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The range of learning difficulties associated with children who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) has been highlighted as an emerging but little understood area of Special Educational Needs. This engaging, timely, and highly practical book will raise awareness about FASDs and their associated difficulties across the entire education workforce. It provides a range of specialist, practical tried-and-tested teaching and learning strategies, from which teachers and support staff may construct personalised learning plans for students with FASDs, and will help improve outcomes for all their children. It also: explains the impact that FASDs can have on the child's brain; discusses the overlapping and co-existing disorders, such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders; shows how to support and empower teachers; provides ready-to-use teaching resources and strategies that can be used directly in the classroom. Informed by the very latest research and written by leading experts in the field, Educating Children and Young People with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders will prove invaluable for experienced teachers and teaching assistants who are engaging in Continuing Professional Development, as well as newly qualified and training Initial Teacher Training students.

In recent years, the concept of teachers as researchers in both special and mainstream school settings has become part of our everyday language. Whilst many educational practitioners will see the need for research within their setting, many may not be familiar with the technical elements they believe are required. Creating Meaningful Inquiry in Inclusive Classrooms shows how practitioners can engage in a wide range of educational research and explores its value to the practice of teaching and learning. It introduces the Accessible Research Cycle (ARC), an understandable and meaningful framework for classroom and school-based inquiry for educators. This supports practitioner inquiry and validates the role of the practitioner as both practitioner and researcher. The book offers guidance to practitioners on how to use the ARC using familiar language with accompanying illustrative examples from inquiry carried out in special educational settings. It promotes meaningful participation within the inquiry process for all students. As the learner population in all schools is changing and becoming more complex, the role of practitioners in exploring evidence-based educational solutions to meet the educational entitlement of children is essential. In supporting a research informed profession within education, this book will empower practitioners to become the agents of change, helping them to become reflective, strategic, investigative and inquiring practitioners.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the social and scientific rationale for book clubs, whose members read wordless books together, and give examples of storytelling with picture books in libraries and other community settings for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Design/methodology/approach The authors consider the impact of book clubs reading picture books without words, alongside an understanding of the underlying neuroscience (see Table I for search strategy). The authors compare differences in the neuroscience of information and emotion processing between pictures and words. Accounts from book club facilitators illustrate these differences in practice. Findings Many readers who struggle with reading and comprehending words, find pictures much easier to understand. Book clubs support community inclusion, as for other people in society. A focus on visual rather than word literacy encourages successful shared reading. Research limitations/implications No research has been published about the feasibility and effectiveness of wordless books in community book clubs or shared reading groups. There is very little research on the impact of accessible materials, despite a legal requirement for services to provide reasonable adjustments and the investment of time and resources in developing storylines in pictures, or “translating” information into easy read formats. Practical implications Book clubs whose members read picture books without words are growing in number, especially in public libraries in the UK. Expansion is dependent on funding to pay for training for librarians and volunteer facilitators. Social implications There is a shortage of fully accessible activities for adults with intellectual disabilities in mainstream community settings with a primarily social purpose. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper describing the theory and impact of wordless book clubs for people who find pictures easier to understand than words.

Purpose Based on a literature and practice review, the purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical and clinical basis for using wordless books with patients who have intellectual disabilities (ID) and/or autism. Design/methodology/approach A literature review identified seminal peer-reviewed English language articles relating to the neuroscience of information and emotion processing for adults with ID and/or autism. In addition to published examples, illustrative case examples were contributed by clinicians regularly using wordless books. Findings Many people, including those with ID, selectively attend to visual information. Minimising the cognitive load by using wordless pictorial narrative reduces anxiety, and empowers the patient. Clinicians using such resources describe positive clinical outcomes. Only the Beyond Words wordless books have been identified in published clinical trials. Research limitations/implications Although existing evidence suggests a strong positive impact, further research into the use of wordless books for people with ID is needed. Practical implications Wordless books are reported to help develop staff skills and empathy for supporting adults with ID. The books facilitate some legally required reasonable adjustments to increase service access. Staff training is needed for effective use of wordless books. Originality/value Wordless books specifically designed with and for adults with word processing difficulties, ID and/or autism to enhance health literacy and explore their own narratives and emotional responses around health experiences and personal traumas are a unique approach. This paper may also offer the first exploration of their neuropsychological underpinnings.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and illustrate the use of the Engagement for Learning Framework developed through the Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (CLDD) Research Project (2009-2011). The resources support mainstream and special educators to extend the engagement of learners with CLDD. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 95 educational settings and 224 students took part across three phases of research (November 2009-March 2011) comprising a resource development phase and two trial phases in mainstream and special schools. The researchers used an exploratory, multiple case study approach and action research methodologies. A recent case study from Hamilton School, Birmingham, illustrates the Engagement for Learning Framework. Findings – The resulting Engagement Profile and Scale data showed increases in engagement for similar proportions of the student cohort. Across the three phases, 81-85 per cent (mean: 83 per cent) increased their levels of engagement for learning, 2-9 per cent (mean: 5.3 per cent) showed no change, while 5.5-16 per cent (mean: 11.6 per cent) showed decreased levels of engagement. Descriptive data corroborated these scores. Originality/value – This original research added value to existing work by developing resources for educators that enabled them to adapt activities to encourage students’ engagement in seven engagement areas (awareness, curiosity, investigation, discovery, anticipation, persistence and initiation). The resources enabled educators to score learner engagement over time to show progress and collected associated descriptive data.

So you have no time to read? Even if you think you don't, do not be tempted to skip this chapter! Finding out what others have said may be easier than you think, and can save a lot of time, energy and errors. As with every aspect of the Accessible Research Cycle (ARC), it is important to recognise that reading will be squeezed into an already hectic professional schedule and needs to be do-able while being of value. Once the research question is finalised, the next phase in the ARC is to find out about what other people have written about the chosen topic. This can seem a daunting task, and with so much information in circulation, it is good to be able to narrow it down and take some short cuts!

This chapter looks at the history and effects of alcohol use on the developing baby in the womb. It also discusses how fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are identified and the likely numbers of affected children and young people (CYP).

The ARC was developed as an international initiative between the leadership and research staff at a residential special school in the UK and an associate professor of special education at the University of South Florida, USA. In trialing the design, it was fi eld tested by 49 special education practitioners in New Zealand. This chapter offers an insight into their perspectives on the ARC, which was introduced as part of a ten-day intensive professional development workshop focused upon 'Inquiry into teaching'.