Deslea Konza

Secondary school success for students with Asperger's Syndrome

Many students approach the transition to secondary school with feelings of both excitement and apprehension, but it is excitement that usually prevails. For students with Aspergers Syndrome, however, those aspects of secondary school that most students anticipate with great enthusiasm, such as being in a new and larger environment, having different teachers and increased subject choices, and meeting new people, are sources of great anxiety. Despite the increasing numbers of students being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (Safran, 2002), many teachers have limited understanding of the condition, or of appropriate strategies for the successful inclusion of students with this diagnosis (Williams, 2001). This paper examines aspects of secondary school that are particularly challenging for students with Aspergers Syndrome and describes ways in which these issues were addressed by teachers who approached these challenges with flexibility and ingenuity.

Towards Effective Integration in Australia

For the past twenty years integration of students with special needs has been emerging as one of the most significant educational and social challenges facing the world’s communities. Since the early 1970’s, the Commonwealth Schools Commission has supported attempts throughout Australia to integrate students with special needs into ordinary school settings, rather than to expand provision of segregated schools and centres. The nature and funding level of the Commission’s integration element has been the subject of extensive discussion in recent years and these discussions have now extended to the regular school arena where increasing numbers of students with special needs are being integrated. There was, therefore, wide consenus throughout Australia that a review of integration was needed at this time. The national review reported in this paper was commissioned by the Commonwealth Schools Commission in response to a request from the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation to participate in a three-country (Australia, Sweden and France) review of integration policies and practices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the factors identified in this review as being vital to effective integration in Australia.

A Response to Hall: bilingualism in deaf education explored

Abstract This paper is a response to an article by Winnifred Hall which appeared in Volume 42:1, 17‐31 of this journal. Hall raised a number of significant issues in the education of Deaf students, and called for greater recognition of educational programs which take into account cultural factors relevant to the Deaf community, and which utilise native sign languages in programs aimed at developing language proficiency. Hall recognises the importance of effective written language skills for Deaf people if they are to function in the wider community, skills which have not been well developed in the past, and she calls for new approaches to teaching written language to Deaf children. The authors of this paper, while supporting the views of Hall, do not believe she takes sufficient account of the difficulties associated with affording both English and native sign languages equal prominence in a classroom, nor does she recognise the importance of beginning instruction in English before the secondary school ye...

Testing times: problems arising from misdiagnosis

Despite a wealth of literature that argues for multiple measures to be used in the identification of gifted students, problems continue to arise when the tests are not used appropriately or when the results of such testing are ignored by teachers. This paper describes case studies of three children and the problems that have arisen for them and their families as their giftedness has been discounted. We conclude that testing cannot occur in a vacuum but must occur within the context of intensive observations of and discussions with the child and the family. Finally, we reiterate the crucial need for adequate training in gifted education for all teachers if children are to receive an education commensurate with their abilities.

Spelling accuracy for secondary students with spelling difficulties: Using phonetic codes and technology

Abstract This study investigated the combined use of the phonetic spelling code and an electronic spellchecker as a means by which secondary students with moderate spelling difficulties may write in a more decipherable manner, and spell more words accurately according to the conventional spelling code. Eighteen Year 7 secondary school students with moderate spelling difficulties were taught to use two simple phonetic spelling strategies in conjunction with an electronic phonetic dictionary, the Franklin TMQ 200, under three treatment conditions: whole class, small group and individual tuition. It was hypothesized that the individual treatment would be the most effective, followed by the small group, then whole class conditions. All but one student made gains in correct spelling on the South Australian Spelling Test (Range 1–9), although there were no differences between the instructional conditions and no significant gains in understandable (phonetically regular) attempts to spell, pre‐test to post‐test. It is a significant finding in its own right that many students had mastered and were applying the phonetic code, when the correct spelling of a word was not immediately accessible to them. The potential value of the program for students with severe remedial spelling needs, as well as those with moderate needs, is also discussed.

In-school Experience Designed to Meet Individual Needs

Abstract Current policies at both the state and national levels emphasise the need for increased attention to teaching children with special needs and more extensive school‐based experience in teacher education courses. This paper reports an in‐school experience which was an integral part of an on‐campus subject that focused upon teaching children with special needs. It also addressed a range of issues currently of concern in pre‐service teacher education, including the nature of the in‐school experience, managing the needs of children with learning difficulties in an integrated classroom, overcoming the socialising effect of block practice teaching, reinforcing the relevance of campus‐based subjects, maintaining a balance between the formal teaching expectations and the nurturing roles of teachers, providing teacher educators with recent and relevant in‐school experience, and producing reflective teachers with an understanding and appreciation of the ‘art’ and the ‘science’ of teaching.