behaviour among elementary and high-school students. The research was conducted on a sample of 1209 students, between thirteen and seventeen years old, in five cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The risk factors assessment was done by means of SAVRY (Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth), a tool used for gauging the levels of risk factors. With the help of the SPSS 12.0 Statistical Procedures Companion, the collected data was processed by employing regression analysis. The results indicate that the onset of violent behaviour, academic success, inability to concentrate, alcohol abuse, history of domestic violence, as well as parental separation, are the main predictors of violent behaviour among the aforementioned category of students. These results form a solid foundation for future planning of treatments and activities with a goal to prevent such behaviour.

99-114

Authors: Stella Suk-ching CHONG, Kar-Mon CHAN

The term ‘hikikomori’ originates from Japan and means ‘acute social withdrawal’. This study intends to investigate into the causes of hikikomori which is increasing worldwide phenomenon. The methodology is a case study approach located in an interpretive paradigm. The data was mainly collected through e-mails with the participant and phone conversations with his mother. The participant was a ‘hiki­ko­morian’ who was invited to investigate his own problem and further to be the co-author of this paper. The literature findings and this case study were then conceptualized into a more wide-ranging framework in compre­hen­ding the process of hikikomorization. The result appears to show that hikikomorization involves three processes: first, a predisposed introverted personality; second, the effects of multiple environmental factors such as family, school and society; and finally, the trigger point, such as the end of schooling or a stressful event. The study offers implications for other hiki­ko­mo­rians in better understanding of their problems and for practitioners working with reclusive ado­lescents and their families.

117-119

Authors: Natasha STANOJKOVSKA-TRAJKOVSKA

By invitation of the Faculty of Educational Rehabilitation in Zagreb, Croatia, 13 students from first and second cycle of studies from the Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation attended the Fourth International Student Congress of Students of Educational Rehabilitation. The congress was held in the period between 11 and 13 May 2012, under the title "Equal in Diversity” at Borongaj campus in Zagreb. It was organized by the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Zagreb and the first year students of this institution. Besides the students from Croatia participated also students from Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. During April and May, 65 students worked under the mentorship of their teachers and associates in the preparation of 46 lectures presented to their colleagues. The opening speech was held by the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation in Zagreb, Prof. Ljiljana Mikshaj-Todorovikj PhD, Ass. Prof. Ante Bilikj-Prcikj PhD, a representative from the Mayor’s office, a representative from the office for children's ombudsman, Ass. Natasha Stanojkovska-Trajkovska MA, representing the Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation in Skopje, representative for the students from Serbia, and Prof. Zrinjka Stanchikj PhD, the President of the Association of Former Students of Educational Rehabilitation. They all acknowledged the importance of such meetings for exchanging experiences among students in the field of theory and practice of education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, and developing communication skills and personal characteristics of students and friendships among young people with numerous of cultural and traditional differences. During the plenary, the students attended four interesting and useful lectures of professors from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation in Zagreb. The organizer offered four themes for the work of students: 1. Inclusive education and rehabilitation that includes learning disabilities, intellectual impairment, disorders from the autistic spectrum, human rights and ethical issues, the services of community support, diagnostics and assessment, early intervention, vocational rehabilitation and employment, self employment, quality of life, transition and aging, system of students support with disabilities, management in improving the rights of persons with disabilities. 2. Vision impairment which includes assessment and programs, inclusive education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired, early intervention and the role of parents in the process of rehabilitation of the visually impaired, new advances in the development of rehabilitation for persons with visual impairments, assistive and rehabilitation technology. 3. Motor disorders, chronic diseases and art therapy that includes an early deve­lopmental rehabilitation, epidemiology, philosophy of education, psychosocial onco­logy, creative therapy, art/expressive psychotherapies and supportive com­ple­men­tary therapies, and interdisciplinary re­ha­bilitation medicine, rehabilitation and assistive technology. 4. Other topics The students had the opportunity to exhibit verbal presentations, poster presentations and also take participation without presentation. All students from the Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation held verbal presentations. At the congress participated 6 students from first cycle and 7 from second cycle of studies at the Hearing Impairment department of this Institute. The students worked under the mentorship of Prof. Risto Petrov, PhD, prof. Zora Jachova PhD and Ass. Natasha Stanojkovska Trajkovska, MA. During their three days stay in Zagreb, they were accompanied by Ass. Natasha Stanojkovska Trajkovska MA and Ass. Alexandra Karovska Ristovska MA. The students from the Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation presented a total of eight presentations that aroused interest among the audience and were followed by discussion and numerous of questions.

123-126

Authors: Goran PETRUSHEV

This conference was realized in the period from 17 to 19 May 2012 in Hotel Sirius in Strumica. The organizers of this conference were: The Association of Special Educators and Rehabilitators of the Republic of Macedonia; The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia; The Faculty of Philosophy Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation. This conference had three goals: 1. To present developed system of inclusive education; 2. In terms of the stakeholders, to map the current situation in the process of inclusive education in Macedonia; 3. To identify the challenges on which Macedonia should be focused in order to promote inclusive education for children with special educational needs in preschool, primary and secondary educational institutions. The goals of this meeting were achieved through a series of presentations of papers and fruitful discussions on four topics related to the success of inclusive education. The general conclusion of the presentations of papers and discussions from the roundtable is that inclusive education in Macedonia is considered as an isolated process that affects only professionals, children with special educational needs and their parents. In order to promote this process, inclusive education of children with special educational needs should be considered as a social change and must involve all stakeholders. In order to achieve this, changes are necessary in: 1. The system of planning, assessment and evaluation of educational and educated work with this group of students; 2. The system of management of inclusive education in RM; 3. The system of a multidisciplinary approach; and 4. The system of assessment, evaluation and identification of children with special educational needs.