Disability and Community Inclusion

This appears to be the first meta-analysis study which has incorporated articles on the percentage of people with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Forth Edition (DSM-IV) autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis receiving a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-5) ASD diagnosis and articles on the percentage of people with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Forth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) ASD diagnosis receiving a DSM-5 ASD diagnosis. Our meta-analysis measured the percentage of people with an ASD diagnosis from the DSM-IV or DSM-IV-TR obtaining an ASD diagnosis from the DSM-5. All 24 studies identified indicated a reduction in the number of people with a DSM-IV or DSM-IV-TR ASD diagnosis being eligible for a DSM-5 ASD diagnosis, a 35 and 37 % reduction respectfully. Our meta-analysis also showed that those with a DSM-IV-TR or DSM-IV diagnosis of PDD-NOS were the least likely to qualify for a DSM-5 ASD diagnosis at 26 and 47 % followed by 55 and 19 %, respectfully of people with Asperger syndrome, and 80 and 87 %, respectfully of people with an autism diagnosis.

Aims: The Australian culture is united by sport through participation as a player, spectator, official and volunteer. Within the audiences that access sport and recreation in the community, there is inadequate evidence of how sport and recreation clubs become inclusive of people living with an intellectual disability.  With the current rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme clubs are considering the impact this has for families and their desires of ‘normality’ for their children in sport and recreation. This pilot study examines South Australian sport and recreation clubs that have worked with Inclusive Sport SA to improve their inclusive practices.
Method: An open-ended questionnaire was delivered to sport and recreation officials, members and players.  Questions examined current strengths and weaknesses of inclusive practices within clubs, the impact of these practices and how Inclusive Sport SA assisted clubs to develop inclusive approaches.
Findings: Preliminary results demonstrate differing levels of adoption of inclusive practices.  Readiness of sport and recreation clubs to cater for new audiences to deliver a sustainable inclusive culture will be discussed. Community attitudes and knowledge of disability were major barriers to inclusion.
Conclusions: Sport is one platform for social inclusion for people living with intellectual disability. An overall club approach to building an inclusive culture is critical. This includes the development of resources and increasing awareness around new audiences and the benefits of a multi-faceted community. This is crucial to increase effective service provision to maintain the full inclusion of individuals through participation in sport and recreation.

Inclusive Education (IE) has been an important aspect of the Australian education system for several decades (Armstrong, Armstrong & Barton, 2009). Students with disabilities (SWD) have a right to IE (Disability and Discrimination Act [DDA], 1992) and their development requires support, facilitation and the skill set from teachers to provide meaningful participation across all areas of the curriculum. However, there is limited information in Australia on how pre-service Physical Education (PE) teachers feel about their own ability to deliver inclusive pedagogy to SWD. This paper uses a thematic approach derived from Wallhead and O'Sullivan (2005) to examine 22 peer-reviewed journal articles. The aim was to determine themes which can contribute to understanding the attitudes of pre-service PE teachers and their self-efficacy to design and enact inclusive pedagogy for SWD. Four themes and their implications emerged from the literature, these included; (a) measurements to examine attitudes of pre-service PE teachers, (b) exploring pre-service PE teacher's self-efficacy; (c) the effects of pre-service PE teachers' practicum experiences; and (d) investigating the hands-on opportunities in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs. This review highlights inclusive pedagogy is inconsistently practiced at a pre-service level thereby affecting how pre-service PE teachers think when working with SWD. Subsequently, inconsistent practice requires PETE programs to review how inclusive pedagogy is incorporated into student learning outcomes for pre-service PE teachers to develop knowledge and practice for inclusion and, if it adequately prepares them to teach SWD. Research (Hodge & Elliot, 2013; Mangope, Mannathoko & Kuyini, 2013; Pedersen, Cooley & Hernandez, 2014) indicates inclusive pedagogy requires ongoing development at a pre-service level in order to increase the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers to provide meaningful opportunities for SWD in PE. From this review, the authors have identified there is a need to explore Australian pre-service PE teachers and their self-efficacy to design and enact inclusive pedagogy. Subsequently, further study needs to explore inclusive pedagogy in PE on a statewide basis and how it can become embedded throughout an entire PETE program.

Objectives: To examine family involvement in the management of behavioural problems following ABI in the community.
Research design: Systematic literature review.
Methods: Six electronic databases relevant to the field of brain injury were searched between 1980–2013. Citation indexes were used and references from articles hand searched for further literature. Studies that met the broad inclusion criteria were screened for relevance and articles selected for full-text review independently considered by two reviewers. Those found to be relevant were analysed using PEDro and McMasters critical appraisal tools.
Results: Three hundred and three studies were identified after duplicates were removed and 56 were assessed for relevance, yielding 10 studies for review. Although the majority of studies were weak in design, five revealed significant findings supportive of family involvement in the management of behavioural problems following ABI, especially where interventions consisted of both educational components and individualized behavioural plans. Findings revealed no significant changes in family burden following behavioural interventions.
Conclusions: There is limited research and lack of high evidence studies evaluating family involvement in behaviour management following ABI; therefore, no conclusions can be drawn regarding its efficacy. More research is needed, with larger sample sizes and more rigorous design, including proper comparison groups.