Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: Managing Beyond the School - Learning
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ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND MEDIATED LEARNING IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: Managing
Beyond the School
(Prof. Mariateresa Cairo, Dr. Maria Grazie Francia, Dr. Caterina Martinazzoli and Dr. Erika Terenghi – Università
Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano in collaboration with Centro riabilitativo per il bambino e la famiglia Imparole,
Cernusco s. Naviglio, Seveso, Milano)
maria.cairo@unicatt.it
www.asumie.eu
Schedule for meeting/webinar
Welcome!
My name is Mariateresa Cairo and I’m professor in Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan
(Italy). I’m a partner with my staff and dr. Maria Concetta Carruba of ASuMIE - project.
To realize the research I am going to tell you about I collaborated with Imparole - Centro
Riabilitativo per il bambino e la famiglia in Cernusco S. Naviglio, Seveso and Milan, hereinafter
called Imparole Centre.
I’m very happy to partecipate in this meeting with you. I hope we’ll spend a good hour togheter.
The ASuMIE partnership, consisting of support providers and universities from Italy, Norway,
Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Belgium, aims to create a learning network on
inclusive education support in Europe and to exchange knowledge and good practice. The
project is aimed at everyone involved in supporting pupils, teachers and/or school teams in an
inclusive education context. The 3-years project has been funded by Erasmus + KA2.
www.asumie.eu
Project goals
To improve the whole classroom team by ENRICHING THE
SKILLS of support professionals
To enhance the SELF-EFFICACY in (cognitive – social – emotional)
inclusive learning in those children experiencing
barriers to learning
To develope materials that improve a good understanding of the
bridge between transversal COGNITIVE COMPETENCIES and
KEY COMPETENCIES for learning
www.asumie.eu
The Aim of the Research: The present research was an exploratory survey, aimed at understanding better the relationship between school, family and rehabilitation services in situations of a child with disability. Particular attention was paid to mild intellectual disabilities and autism, which includes those delicate situations when families do not normally ask for a support teacher, because the heterochrony of the child's development permits an acceptable attendance and presence of a child in the school. Parents are often unaware of what is best for their child, going so far as to deny a child’s difficult situation with the risk of neglecting the child and his/her real needs. The subjects of this research not only include the children with intellectual disabilities or autism, but also include the environment that surrounds them, which consists of family, school, rehabilitation centres and other significant relationships (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
The Participants of the research:
The participants of the research were divided into two groups:
1. Sample group: consisted of 20 parents (19 mothers and 1 father) (1 parent of a child in
nursery school, 9 parents of children in primary school, 7 parents of children in lower
secondary school and 3 parents of adolescents in upper secondary school) who have
turned to Imparole Rehabilitation Center in the last 5 years, asking for support to their child
with mild intellectual disability or autism.
2. Control group consisted of 20 parents (18 mothers and 2 fathers of children without
disability) (10 parents of children in primary school and 10 parents of children in lower
secondary school).
The age of children with a disability (sons and daughters of the parents of sample group) was
from 5 to 16 years old.
The Duration of the Research The timing of preparation and bibliography of the research took place from December 2018 to June 2019, lasting 6 months. Another 6 months to conduct the interviews and collect the data, from September 2019 to February 2020. A pause was taken for 4 months. Finally, the analysis of data and drafting of the final research lasted 6 months from May 2020 to September 2020.
The Research Tools used: Questionnaire with 23 items given out to parents of sample group and to parents of control group. Interview with 21 questions given out to only for parents of sample group.
The subjects of the questionnaire were
influenced by Quality of Family Life
(Family Quality of Life Scale - Beach Center
on Disability, University of Kansas, 2012).
The questionnaire paid attention to 23
items divided into five domains of family
quality of life in the presence of a disabled
child:
▪ Family Relationship
▪ Parenting
▪ Emotional Well-being
▪ Physical /Material Well-being
▪ Specialized Support for the Children
with Disability
Definition of Family that has been used in our research can be defined: «a family includes the people who think of themselves as part of the family, whether related by blood or marriage or not, and who support each other on a regular basis» (Brown I. and Brown R.I., Quality of Life and Disability, 2006, p. 176) Definition of Family Quality of Life used in our research can be defined as: «Family Quality of Life can be thought of in two ways – as a meeting place of individual family members’ quality of life, and a meeting place of factors/aspects [individual well – being + advocacy + enrichment + productivity] that affect the whole family. In our view, it is better thought of as a combination of the two» (p. 177)
FAMILY RELATIONSHIP PARENTING EMOTIONAL WELL - PHYSICAL/MATERIAL SPECIALIST SUPPORT FOR THE
BEING WELL - BEING PERSON WITH DISABILITY
23 items: indicate the degree of satisfaction My family enjoys
spending time together.
My family members help
the children learn to be
My family has the
support we need to
My family members
have transportation to My family member with a disability
independent. relieve stress. get to the places they has support to accomplish goals at
need to be. school or at workplace.
My family members talk My family members teach My family members have My family gets medical
openly with each other. the children how to get friends or others who care when needed. My family member with disability has
along with others. provide support. support to accomplish goals at home.
Our family solves Adults in our family teach My family members have My family gets dental
problems together. the children to make good some time to pursue our care when needed.
My family has good relationships with
decisions. own interests.
the service providers who provide
services and support to our family
member with a disability.
My family members Adults in my family know My family has outside My family feels safe at My family member with a disability
support each other to other people in the help avaiilable to us to home, work, school, has support to make friends.
accomplish goals. children’s lives (friends, take care of special needs and in our
teachers, etc…). of all family members. neighborhood.
My family members My family members help
show that they love and the children with
care for each other. schoolwork and activities.
My family is able to
handle life’s ups and
downs.General perception of quality family life. The average well-being of families.
Family Relationship
My family is able to handle life’s ups
and downs.Parenting
My family members help the children learn to be
independent.Emotional Wellbeing My family has the support we need to My family has outside help availble to us to take relieve stress. care of special needs of all family members.
Physical/Material Wellbeing My family members have transportation to My family gets dental care get to the places they need to be. when needed.
Specialized Support for the Child with a Disability My family has a good relationship with the service providers who give services and support to our family member with a disability.
Some points of interest about the results of the questionnaire
The Interview to the parents GENERAL QUESTIONS How old is your child? What class is he/she attending? QUESTION ABOUT SATISFACTION IN FAMILY - SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP How would you define your relationship (as parents) with the school and teachers? In your opinion, is your child followed well at school? Do you feel that the teachers are working hard to help your child? How do you understand this? Did the school ask for the presence of a support teacher for your child’s class? If so, in your opinion, has this helped your child develop? Why and how? Do you feel that your child is helped more by the support teacher or by curricular teachers? (to be omitted if there is no support teacher) Does your child like going to school? How do you know this?
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPAROLE CENTRE’S SUPPORT How long have you been attending the Imparole Rehabilitation Centre? For which activities is the child supported? Are there other services in the area where you live that you could turn to for assistance? Why did you choose Imparole Centre? Does the Centre offer advice to your child’s teachers? Do you think the work done by Imparole staff with the child and with the school is effective? Has your child changed since he started attending the Centre? In what way? Can you describe any attitudes or behaviors that have changed?
FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS OF THE SCHOOL INCLUSION Can you tell me three main factors that facilitate the inclusion in school of your child? (facilitators – positive) Can you please tell me three main factors that hindered your child in the inclusion of school (barriers - negative)? ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES What do you think you can do as a family to overcome these obstacles? What do you think the school should do? What do you think Imparole Centre should do?
PERSPECTIVES Do you have trust in the support system that surrounds your son/daughter and in the people who are helping him/her? Do you think your child is learning about the important things they will need when he/she is an adult ? Do you think that your personal and/or religious values, your cultural beliefs as a family are affecting the way you manage your child’s disability? If you were to give suggestions to a parent who is in a similar situation as yours, what would you say to him/her?
The School Environment in the Words of the Mothers: “Abbiamo trovato due brave insegnanti, molto attente alle esigenze dei bambini, a lavorare in modo differenziato, dando il tempo ai bambini di imparare e approfondire. Le insegnanti sono abbastanza collaborative con noi anche nel raccogliere le segnalazioni che avevamo fatto … Le insegnanti [hanno cercato] di relazionarsi con noi genitori.” (mother of T., 7 years old, dislexia and other learning difficulties) «Il tipo di scuola è una scuola comunità, dove all’interno si svolge molta vita, dove c'è molto coinvolgimento delle famiglie…Anche prima che iniziasse la scuola le insegnanti ci hanno coinvolto ad andare a fare dei lavori…Ci sono delle giornate di cura della scuola a cui partecipano anche i bambini e questa cosa crea relazioni…” (mother of C., 7 years old, dislexia and other learning difficulties) “Le insegnanti avevano costruito un lombricaio, avevano portato l'acquario con i pesciolini, avevano costruito con il cartongesso un'astronave perché hanno fatto una telefonata a Luca Parmisano dalla stazione della NASA…Sono tutte attività diverse dallo scrivere alla lavagna…ci sono tante attività…” (mother of D., 7 years old, autism syndrom)
Socialization with Classmates in the Words of the Mothers:
• “Mio figlio sta imparando a vivere. Sono lezioni di vita … anche quella di litigare col compagno è una lezione di vita,
cominciano adesso ad averle e lui è molto consapevole delle sue difficoltà eh…, non è che non capisce, capisce e sa di
avere delle difficoltà. Però non si arrende. E’ molto positivo il bambino in queste cose.” (Mother of R. 14 years old,
mild intellectual disability)
• “Gli altri bambini la salutano e poi finisce tutto lì. Quindi lei è più attratta dal mondo ‘adulto’ perché quando
...quando ha bisogno va là... dagli insegnanti di sostegno e dal suo educatore e loro se la tirano dietro e basta.”
(Mother of S. 11 years old, mild intellectual disability)
• “…ma sicuramente la condizione della classe e il tipo di classe è fondamentale. La fortuna di capitare in una classe
dove ... Dove il bambino non è discriminato, dove un bambino non venga lasciato nell'angolo. E’ assolutamente
fondamentale questo per facilitare il tutto, perché se il bambino è sempre da solo e sempre nessuno lo considera
sfiderei chiunque… […] ... Tutto fa l’ambiente ...l'ambiente in cui si vive. L’ ambiente è assolutamente modificabile e ti
modifica. Se tu sei in un ambiente ostile, come fai?” (Mother of L. 12 years old, down syndrom)Collaboration between School, Family and
Rehabilitation Services in the Words of the Mothers:
Le insegnanti hanno fatto il colloquio con le terapiste di L., gli si è aperto un mondo perché evidentemente avevano
difficoltà con L. non sapevano bene come comportarsi e quindi quando [le insegnanti] hanno fatto il colloquio con la
logopedista e la psicomotricista lui è cambiato, insomma è migliorato, per cui effettivamente ci vuole un…. diciamo un
lavoro a quattro ecco...” (Mother of P., 8 years old, a adoplted child)
“A più persone ho suggerito il Centro Imparole. Più di una mamma è venuta qua tramite me. Eh si, questo è il consiglio che
darei … parlarne e farsi aiutare. Di chiedere, non bisogna chiudersi, di chiedere. Perché ci sono tante persone che possono
aiutare, questo sì.” (Mother of B., 10 years old, mild learning disability)
“non so se l'aveva sentito da qualche altro bambino-, ma ha sempre detto di no. Lui diceva: ‘Chi ha il sostegno è perché è
stupido!’ Eh no ...nel senso ‘Tu sai che ci sono diversi modi di imparare...chi impara in un modo e chi ha più bisogno’ ...cioè
noi l’abbiamo sempre messa così e secondo me questa cosa lo aiuta...” (Mother of F., 11 years old, mild learning
disabilities)
“Si volendo ci sarebbero altre UONPIA sul territorio, però ci avevano dato una lista d'attesa molto, molto lunga, Ci
sarebbero voluti due anni per iniziare una terapia” (Mother of D., 7 years old, autism syndrom).
Four Considerations to be Made
from the Interviews:
The analysis of the questionnaires and the interviews show the importance of making certain improvements:
The personal resources and the experience gained by every family.
Particular attention needs to be given during a family stressful events like a parent’s separation.
The Centre as a support network: it gives extra guidance and support for the family and school.
The school as an inclusive and useful environment.«The inclusion isn’t an exceptional event,
but a simple event and a process in every day school life»
(Ainschow M.)Thank you for your attention!
Please refer to online the Website for more details about our results.
https://asumie-site.imparole.it/asumie-partner/You can also read
