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Since 2003, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has included students with special educational needs (SEN), identified as those with functional disabilities, those with cognitive/behavioural/emotional disabilities and those with limited test language proficiency. While the number of countries and included students has increased with each test administration, the percentage of students with SEN remains extremely low. The inclusion of these students is not an intentional PISA design parameter but rather a response to the interaction between the need to maintain strict sampling criteria and country-level educational mandates to include SEN students in standardised testing. Based on the analysis of student participation and performance across four cycles of PISA (2003-2012), this paper examines the challenges that exist in current PISA procedures related to: student sampling, eligibility and identification; assessment methodology; and reporting results. PISA practices, their limitations for scientific inferences and recommendations for design improvements are given.

Older women with intellectual disabilities remain the least studied and understood members of the disability population, and yet they often live well into late adulthood. In this exploratory study we used extensive interviews to examine the demographics, economic and personal safety nets, health, social roles, and well-being of 29 Irish and American older women with intellectual disabilities. Results suggest that these women have very limited resources, social networks, and opportunities. All the women were poor and most lived in group residences, with paid staff as their main allies and careproviders. They reported that their health was good, though it often limited their activities. Despite their societal limitations, these women reported this is the happiest period of their lives.

Evaluation of a Michigan program to integrate persons with developmental disabilities into the community evaluated variables including involvement of allies in planning futures, number of people with disabilities residing in each home, proportion of earned income, level of disability, and level of mobility. Earned income was the variable that most explained the degree to which people were physically included. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

This study explored risk factors for violence among a sample of adult women with physical disabilities. Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women participating in the study indicated a positive history of abuse. Of the women who reported abuse, most reported multiple abuse situations and abusers who were typically their male partners. In addition, only a small proportion of women sought and received adequate help. Women who indicated that they did not seek help were asked why this was the case. Their responses included: feeling that they could handle it themselves, having other sources of support available, being unaware of where to go, feeling embarrassed, feeling guilty about being a burden or that it was their fault, fear that abuser would come after them, fear of not being believed, and, to a lesser extent, concern that the shelter would lack appropriate accommodations. These findings highlight the importance of intervention strategies including advocacy activities for women with disabilities, activities with schools, activities to deter and prevent partner and caregiver violence, community awareness activities, and dissemination activities.

During the last five years, state and federal initiatives have contributed to th viability of Supported Employment programs for individuals with severe disabilities. However, a critical factor in the longevity [...]

The aim of this study was to describe the context and impact of caregiving for grandchildren with health concerns on grandparents. The study sample comprised 391 African American grandparents aged 55 or older. Logistic regression analysis indicated that grandparent caregivers of grandchildren with psychiatric or behavioral problems were more likely to experience a negative impact on their health (AOR = 7.86, p =.008) and leisure (AOR = 14.31, p =.024) than grandparent caregivers of grandchildren with no or other types of health problems. The findings underscore the need to support African American grandparent caregivers, particularly those raising grandchildren with mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of the social construct of Family Quality of Life (FQOL) is a parsimonious alternative to the current approach of measuring familial outcomes using a battery of tools related to individual-level outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the internal consistency and concurrent validity of the International FQOL Survey (FQOLS-2006), using cross-sectional data collected from 65 family caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. It shows a moderate correlation between the total FQOL scores of the FQOLS-2006 and the Beach Center's FQOL scale. The validity of five FQOLS-2006 domains was supported by the correlations between conceptually related domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous reviews of person-centered planning indicate a need for more comprehensive training to promote skill generalization. A three-phase training intervention was implemented with 22 planning teams for people with a disability in the Detroit metropolitan area. Independent observers rated team meetings posttraining on consumer orientation regarding three components of person-centered planning: meeting structure, interpersonal skills, and planning strategies. Analyses of ratings indicated that structural skills were significantly more readily incorporated than either interpersonal or strategic skills. Exploratory analyses indicated that the number of family members, friends, and advocates at the planning meetings was positively correlated with planning strategies, while living arrangements were negatively correlated with planning strategies. Implications for the acquisition and generalization of more complex planning skills are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persons with physical disabilities have difficulty accessing health care. This has become more pronounced with the emergence of managed care and other efforts to limit growing healthcare costs. In responding to a state's Medicaid office interest in designing accessible health services, a consumer-based evaluation including a series of nine focus groups (96 participants) was conducted using an emergent design method. Our inductive analysis approach identified difficulties and provided the basis for recommending strategies to improve access. Two sets of consumer recommended strategies consistently were expressed during this process: (1) initiating one-to-one advocacy to improve local service coordination and (2) performing person-centered planning at enrollment in a managed care plan to facilitate appropriate and prompt access. These access strategies formed the basis for a later intervention design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This 1 year study of 23 women examined osteoporosis in postmenopausal women with Down syndrome. The participants had their bone mineral density measured in three sites (lumbar spine, hip and forearm) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Each participant also completed a medical history self-report questionnaire. The findings indicate that the women tended to be inactive and they frequently had coexistent conditions (i.e., thyroid disease and seizure disorders) whose treatments may contribute to a reduction in bone mineral density. The results from the bone scans revealed Z-scores that were strikingly different from what would be expected in women in the US general population of the same age and ethnicity. Corresponding to the Z-scores were elevated relative risks for fracture. Eighty-seven per cent of the participants had osteopenia or osteoporosis in at least one of the three sites measured. The results highlight the need for intervention efforts targeted to ageing women with Down syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]