Search

Social distance is operationalized as the willingness of respondents of the general population to engage in direct, immediate, reciprocal social interactions with persons of another group and to achieve a degree of closeness through these interactions. The aim of this study was to examine the willingness of students with typical development to accept a certain type of social relations with peers with disabilities in inclusive education, as well as the association of gender and age differences in social distance with the type of disability. A modified Bogardus social distance scale was used for research purposes. The sample consisted of students with typical development sand their peers with disabilities (N-398), aged from 7 to 15 years of age who attend inclusive primary schools on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The results of the study showed that students with typical development do not generally reject social contacts with their peers with disabilities, as shown by the overall lower social distance, but social distance grew in areas of emotional and physical closeness. Students expressed the highest social distance toward peers with autism, while the lowest social distance was manifested towards peers with sensory impairments. Gender and age differences were confirmed. The girls expressed lower social distance, as did the students of higher school age (from 11 to 15 years of age).

Hearing loss is a risk factor for a child's appropriate psychosocial development but is not a risk factor for the development of resiliency. Thus, the aim of this research was to determine the level of resiliency, as well as its relation to internal and external factors, in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. The sample included 55 DHH students, 12-14 years of age. Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents was used in this research. The obtained results showed that DHH students perceived their resiliency in the average range, except in subscales: Self-efficacy (within Sense of Mastery Scale), Social Support (within Sense of Relatedness Scale), Impairment (within Emotional Reactivity Scale) in which the results were within a higher range, and Recovery (within Emotional Reactivity Scale) in which the results were in a lower range.

Sensory processing includes perception, organization, and reaction to sensory stimuli. Research has shown that deaf and hard-of-hearing children have unique sensory processing characteristics. The aim of this study was to identify these characteristics and examine the contributions of factors such as type of amplification, chronological age, hearing age, and frequency of rehabilitation to sensory processing features. Parents of 52 children, aged 3 to 10 years old, completed the Sensory Profile questionnaire. Results showed that most children were within the typical performance range in most subscales, however, children with cochlear implants had better scores in several domains compared to children with hearing aids. Chronological age, hearing age, and frequency of rehabilitation did not contribute to overall sensory processing. These results indicate that children with cochlear implants have a more successful integration of sensory processing abilities. Early intervention and consistent rehabilitation are needed to optimize sensory outcomes in deaf and hard-of-hearing children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general objective of this study was to establish the relation between general and special education teachers within teamwork and to define socio-demographic factors that affect teamwork. The sample encompassed 223 general and special education teacher of both genders, age 25 to 60, who are employed in regular elementary schools in Serbia. The general and special education teachers approach data, according to the six dimensions of teamwork, were obtained by means of a standardized questionnaire for teamwork supervision, which contains 60 assertions (Cronbach's a = 0.907). Our research results indicate that there is no significant difference between general and special education teachers in their perception of the four out of six dimensions of teamwork. They are aware of the environment in which teamwork operates, they have similar behaviour and abilities, and they respect similar teamwork values. However, the transition, from traditional to inclusive education, brings the problem of general education teachers' professional identity (p = 0.043) and the meaning of interrelations with special education teachers, the significance of teamwork in broader social sense, and the benefits of teamwork outside the institution (p = 0.049).

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of specialised software on the visual-motor integration of profoundly deaf children. The research sample was made up of 70 students aged from seven to 10, 43 of whom formed the experimental group and 27 the control group. The students in the experimental group used computers once a week during a period of five months. Levelling of the groups was conducted on the basis of gender, IQ and academic achievements. Examination of visual-motor integration was produced through a subtest of the Acadia test: "Visual-Motor Co-ordination and Possibility of Sequence". Students in the experimental group achieved higher scores than those in the control group but, of the experimental groups, only the results of the seven-year-olds were statistically significantly higher.

Social distance is operationalized as the willingness of respondents of the general population to engage in direct, immediate, reciprocal social interactions with persons of another group and to achieve a degree of closeness through these interactions. The aim of this study was to examine the willingness of students with typical development to accept a certain type of social relations with peers with disabilities in inclusive education, as well as the association of gender and age differences in social distance with the type of disability. A modified Bogardus social distance scale was used for research purposes. The sample consisted of students with typical development sand their peers with disabilities (N-398), aged from 7 to 15 years of age who attend inclusive primary schools on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The results of the study showed that students with typical development do not generally reject social contacts with their peers with disabilities, as shown by the overall lower social distance, but social distance grew in areas of emotional and physical closeness. Students expressed the highest social distance toward peers with autism, while the lowest social distance was manifested towards peers with sensory impairments. Gender and age differences were confirmed. The girls expressed lower social distance, as did the students of higher school age (from 11 to 15 years of age). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech detection threshold (SDT) depends on audibility alone, whereas speech recognition threshold (SRT) requires the stimuli to be heard and identified. The aim of the study was to determine the difference between SDT and SRT, and to analyze the correlation between pure tone thresholds and speech thresholds. Difference between SDT and SRT was ≤ 12 dB in majority of cases (p = .018). SDT was strongly correlated with the best pure tone threshold. Pearson correlation coefficient was the highest in "Inverted U" shape (r = .99). There was strong correlation between SRT and PTA (500-2000), PTA (500-4000), and PTA (500-1000), especially in Rising configuration (r = .997, r = .992 r = .989, respectively), as well as, between SRT and frequency of 1000 Hz (r = .989). SRT is in the highest correlation with PTA (500, 1000, 2000 Hz) and with the hearing threshold at frequency of 1000 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]