Post-coma persons in an apparent condition of vegetative state and pervasive motor impairment pose serious problems in terms of assessment and intervention options. A technology-based learning assessment procedure might serve for them as a diagnostic supplement with possible implications for rehabilitation intervention. The learning assessment…

Proponents of a social model of disability derive their arguments from social constructionism. They combine different disabling conditions under one term: disability. Subsequently, they apply the specific viewpoint of the disability rights social movement of people with physical disabilities to other conditions such as intellectual disabilities,…

The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) for cerebral palsy has been widely used internationally for clinical, research, and administrative purposes. This paper recounts the ideas and work behind the creation of the GMFCS, reports on the lessons learned, and identifies some philosophical challenges inherent in trying to develop an…

The ability to read fluently is a critical skill that allows the reader to concentrate on the meaning of the text. It also can contribute to a successful reading experience. However, students with physical disabilities may have difficulty reading fluently due to any number of functional, psychosocial, or environmental factors that can accompany a…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between various coping-related variables and the evaluation of self-worth and subjective well-being among persons with spinal cord injury. Positive coping variables included hope, proactive coping style, and sense of humor, whereas negative coping variables included perceptions of stress,…

The goal of the present study was to get an overview of the emergent literacy activities, instructional adaptations and school absence of children with cerebral palsy (CP) compared to normally developing peers. The results showed that there were differences between the groups regarding the amount of emergent literacy instruction. While time…

Equine-assisted therapies are interventions that use the unique qualities of a horse to assist persons with disabilities to improve their gross motor, language, social, and self-help skills. Programs offering these services are varied and operate on all major continents across the world. The effectiveness of equine-assisted therapies is generally…

The purpose of this study was to examine Differential Item Functioning (DIF) by disability groups on an on-demand performance assessment for students with severe cognitive impairments. Researchers examined the presence of DIF for two comparisons. One comparison involved students with severe cognitive impairments who served as the reference group…

Despite the theoretical linkages between household composition and social integration, relatively limited research has considered how living arrangements affect risk for loneliness in later life. Prior work has also failed to consider whether physical disability moderates this potentially important relationship. Using data from a sample of older…

Reliability and measurement precision of manual muscle testing (MMT) and hand-held dynamometry (HHD) were compared for children with spina bifida. Strength measures were obtained of the hip flexors, hip abductors, and knee extensors of 20 children (10 males, 10 females; mean age 9 years 10 months; range: 5 to 15 years) by two experienced physical…

This book offers the reader new achievements within the Assistive Technology field made by worldwide experts, covering aspects such as assistive technology focused on teaching and education, mobility, communication and social interactivity, among others. Each chapter included in this book covers one particular aspect of Assistive Technology that…

The purpose of this research is to identify student-specific characteristics that are related to students' preference for distance education courses. Since distance education courses provide students with more convenient and flexible class schedules, they should be preferred by students who have a greater number of competing demands, such as work…

Modern cognitive neuroscientific theories and empirical evidence suggest that brain structures involved in movement may be related to action-related semantic knowledge. To test this hypothesis, we examined the naming of environmental sounds in patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), two…

Medications to treat individuals with cerebral palsy have increased significantly over the last few decades. The purpose of this article was to randomly survey practicing neurologists on a national level to determine prescribing patterns for both spasticity and athetosis. The results indicated that the most frequently prescribed medication for…

This article presents a personal story of the transformative experience of including adults with disabilities in a campus child care center. It describes some highlights of what the author and her staff gained through this process. The author shares these experiences with the hope of encouraging others to be open to opportunities to work with…