Investigating the impact of impairment and barriers experienced by students with language and/or attentional difficulties

ABSTRACT

Students with language and/or attentional difficulties are present in all classrooms, but evidence indicates they are poorly identified and supported. Reasonable adjustments are a legislative requirement, but these are often generic and fail to address instructional barriers. Students are uniquely placed to report on the pedagogical implications of language and/or attentional difficulties, however, little research has connected standardised assessment data to the classroom impacts of impairment as experienced by students. In this paper, we report on 59 students with language and/or attentional difficulties participating in a study aimed at improving students’ classroom experiences, engagement and academic achievement through accessible assessment and inclusive practice. We draw on standardised assessment and interview data to investigate similarities/differences in students’ language and/or attention profiles, and/or in what students’ wish their teachers knew about them and how they learn. Finally, we present a rationale for whole-class, accessible teaching practices as the foundation for classroom instruction.

KEYWORDS:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Developmental Language Disorder
• instructional barriers
• inclusive education

Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (LP180100830). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government or Australian Research Council. Haley Tancredi is a doctoral candidate from QUT’s Centre for Inclusive Education and recipient of a QUT Postgraduate Research Award scholarship. We would like to thank the students who participated in this study for giving generously their time, insights, and perspectives. We would also like to thank the reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. All schools in Australia are given an ICSEA score (mean = 1000, standard deviation = 100) ICSEA is a calculation of the relative affluence of the school community (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2020). Because single ICSEA scores could reveal the identity of the schools, ICSEA ranges from 2022 are provided, accessed from www.myschool.edu.au.

2. Despite composite scores not reaching a level of clinical significance, each of these 12 students demonstrated a degree of difficulty in two or more TILLS subtests and/or Brown EF/A clusters.

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (LP180100830). Haley Tancredi is a doctoral candidate from QUT’s Centre for Inclusive Education and recipient of a QUT Postgraduate Research Award scholarship.