Sofia Mavropoulou

Story Composition, Mental State Language and Self-Regulated Strategy Instruction for Writers with Autism Spectrum Conditions.

In this single-subject study, we evaluated the effects of an intervention using a modified version of the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) approach on the story composition skills and the use of mental state language in three writers with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Interestingly, the intervention was not found to be effective in increasing the number of words, sentences and advanced words for all participants, while only two participants used more story elements and improved the holistic quality of their compositions. Nevertheless, all participants used more mental state terms, spent more time for story planning, transferred their new skills to different writing tasks and maintained them 4 weeks post-intervention. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the extended version of the SRSD approach on the use of mental state language in the writings of children with ASC.

Benefits and concerns: parents’ perceptions of inclusive schooling for children with special educational needs (SEN) in Bhutan

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explored Bhutanese parents’ perceptions of the benefits and their concerns in relation to the inclusive education of their children with special educational needs (SEN). Twenty-six parents (13 fathers and 13 mothers) of children with SEN, either fully or partially included in three pilot schools with SEN programmes located in urban, semi-urban, and rural regions in Bhutan were individually interviewed. The thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that inclusion was associated with social benefits for parents of children with developmental disabilities, while parents of children with physical disabilities perceived the caring and supportive environment as the major gain from inclusion. For a few parents, the inclusion of their child in the school alleviated some of the burden of daily care. Most parents were satisfied with their children in the school, despite limited school resources, although their concerns for behavioural problems, bullying and lack of academic learning persisted. Implications for parent advocacy in the school and the need for counselling both for parents and their children, and training for teachers are discussed.

The effect of badges on the engagement of students with special educational needs: A case study

This paper addresses the perceived benefits from gamification in the context of special education. It presents the findings of a study evaluating the effects of a specific gamification element (badges) on the engagement of five students with special learning needs, through online courses developed on the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). The results indicate that this particular gamification element yielded positive effects on students’ engagement and on their overall attitude towards the educational process in general.

Digital Storytelling for Children with Autism: Software Development and Pilot Application

This chapter addresses the potential value of using Digital Storytelling (DS) for teaching social skills to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Despite the effectiveness of storytelling for the education of typically developing children, its application for teaching children with ASD has not been examined in detail. Within this context, the present chapter describes the Digital Structured Storytelling for Autism (Di.S.S.A.) tool, which is a software application for creating digital stories following a structured learning approach. The application accommodates users performance data towards the learning outcomes and provides feedback (to teachers or parents) about childrens progress. The application of Di.S.S.A. has shown a great potential for teaching social skills to children with ASD.