Susan M. Ryan

The Person behind the Face of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Student Experiences and Family and Professionals' Perspectives on FASD

This article describes the individual experiences of 5 students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) living in rural and urban Alaska. The article is based on the results of a 3 year qualitative study using interviews with and observations of the students, members of their family, and educational and medical professionals with whom they are involved. Findings highlight several major themes that include: (a) the person behind the face of FASD; (b) experiences of students with FASD including situations of competence and vulnerability; (c) anticipated trajectories that lead the students towards experiences of separateness and isolation; and (d) the social and cultural stigma of FASD. The article concludes with recommendations that service providers, educators, and policy makers can use to improve the education and community life for students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Inclusion for Students With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Classroom Teachers Talk About Practice

The authors aimed to investigate the perceptions and experiences of regular education classroom teachers whose students included at least 1 child diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum (FAS) disorders. The authors collected data over a 3-year period in 3 school districts in the Pacific Northwest. Data included interviews with classroom teachers, notes from classroom observations, and medical and educational documents. The authors studied FAS inclusion, including descriptions of academic performance, behavioral patterns, and articulation of the strategies that classroom teachers used. The authors also identified problems associated with FAS inclusion in hopes that an increased understanding of these issues results in the improvement of educational experiences for other students with FAS and their teachers.

Selecting Signs for the Formulation of an Augmentative Communicative Modality.

This article reviews literature describing guidelines for selecting 1) signing as an augmentative communication mode and 2) initial signs to teach severely handicapped learners. A review of the literature indicates that numerous guidelines are available, and although they appear to have face validity, few have received empirical scrutiny. Criteria are inconsistently applied across the literature. Each identified criterion pertinent to selecting initial signs is discussed, based on available theoretical positions and data. Recommendations are made for systematic evaluation of identified criteria.

Alaska's Rural Early Intervention Preservice Training Program.

Effective educational practices for infants and toddlers with disabilities demand personnel with appropriate training. In almost all states, qualified personnel currently are not available to staff programs designed for young children (Burke, McLaughlin, & Valdivieso, 1988; Hanson & Lovett, 1992). The lack of trained and qualified personnel working in rural areas is an even greater problem confounded by difficulties with staff recruitment and retention. The purpose of this article is to describe a Masters level training program for early intervention personnel currently providing services in rural Alaska to infants and toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities and their families. This article addresses how to implement current best practice in early intervention via distance education to programs and personnel who are geographically distanced from the places and resources where available training occurs.

An Inclusive Rural Post Secondary Education Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities.

Post secondary education is a life long dream for many students with and without intellectual disabilities. This dream is particularly difficult to attain for students with intellectual disabilities living in rural and remote communities with little access to social, academic, or employment opportunities. This article describes the philosophy, program features, and emerging benefits to students attending one rural post secondary education program in Vermont. Examples of how students with intellectual disabilities engage in inclusive academic, social, and employment experiences in college are provided. Examples illustrative of students with intellectual disabilities living in rural Vermont are provided. Emerging data from an ongoing evaluation are shared. Implications and suggestions for replication for students, educators, parents, and higher education personnel from other rural areas are offered.

Left behind: lack of research-based interventions for children and youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

The purpose of this article was to examine the evidence-based research supporting effective intervention and educational practices for children and youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. A review of the literature from 1999 to 2007 revealed three studies that met the inclusion criteria. Research studies employed experimental or quasi-experimental designs and provided limited evidence for effectiveness through multiple replications. Practices that were efficacious included family based intervention and social skills training. Implications and the need for future research are discussed.

Experiences and Perceptions of Rural Alaskan General Educators: Implications for Preparation in Inclusive Practices.

Special Education policy provides for the involvement and progress of students with disabilities in general education programs. Inclusionary educational practices are impacted not only by the skills of educators, but also by their life experiences, the challenges and rewards they experience in their work, and the perceived integration between the philosophy and practices of inclusion and the culture of their community. This study explores the experiences and perceptions of general education teachers and their special education teaching assistants living in remote Alaskan villages who participated in a distance delivered inservice preparation project to increase skills to support inclusionary education for students with disabilities. Based on (a) questionnaires, (b) permanent products, (c) group audio-conferences, (d) in-depth individual interviews, and (e) researcher field notes collected over a 24 month period, analyses of the data highlighted three major findings of educational significance, all related to teachers experiences and perceptions. Categories of findings and discussion include: (a) the importance of personal stories, (b) teacher perceptions of challenges and supports for inclusionary practices, and (c) the perceived integration between the culture of special education and teacher experience of Alaskan village culture. The authors conclude with recommendations for the field that build upon experiences of individuals, their values, and beliefs in order to support and enhance the sustainable development and implementation of inclusion of persons with disabilities in school and community life.

From the Parents' Perspective: The Think College Experience in Rural Vermont.

Through qualitative interviews, perspectives of parents of students who were in the first 2 years of the Think College Program at University of Vermont and Johnson State College were explored, thereby identifying expectations, academic and social aspects, and experiences of their children as college members. Previous experience of these students in inclusive educational environments influenced parent perceptions. Parents described efforts to support the students during college, from financing and transportation to academic coaching and accommodating lessons. They discussed hopes for employment, and evolving perceptions of their own roles in relation to the future lives of their adult sons or daughters.