Background: A peer-led self-advocacy group, Our Voice SA, is used as a case study to explore how the social engagement of people with intellectual disability contributed to their self-advocacy about things that are important to them. Method: Secondary analyses of data (interviews, observations and program data) were thematically analysed using…

Background: Research has shown Australian group homes, and supported living options, fail to support people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) to develop social connections. This pilot study evaluates the effectiveness of a visiting dog walking program to facilitate encounters with other community members. Method: Sixteen adults with IDs were…

Proactive aggression (PA) is goal-directed, hostile social behavior that has been linked to detrimental outcomes. It has been theorized that adolescents who believe aggression is a normal and acceptable social response (approval of aggression) are more likely to show PA. Confidence in one's ability to behave aggressively (self-efficacy about…

Rates of chronic illness are increasing around the world and, accordingly, numbers of adolescent students living with chronic illness are also increasing. The challenges faced by these students and their teachers are complex. One of these challenges is the need of the adolescent with chronic illness to achieve some level of social conformity.…

In response to polarising and emotive debates around young people using the internet, this paper presents recent research findings and offers insight into the issue from the perspective of young people. In early 2010, young people in two rural Victorian towns were asked to complete surveys answering questions about their online habits. Their…

Across the Australian schooling sector, students with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD) can represent a challenge to educators and the nature of that challenge is the focus of this study. The setting for this research is secondary education with the teachers and the students supported through additional services based within an…

Background: Adults with congenital deafblindness (CDB) have received little attention from researchers. In this study we examined the nature of interactions between adults with CDB and the staff who mediate their support, and investigated the reliability of an observation coding system, originally designed for observing adults with severe…

The notion of symmetrical communication and its application in course teams at Deakin University, Australia, are considered. Symmetry in communications is evident in groups characterized by mutual recognition by members of one another as persons accepted and appreciated in their common striving for mutual understanding and consensus. The technique…

This paper describes a process of assisting parents of young children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to identify and prioritise their goals for their children's early intervention. A modified version of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (M-COPM) was used to facilitate this process. Twenty-two child-parent dyads involved in a…

This study addressed the argument that early child care constitutes a risk to children's social adaptation, and that for high-risk samples this effect depends on the security of the infant-mother attachment relationship. A longitudinal investigation of 135 first-born children in a low-risk sample was conducted to discern the contribution of child…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…