The purpose of the present study was to examine factors relating to the reading of kanji compound words by junior high school students who were deaf. Participants in the study, 41 students who were deaf (14 from 7th grade, 13 from 8th grade, and 14 from 9th grade) and 96 age-matched peers with normal hearing acuity (17 from 7th grade, 37 from 8th grade, and 42 from 9th grade), were asked to write the pronunciation of 2-character kanji phrases. There were 180 kanji characters in the tested kanji compounds. Each kanji could be described in terms of 3 factors: (a) its complexity (the number of strokes needed to write it), (b) its associated mental imagery (the degree of concreteness of its meaning), and (c) its consistency (the number of possible pronunciations). The developmental features in reading the kanji words by both groups of participants were basically the same, but some delay was found in the students who were deaf. For the students who were deaf, kanji reading was more influenced by the number of possible pronunciations, compared to their peers with normal hearing. Japanese kanji can usually be pronounced in two or even more ways. The students who were deaf made many more errors on kanji that had many different possible pronunciations. It seems likely that it would be difficult for students who are deaf and have restricted hearing and pronunciation abilities to distinguish different pronunciations of the same kanji, and also difficult for them to associate different meanings with the different pronunciations of a kanji character.

View full abstract

It is considered to be difficult to facilitate the development of children who are blind without a special educational environment and teaching materials that can be easily perceived through haptics. In order to facilitate the cognitive development of children who are blind, it is important to use objects that are easy to perceive through haptics with tasks such as comparing, classifying, and discriminating. The purpose of the present study was to examine effects of weight in a cylinder block task on the fine motor skills of children who are blind. Participants in the experiment, 12 children who were blind (mean age: 7 years 3 months) and 9 toddlers with normal vision (mean age: 21 months), were given a cylinder block task in which the weight of the cylinder was varied. The results supported the efficacy of weight as a factor for children who are blind, and thus suggests the importance of using weighted objects with such children. The discussion included the following speculation as to why this might be so: (a) a weighted cylinder is easier to manipulate; (b) a weighted cylinder facilitates fine motor adjustment, (c) it is easier to adjust the direction of a weighted cylinder, and (d) for children who are blind, a weighted cylinder makes conclusions easier to understand.

View full abstract

The present study investigated teaching support in hospital schools and how the students are supported after being discharged from the hospital. Of the schools participating in the survey, 38% had students who were enrolled after they had been discharged from the hospital; the hospitals also reported that there has been a tendency for the number of such students to increase. The most common support strategy for the students was commuting to the hospital school; next most common were self-study at home and attending a regular school. Direct support, in which learning took place in the home, was implemented by only 3 schools. This suggests that it may be important for the support system not to be limited to when the students are in the hospital and to include visiting education in the home. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) equipment could provide indirect support. However, only 1 of the hospitals in the survey was making use of information and communication technology equipment. Many reasons exist for the lack of a suitable environment or budget for the use of information and communication technology equipment. However, greater development of information and communication technology equipment is expected in the future. Therefore, while focusing on self-study at home at the present, it is also necessary to maintain information and communication technology equipment. Students may attend their regular school occasionally, prior to returning to continuous attendance. During the period when students are at their school irregularly, it may benefit them if their teachers took advantage of interactive and collaborative learning. It was also found that it was difficult to provide teaching support to students who return to homes that are outside the school district; methods to ensure such support should be found.

View full abstract

Support provided to families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by teachers in schools for special needs education was investigated using an instrument for rating family support provided by teachers. The instrument, which consisted of 25 support methods, was developed on the basis of interviews with 5 teachers. Participants, 132 teachers in schools for special needs education, were asked to rate each support method on the basis of its significance and the frequency with which it was employed. Factor analysis revealed 4 factors: “family acceptance”, “cooperation among supporters”, “proactive communication with family”, and “provision of information about children”. The results of an ANOVA indicated that cooperation among supporters was rated significantly lower than the other 3 factors with respect to both significance and frequency. The results also suggested that teachers in schools for special needs education take advantage of their expertise in supporting children by taking into account the characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder.

View full abstract

The present study explored research trends regarding Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM), with the aim of recommending adoption of a standardized system of Curriculum-Based Measurement in Japan. In the United States, Curriculum-Based Measurement is a useful way to monitor the progress of students' learning in response to an intervention (RTI). For the present study, articles on Curriculum-Based Measurement were reviewed, and research trends extracted. The following themes in Curriculum-Based Measurement research were noted: (a) a theme relating to the technical adequacy of and utility of Curriculum-Based Measurement, and (b) a theme having to do with expansion and limitations of Curriculum-Based Measurement. Research has confirmed the validity and reliability of Curriculum-Based Measurement for reading, spelling, writing, and mathematics. The utility of Curriculum-Based Measurement was classified based on the following: (a) the best way to give feedback on results, (b) data evaluation decision rules, (c) comparative investigation of treatment in educational placement, and (d) Curriculum-Based Measurement in regular classrooms. Articles on the expansion of Curriculum-Based Measurement were classified based on Curriculum-Based Measurement as a new method for the identification of children who have learning disabilities and for monitoring class-wide progress. Limitations of Curriculum-Based Measurement are discussed in terms of difficulties in identifying skill contents, the sensitivity of Curriculum-Based Measurement, and cost. On the basis of the research trends identified, the significance of Curriculum-Based Measurement and some challenges facing the adoption of a standardized system of Curriculum-Based Measurement in Japan are discussed. In Japan, because students, including those with special educational needs such as learning disabilities, are included in regular classrooms, a new educational system such as response to intervention is needed. Taken together, the results of the present review and the Japanese situation suggest that Curriculum-Based Measurement is needed in Japan. A process of standardization should be adopted, and computer applications and consultation services developed.

View full abstract

The present action research was conducted in order to promote initial movements and mutual interaction with a young child with the most profound and multiple disabilities and severe medical complications. The participant in the case study was a girl with campomelic dysplasia, who was 2 years 2 months old at the start of the study. She had been hospitalized for a long time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The study was conducted in 5 phases. In each phase after the initial baseline, music 2 was played, and her movements were confirmed by touch. Phase 1, Baseline: Observations of the child's initial movements while music 1 and music 2 were played. Phase 2: Her back was tapped like a dialogue. Phase 3: Her hand was tapped like a dialogue. Phase 4: She was given a vibrating toy, with co-active guidance in a dialogue. Phase 5: Vibrations were made on her body as an image of the vibrating toy, just after giving it to her. Observations indicated that the child expanded her initial movements gradually, and made intentional and stable movements as well. These results suggest that the intervention procedures may have been effective in promoting her movements and initiating her mutual interaction with a partner.

View full abstract

Jiritsu katsudo is a specialized subject area in the national curriculum for special schools that has the objective of training pupils with disabilities for independent living. The present study examined the effect of using the Dohsa-hou instruction method, which includes mental and physical relaxation, for the jiritsu katsudo instruction of 2 children with cerebral palsy and breathing disorders who were enrolled in a school for children with physical disabilities. After 1 year of this instruction, improvements were observed in the development of joint attention, blood oxygen saturation, posture depending on gravity, cognitive activity, and health. Experience suggests that Dohsa-hou may be useful for the jiritsu katsudo instruction of children with severe and multiple disabilities.

View full abstract

The present article surveys published studies on individual teaching plans for training for independent living (jiritsu katsudo), and proposes future research on individual teaching plans. When training for independent living was first added to the national curriculum for special schools for children with disabilities, studies were conducted that paid special attention to the significance and purpose of individual teaching plans, including awareness of their design and use and the processes involved, as well as studies on the design and use of teaching plans in elementary and junior high schools. In the future, research on the following issues is important in order to promote an inclusive educational system: (a) how special schools for children with disabilities should adapt training for independent living, (b) how individual teaching plans should be designed and used in elementary, junior, and senior high schools, and (c) how the system for designing and using individual teaching plans in elementary, junior, and senior high schools should be developed.

View full abstract