Journal of Special Needs Education

Experiences of Siblings of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder over the Life Course

Dipadarishini a/p Yuvabalan — 2024-06-22

A sibling bond is one of the longest and strongest relationships that can be made in an individual’s life which starts during the early stages. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their transition to adulthood and the kind of support needed for them from the perspectives of the siblings to enhance their experiences. A collective case study was employed to address the research questions of this study, using semi-structured interviews with 5 siblings of individuals with ASD aged 24 to 29 years old. Findings were analysed through thematic analysis, where themes were derived and discussed about sibling experiences, choices and support.

Factors Correlated with Cognitive Difficulties Experienced by Children with Epilepsy

Bhawani Letchemanan — 2024-06-22

A survey was used in this exploratory study to identify and obtain information about the cognitive difficulties experienced by children with epilepsy and the related factors. A total of 74 parents with children with epilepsy participated in the study. The parents provided background information and the cognitive difficulties experienced by their children with epilepsy. The findings show that one of the most dominant cognitive problems experienced by Malaysian children with epilepsy is memory issue. As a whole, the findings shed light on the predominant categories of cognitive impairments that Malaysian children with epilepsy in this study experienced. Besides that, the fact that intervention was found to considerably lessen the cognitive challenges they encountered points to the importance of intervention in enhancing their learning outcomes, which is another noteworthy insight gained from this study.

Assessment of Fundamental Motor Skills Proficiency among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Ampang

Nagoor Meera bin Abdullah — 2024-06-22

The Fundamental Motor Skills or FMS play the important role for the human development to improve stability in balance, locomotor in jump and hop with objective control such as catch, and throw skill. FMS are building blocks for more complex and specialised skill that involve different body parts such as feet, legs, trunk, arms and hands. In addition, FMS can be categorised into sub-group of skills, including objective control skill and locomotor skill. Therefore, FMS also have relationship with physical activity for children. The greater FMS in early children leads to higher levels of physical activity, physical fitness and perceived motor competence. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of FMS among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to compare the level of FMS between genders among them. This study utilised a non-experimental causal-comparative design. A total of 20 children (n=20), males (10) females (10), aged between 14 to 16 years old participated in the study. The children underwent fourteen (14) sub tests using The Bruiniks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) assessment. After the warming-up session, each child was given trials for each test depending on the test procedure. At the end of the test, cooling down session for seven minutes had been conducted. The data was analysed using independent t-test. The results showed there were significant difference found in Jumping Up and Clapping Hand Test, with t(18) =2.72, p<0.05), and Standing Broad Jump Test with t(18) =2.87, p<0.05. The mean and standard deviation show that males outperformed females in ten tests while females only outperformed males in four tests. In conclusion, the level of FMS and comparison between genders among children with ASD do not show much significant difference in this study.

Holistic Sexuality Education Model for Malaysian Children with Special Needs (H-Sexe)

Loh, S. C. — 2024-06-22

Neglected sexual health education in the disability community leaves stakeholders unprepared, resulting in significant social issues. To address this gap, this study set out to explore stakeholders’ perceptions towards developing a Holistic Sexuality Education Model for Malaysian Children with Special Needs (H-SEXE) through adopting a multiple case study approach. A total of 33 respondents who are major stakeholders from three main zones in Malaysia were interviewed. Observations were also conducted on public and private primary- and secondary level sexuality education classes. The H-SEXE is derived thematically and consists of five interrelated parts, namely, a) Input, referring to knowledge, attitude and skills to be imparted from contexts to special educational needs (SEN) children; b) Contexts and Determinant Factors, referring to places and stakeholders that SEN children continuously and consistently learn from, depending on culture and stakeholders’ existing knowledge, attitude and skills; c) SEN Child, referring to readiness of the child such as mental and chronological age, diagnosis and needs, strengths and interests; d) Content and Delivery, referring to themes and respective topics that has to be progressive and taught concurrently, delivery methods which include instructional strategies and materials; and, e) Output, which are demonstration of learning outcomes such as self-awareness, self-management and self-expression and protection by SEN children. The study concludes that the H-SEXE can be fully utilised as a framework to guide further planning, decision-making and implementation of sexuality education for SEN children from the ground-root and the top-down level.

Parental Perception of Social Communication Difficulties among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Joanna Ting Hie Ping — 2024-06-22

Impaired social communication is one of the most prevalent signs in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children who are diagnosed with ASD may exhibit a wide range of social communication challenges, depending on the severity of the disorder. Their engagement could be affected and it can become more challenging for them to interact with their siblings and parents at home if they lack interaction. This study aimed to explore how parents perceive the social communication difficulties that their children with ASD face. Ten parents of children with ASD were interviewed in a semi-structured manner. The interview data was transcribed using Atlas.ti. The results of the study showed some typical characteristics in social communication associated with children with ASD challenges, such as behavioral issues, communication difficulties, gestural prompts, Theory of Mind (ToM), and approaches to enhance social communication amongst children with ASD. Parents who participated in the study recommended putting some strategies into practice at the school to help children with ASD develop their social communication abilities.