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Research has shown that students with disabilities who do use accommodations are more successful in terms of final degree classification compared to those who do not. However, in Dutch universities, access to accommodations must be requested at different levels, meaning that disclosure of ones' disability is inevitable. The official numbers of Dutch students with disabilities registered differ greatly from self-stated numbers (9.4% vs 30%) (Steenkamp, 2015; Van den Broek et al., 2013). This implies that not all students disclose their disabilities at university. Little is known about how and why students choose (not) to disclose their disabilities. This paper describes the results of a qualitative cross-disability study regarding the disclosure strategies of students in higher education by reporting how Dutch university students deal with the disclosure of their disabilities to the university, teachers, and fellow students.

This study investigates cognitive abilities of pre/primary school children without and with spina bifida in Uganda. Qualitative semi structured interviews and quantitative functioning scales measurements were combined and conducted with 133 parents, 133 children with spina bifida, and 35 siblings. ANCOVA was used to test for differences in cognitive scores between children and siblings. Logistic regression analyses were used to study predictive demographic, impairment specific, and environmental factors of cognitive functioning. Children with spina bifida in Uganda had lower cognitive outcomes compared to their siblings. Cognitive outcomes were predicted by age, household income, motor functioning, and schooling. Better motor functioning was predicted by age, the presence of hydrocephalus, and parental support. Continence management was predicted by parental support and household income. Schooling was predicted by age, household income, and motor functioning. Limited access to neurosurgery and rehabilitative care, and schooling had a negative effect on cognitive functioning. Children of parents who have support had better motor functioning, and continence management. A holistic approach for children with spina bifida and their families, including community based rehabilitation; ensuring social support and livelihoods for parents; and access to health and education services can contribute to better cognitive outcomes.

Background: Obuntu bulamu , a peer-to-peer support intervention for children, parents and teachers to improve the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities (CwD), was developed and tested in Uganda. The intervention consisted of disability-inclusive peer-to-peer training and support activities. In this article, parent participation in and evaluation of the intervention are discussed. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Methods: A qualitative Afrocentric intervention study was implemented in 10 schools in Wakiso district in Central Uganda. Researchers purposely selected CwD aged 8–14 years, their peers and parents from 10 primary schools with on average three CwD per school. A total of 64 study parents (33 parents of CwD and 31 peers) were interviewed at baseline and endline. Two focus group discussions were held with 14 parents at midline. Parents also participated in a consultative meeting about the intervention design at baseline and two evaluation and feedback workshops at midline and endline. Thematic data analysis was conducted. Results: Findings showed that parents found the intervention inspiring, acceptable, culturally appropriate and supportive, as it built on values and practices from their own cultural tradition. Parents reported that the intervention enhanced a sense of togetherness and belonging and helped them to develop more positive attitudes towards CwD and disability inclusion. They felt the intervention increased participation and inclusion of CwD at home, school and in communities. Conclusion: The Obuntu bulamu peer-to-peer support intervention is an acceptable, culturally appropriate intervention with the potential to improve inclusion of CwD. Further studies are recommended to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. Contribution: The paper contributes to existing evidence that there is need for more Afrocentric interventions, which built on cultural values and practices. Interventions based on indigenous values have a greater potential to be acceptable, can foster integration and are likely to be more sustainability to achieve disability inclusion. In the article we describe parental perspectives of the Obuntu bulamu intervention, an intervention to improve inclusion of children with disabilities, which was designed by children, parents, teachers, educationalists, and academics from Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first information parents receive after referral through Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) has significant consequences for later care-related decisions they take and thus for the future of the child with a hearing loss. In this study, 11 interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Flemish service providers to discover (a) the content of the information provided to parents and (b) the service providers' assumptions and beliefs concerning deafness and care. To do this, we conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis, followed by a discourse analysis. Results showed that parents receive diverse information, depending on the reference center to which they are referred. Moreover, all service providers used a medical discourse. We suggest that there is value to be gained from closer consideration of the nature of follow-up services provided in response to UNHS in Flanders and from auditing the professional preparation of service providers that are involved in providing information to parents.

The objective of this study is to analyze parental perspectives concerning the use of (re)habilitation services after Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS). A qualitative study design was used involving children with moderate-to-profound hearing loss who were born between 1999 and 2001 and who are registered in the UNHS program in Flanders, Belgium. Parents of these children were interviewed using a topic list and a chronological scheme to register meaningful events while using (re)habilitative services. Subsequently, thematic content analysis was applied to the transcripts of the interviews. Analysis found that differences exist in parental experiences and some parents who were referred directly from UNHS to an ear, nose, and throat department were left with feelings of uncertainty and anxiety, creating an obstacle in the care trajectory for their child. The parental perception of diagnosis/care was also a cause for delay. Parents considered educational support at home, after UNHS, important. Results indicate that implementation of a UNHS program is in itself insufficient to ensure early intervention, and that adequate support is needed during the early care trajectory to avoid delay and parental distress. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The objective of this study is to examine the early care trajectories of congenitally deaf children from a parental perspective, starting with universal neonatal hearing screenings. The analysis using a three-dimensional care trajectory concept is aimed at developing a basic typology of postscreening care trajectories. Children with severe/profound hearing loss, registered in the Flanders' (Belgium) universal neonatal hearing screening program, born between 1999 and 2001. Thematic content analysis of qualitative data collected retrospectively from participant's parents. Two basic types of care trajectories emerged; based on differences in care-use in the phase of further diagnosis and related parental experiences. Subtypes resulted from events related to cochlear implantation. Five trajectory phases were identified: screening, further diagnosis, care and technology, cochlear implantation, and reduction of care and were characterized by specific parental experiences such as confusion, disbelief, disappointment, and uncertainty. Those experiences relate to care professionals' acts and communication and the child's functional evolution. Early care interventions could benefit from coordinated transition between phases, parent support throughout the care trajectory, and a broad approach to deafness in professionals' communication.

As the concept of quality of life (QOL) has evolved from a theoretical concept to both a measurable construct and an action-oriented change agent in the field of intellectual disabilities, there has emerged a corresponding need to develop, implement, and use a systematic approach to the assessment of domain-referenced quality of life outcomes. The purpose of this article is to suggest eight principles based on published literature and the authors' experiences that should underlie the assessment of QOL-related personal outcomes in the field of intellectual disabilities. Data from the development of the "personal outcomes scale" are used to exemplify each principle. The article's premise is that model development and test construction should work in tandem, and that a "quality of life assessment instrument" should be based on an empirically derived QOL conceptual and measurement framework/model.

The paper provides a critical analysis of the Inclusive Community Project Geldermalsen, in central Netherlands through the lens of Freirean theory and the concepts of dialogue, praxis, and conscientization, thereby establishing an interesting dialogue between critical disability studies and critical pedagogy. On a practical level, the applied participatory methodology of the project and the shaping of new identities on an individual and community level are discussed. On a theoretical level, the research tries to show how critical disability studies can help to refine critical pedagogy through the integration of ability diversity, and in return how Freire's rootedness in materialism allows for the reconsideration of the definition of disability and the agency of people with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is need to learn from indigenous knowledge and concepts when studying disability and inclusion in resource-constrained settings. We describe the development and testing of the 'Obuntu bulamu' intervention, a peer-to-peer support disability inclusion intervention, starting from indigenous interpretations of belonging and humanity. 'Obuntu bulamu' is an accepted and consistent behaviour that signifies a shared set of values that promote well-being, togetherness, and unity. The intervention was co-created and tested by a team of children, parents, teachers, disability rehabilitation workers, and academics in Uganda. It consists of training sessions, peer support meetings, and activities for children, parents, and teachers around the themes 'peer support', 'disability', and 'belonging'. Through qualitative participatory methods the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention was evaluated with 64 children, 64 parents, and 33 teachers in 10 communities in Wakiso district, Central Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]