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In this article we argue that cultural–historical neuropsychology manages to escape the theoretical stagnation that characterises the field of dyslexia. To support our argumentation, we first define cultural–historical psychology and neuropsychology and determine their subject matter. Afterwards, we provide an outline of how reading and reading difficulties are perceived through the prism of cultural–historical neuropsychology. We then discuss several mainstream conceptualisations of dyslexia that contribute to the theoretical stagnation in the field. Finally, we explain how cultural–historical neuropsychology avoids each theoretical barrier imposed by mainstream conceptualisations.

Parallel support is a Greek type of special education provision aiming at providing additional support to students identified with special educational needs and/or disability in mainstream classroo...

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a controversial phenomenon and the link between schooling and the burgeoning occurrence of ADHD diagnoses is problematic. This paper contributes to the discussion regarding the issue by providing a literature review of the evidence on the influence of relative age effect (RAE) on being diagnosed with ADHD. Firstly, the review presents a general cross-national trend for a positive association between relative age and the probability of being diagnosed with ADHD compared to peers, thus showing that the younger-in-class children are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Secondly, this paper outlines and discusses the suggested explanations of the phenomenon as depicted in the reviewed literature. Finally, the paper proceeds to provide alternative frameworks for the explanation of the RAE on ADHD diagnosis that go beyond individual psychopathology and instead take into account the broader social, cultural and political contexts in which the phenomenon takes place.

In this paper we critically evaluate the literature of evidence–based psychosocial interventions for children diagnosed with ADHD. Our paper is structured around five main criticisms. First, the evidence–based psychosocial interventions are formulated on the basis of the categorical diagnosis of ADHD which is an ambiguous diagnostic entity. Second, they claim homogeneity among children diagnosed with ADHD. Third, they diffuse non–pedagogical language in education. The fourth criticism refers to the methodological bias by which evidence is produced. The fifth and final criticism describes how this body of literature promotes a pedagogical practice that relies on manualized approaches to be considered effective.

The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of active social networks of individuals with visual impairments, the social support they receive from their social networks, and their satisfaction from received support. In addition, we examined these factors as predictors of happiness in people with visual impairments. A total of 96 individuals with visual impairments, who ranged in age from 16 to 50, participated in this study. Three self-constructed questionnaires, which included questions related to demographic data, social networks, social support, and happiness, were used in the study. Participants reported being satisfied with received support, and they also appeared to receive more positive than negative support. Findings also demonstrated the merit of social support for the happiness of individuals with visual impairments.

The interdisciplinary trend in "Mind, Brain, and Education" has witnessed dynamic international growth in recent years. Yet, it remains little known that the National University of La Plata in Argentina probably holds the historical precedent as the world's first institution of higher education that formally included neurobiology in the curriculum of an educational department, having done so as early as 1922. The responsibility of teaching neurobiology to educators was assigned to Professor Christofredo Jakob (1866-1956). In the present article, we highlight Jakob's emphasis on interdisciplinarity and, in particular, on the neuroscientific foundations of education, including special education.

This article focuses on the application of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to design a positive behavior intervention (PBI) for a boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who encounters serious difficulties at the mainstream school because of behavioral problems and physical limitations. After the definition of problem behavior and its causes, a number of environmental changes in the context of positive behavior support (PBS) aiming at learning outcome and social engagement were implemented. The assessment steps and the intervention are thoroughly discussed. This work expands the existing literature by highlighting the feasibility and applicability of FBA and PBS in a low-incidence population within a Greek classroom environment.

The study presented here examined which auditory cues individuals with visual impairments use more frequently and consider to be the most important for wayfinding in urban environments. It also investigated the ways in which these individuals use the most significant auditory cues.

There is no doubt about the value of braille in the personal and professional lives of people with visual impairments (Hatlen & Spungin, 2008; Spungin, 1996; Wells-Jensen, Wells-Jensen, & Belknap, 2005). Nevertheless, computers and assistive technology are often cited as the means to overcome limited access to information and other environmental barriers for nonprint readers (Gerber, 2003). Gerber noted that a plethora of researchers and practitioners in the field of visual impairment have acknowledged that the use of computers and assistive technology can change the lives of people with visual impairments to a great extent by improving educational and employment opportunities, enhancing social networks, and facilitating independence. Research conducted in the United Kingdom has found that the proportion of braille readers among people with visual impairments is remarkably low (McCall, 1997; Walker, Tobin, & McKennell, 1991). Furthermore, studies conducted in the United States have revealed that literacy rates in braille have gradually declined over the past five decades (American Printing House for the Blind, 1996; Mullen, 1990). Regarding higher education students in particular, Gray and Wilkins (2005) estimated that only 6.1% of students with visual impairments (including those who are blind or have low vision) are braille readers. They proposed that this low incidence of braille readers may be a result of the increase in the use of computers and assistive technology by students with visual impairments over the past decade. Much has been said in the literature about the decline in the use of braille and braille literacy. The "braille literacy crisis" has been widely discussed by professionals and censured by consumer groups (Johnson, 1996; Rex, 1989; Ryles, 1996). In the face of the low rate of braille literacy and its possible implications for the future use of braille, braille readers and advocates have argued for the increased use of braille in all areas of life (Wells-Jensen et al., 2005). Although there is no agreement in the literature on the causes of the decline in the use of braille, several factors have been cited, such as the increase in the number of children with additional disabilities within the population of children with visual impairments (Mullen, 1990; Rex, 1989), the advances in assistive technology that have gained the trust of many people with visual impairments and the use of assistive technology as a viable substitute for braille (Spungin, 1996), negative attitudes toward braille (Johnson, 1996), and the problems associated with the availability of braille and getting brailled texts on time (Emerson, Corn, & Siller, 2006). THE STUDY The study reported here explored the use of different reading media by students and graduates of higher education with visual impairments in Greece. In particular, it aimed to investigate the following: (1) the frequency of use of reading media; (2) the factors that affect the frequency of use of braille and computers (that is, screen readers or screen magnifiers); (3) the advantages and disadvantages of the various reading media; and (4) the participants' tendency to change from one reading medium to another and to examine their beliefs about the suitability of each reading medium for satisfying their needs. Method Participants. The participants were 61 Greek adults (33 men and 28 women) with visual impairments, aged 19-55 (mean = 29.9, SD = 8.324). Of the 61 participants, 35 were blind or had severe visual impairments and 26 had low vision. On the basis of the participants' visual status, the sample was divided into two subgroups. Participants in the subgroup "blind or with severe visual impairments" did not read visually using any low vision device, while participants in the subgroup "individuals with low vision" read print with or without using low vision devices. In addition, 30 of the 61 participants had a congenital visual impairment and 31 had an adventitious visual impairment. …

This study investigated the intelligibility and comprehensibility of natural speech in comparison to synthetic speech. The results demonstrate the type of errors; the relationship between intelligibility and comprehensibility; and the correlation between intelligibility and comprehensibility and key factors, such as the frequency of use of text-to-speech systems. ********** Recent technological progress in electronic augmentative communication devices has expanded the possibilities for communication for people who previously faced severe communication difficulties, such as individuals with visual impairments. As Mirenda and Beukelman (1990) noted, the most common method used to generate synthetic speech in modern communication devices is text-to-speech (TTS) systems. TTS systems use a flexible mathematic algorithm that represents rules for combining acoustic properties and rules for pronunciation (Mirenda & Beukelman, 1990). The perception of synthetic speech is usually discussed with regard to intelligibility and comprehension (Koul, 2003). Intelligibility is the listener's ability to recognize phonemes and words when they are presented in isolation (Ralston, Pisoni, & Mullennix, 1989), whereas comprehension involves the extraction of the underlying meaning from the acoustic signals of speech (Duffy & Pisoni, 1992). The comprehension of synthetic speech involves recognizing the stimuli presented and then performing higher-level processing to obtain meaning. The term discourse comprehension is an automatic process that is used to encode and integrate passages, explanations, and conversations (Higginbotham, Drazek, Kowarsky, Scally, & Segal, 1994). Despite the substantial data on the intelligibility and comprehension of synthetic speech systems by people with no disabilities (see, for example, Koul, 2003; Koul & Hanners, 1997; Mirenda & Beukelman, 1987, 1990), there has been limited research on the intelligibility and comprehension of synthetic speech systems by people with visual impairments (see, for example, Hensil & Whittaker, 2000). Numerous studies have found that natural speech is significantly more intelligible than that produced by TTS synthesis systems (Clark, 1983; Greene, Logan, & Pisoni, 1986; Hoover, Reichle, VanTasell, & Cole, 1987; Kangas & Allen, 1990; Koul & Allen, 1993; Logan, Greene, & Pisoni, 1989; Mirenda & Beukelman, 1987, 1990; Mitchell & Atkins, 1989; Ralston, Pisoni, Lively, Greene, & Mullennix, 1991). For example, the percentage of intelligibility for high-quality synthesizers, such as DECtalk (a high-quality form of synthetic speech manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation) in a single-word intelligibility task ranged from 81.7% correct with an open-response format (Mirenda & Beukelman, 1987) to 96.7% correct with a closed-response format (Greene, Manous, & Pisoni, 1984, cited in Koul & Hanners, 1997). In contrast, word-intelligibility scores for natural speech ranged from 97.2% correct with an open-response format to 99% correct with a closed-response format (Logan et al., 1989). Moreover, a review of relevant research on the perception of sentences produced by synthetic speech revealed a differentiated pattern of results, depending on the type of sentence spoken. According to Mirenda and Beukelman (1987), accuracy scores ranged from 96.7% for sentences presented via the DECtalk synthesizer to 99.3% for meaningful sentences presented via natural speech. However, for anomalous sentences, accuracy scores ranged from 78.7% for synthetic speech to 97.7% for natural speech (Pisoni & Hunnicutt, 1980, cited in Koul, 2003). Thus, similar to the trend for words, there is remarkably greater intelligibility for natural speech than for TTS speech for sentences. Furthermore, comprehension of sentences and narratives has been found to be slower and less accurate when materials are presented in synthetic rather than in natural speech (Higginbotham et al. …

The aim of this study was to examine reading media (braille, cassettes, screen-reader, screen-magnifier, large print, low vision aids, CCTV) used by visually impaired adults. This article reports the results of a research project involving 100 people with visual impairment. The participants were interviewed and asked to fill in a questionnaire to gather data on use of different reading media and the training in use of reading media, as well as age, gender, age of onset of visual impairment, education, and place of residence. We also explored participant perceived advantages and disadvantages of the various reading media, and the perceived suitability of each reading medium for daily, educational, and professional tasks.

This study investigated word intelligibility among sighted individuals and individuals with visual impairments for both natural and synthetic speech. Both groups of participants performed significantly better when identifying words presented via natural speech. The results also demonstrated that individuals with visual impairments were more successful than their sighted peers in understanding words presented via synthetic speech, with experience being the most critical factor in identifying words for the participants with visual impairments. Finally, the findings show the correlation between intelligibility and key factors such as age and the overall use of text-to-speech systems.

This study examined which olfactory cues individuals with visual impairments use most often and determined which of these cues these individuals deemed to be the most important for wayfinding in urban environments. It also investigated the ways in which the individuals use these olfactory cues.

IntroductionThe study presented here examines which haptic cues individuals with visual impairments use more frequently and determines which of these cues are deemed by these individuals to be the most important for way-finding in urban environments. It also investigates the ways in which these haptic cues are used by individuals with visual impairments.MethodsTo answer the research questions, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The data collection procedure consisted of three parts: a focus-group interview, questionnaires, and fully structured interviews.ResultsA list of 37 haptic cues used for outdoor wayfinding emerged from the focus-group interview. The following haptic cues were calculated to be the most significant for outdoor wayfinding by individuals with visual impairments: changes in the texture of walking surface, sidewalks, bus stops, slopes, curb ramps, walls, parking posts, traffic lights, flower beds, and potholes. Participants use these haptic cues as points of reference, to determine their position in an environment, and to collect information about other objects in the environment. Haptic cues also function as warnings of possible hazards and help individuals with visual impairments to avoid colliding with objects while walking.DiscussionThe participants reported that they use haptic cues that can be perceived through different means and that they use their sense of touch to gain different types of spatial information. A discrepancy was revealed for several cues between their scores in frequency and usefulness.Implications for practitionersFindings from this study could be used to inform training in orientation and mobility, to enhance route descriptions, and to inform the design of commercial tactile maps.