This paper presents the findings of a comparative study using data from questionnaire surveys carried out in England (n 5 57) and Ireland (n 5 72). The researchers examine how teachers and teaching assistants who are currently teaching pupils with dyslexia in primary schools describe dyslexia and what may have influenced their conceptualisation. The paper examines teachers' responses both in terms of how they view their pupils presenting difficulties in the classroom, and how far they link these to underlying differences in cognitive processing. The researchers suggest ways in which this might influence their teaching in terms of methodology. Findings have been mapped to the Morton and Frith causal modelling framework. The implications of these findings for the training and support of teachers are discussed in the light of recent national initiatives to improve the teaching of dyslexic pupils in both countries.In recent years there has been a growing international body of research and information on the identification and education of children with dyslexia, or specific learning difficulty (Miles, 2006;Reid & Fawcett, 2004). In the light of this, in both England and Ireland there has been concern over how to conceptualise this barrier to learning and what may be the most important and useful model to understand dyslexia. This debate sits within the wider context of inclusion for pupils with a wide variety of special educational needs.This paper describes a comparative study of identification and intervention for primary pupils with dyslexia in Ireland and England, linking teachers' responses to theoretical frameworks and discussing how this might influence their teaching in practice. The focus of this article is on teachers' understanding of dyslexia in both countries. Two separate surveys are described, reporting findings from samples of teachers in England and in Ireland. This is followed by a discussion of the overall findings relating to both countries.
Internationally there are increasing numbers of young people on the ASD spectrum attending higher education. Early transition planning is essential and students with ASD often require support to articulate their post-school educational goals and actively participate in transition planning meetings. Services within higher education are primarily designed to provide academic supports however, non-academic supports may be an even more crucial factor in enabling successful transitions for young people on the ASD spectrum who often experience heightened anxiety within an unfamiliar environment. Within this paper, the results of a small-scale exploratory study of the transition experiences of six young people on the ASD spectrum to post-secondary education will be shared. There was limited evidence that transition planning had been initiated as a formal process for the six students. Accessing support in higher education proved to be a complex process for some students who required sustained input from parents to ensure that they would utilise the supports available. Encouraging the development of selfdetermination skills, a key predictor of success in higher education, needs to begin in secondary school. It is anticipated insights from this study can contribute to the development of an embedded infrastructure to support effective transitions for students with ASD to post-secondary education.
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