1. How Can We Increase Accessibility
Through Special Needs
Investigation?
17th Deafblind International World Conference 2019
13-16 august Gold Coast Australia
Special Needs Counselor Annica Boström & Berit Rönnåsen

2. The National Agency for Special Needs
Education and Schools
The Swedish government’s support in areas concerning
special needs in education.
.
Purpose
To support schools to help pupils
reach their educational goals.
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3. How Can We Increase Accessibility
Through Special Needs Investigation?

4. A Special needs investigation contains
• Collect information: pedagogical, medical, social and psychological and
interview parents, student and school staff.
• Identify learning environment through direct observation, recordings on film
from classroom and breaks.
• The information is documented in a report. The report is handed over to
parents and school staff at a meeting.
• The pupil receives a separate report.
• Three months after the completion of the special investigation an evaluation
is carried out.

5. Special needs investigation: A case study
Describe the working process from a case study about John who is
a pupil with deafblindness.
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6. Questions from the school
1. John does not follow his peers in reading and writing. How can the school
adapt the learning environment so that John gets the opportunity to learn to
read and write?
2. How should the school help John become more active in play and
activities on breaks?

7. Consent
John´s parents have given their written consent to the Special needs
investigation and to get information from requested documents.

8. The target of the special needs investigation
• Identify John´s individual needs.
• Examine what factors in the learning-environment that prevent his
development of knowledge?
• Examine what factors in the learning- environment that facilitates his
development of knowledge?
• Provide recommendations to the school.

9. John’s individual conditions:
• 8 years old
• Primary school year two
• Servere visual impairment
• 6 years of age was a moderate hearing loss discovered
• No motor difficulties
• No cognitive impairment
• Considered socially immature
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10. John’s personal aids:
• Bilateral hearing aids
• Computer with display and programmes supporting visually impaired.
• Magnifying glass with lamp.
• Pencils with thick shaft and thicker pins.
• Writing book with helplines.

11. Classroom environment
• There are 25 students with desks placed in groups of five.
• John has his place in front of the teacher.
• John has a window row to the left.
• Behind the teacher, there is a whiteboard. A wall filled with children's
drawings is at the back of the room.
• Ceiling and wall absorbers. Sound-absorbing materials on tables and on
the chairs. No loop system has been installed.

12. Prevent learning
When John is reading enlarged text on the computer or in the
textbook:
• He couldn´t start and search on the computer.
• He couldn´t put on the lamp in the magnifying glass.
• John had to wait for the teacher support.
• He seemed to be uncertain and worked very slowly, repeating and going
back.
• He took long pauses. Leaned his head on the board. He waited Passively
for teacher support.

13. More about what prevent learning
When John is writing with black thick shaft and pin:
• He tried to write and put letters together into words on his paper with black
lines.
• He had difficulties to spell and seems to loose what he was starting to
write on the line on the paper.
• John looked up now and then but did not take part in any conversation, In
this situation, it was a lot of talk among the other students.
• He seemed to loose his concentration of the task for a long time.

14. Facilitates learning
• The teacher repeated the subject several times.
• John was trying to solve the task by himself.
• When supported he continued and could finish the task by himself.
• The classroom is in some parts designed and adapted to pupils with
hearing impairment.

15. Recommendations at the organisation level
• Teacher and assistant need training how to use Johns aids.
• Install loop-system and educate teacher and staff in routines of use.
• Should John be introduced to Braille and tactile sign language? In that
case teachers and staff need training in Braille and tactile modes.
• Order textbooks adapted to visual impairment in coloring and tactility.
• Maybe it would be an advantage to do a special study of Johns memory
function.

16. Recommendations at the group level
• Routine for use of loop system and microphone.
• Pictures with the hand-alphabet in sign language, put up in children's
height on the wall.
• Audio description.
• Offer tactile lettering to use even in a group context.
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17. Recommendations at the individual level
• John needs to learn how to use his personal aids effectively.
• Tactile map of the classroom and were the mates are placed on his bench.
• Give John the opportunity to listen to textbooks.
• Give John the opportunity to read adapted textbooks for visual impairment.

18. The second question from the school:
How should the school help John become more active in play and
activities on breaks?
In this question we want to involve you all, to think out some
recommendations to the school from a scenario that we will read to you.

19. What would make it easier for John in this situation?
The sun is shining when John goes out to the schoolyard. A friend comes
back and asks if he wants to play football. John hesitates but follows his
friend to the football field of grass.
The game begins. John is standing by the side of the field in the shadow,
now alone. He is moving a bit sideways and trying to follow the blue ball.
The teacher calls the students to come back to the classroom. John does
not react or respond to the call.

20. What would you suggest that the school changes so
that accessibility and participation increases for
John during the breaks?
• At the organisation level
• At the group level
• At the individual level

21. Our recommendations
Organisation:
• Buy a digital aid John can have in his pocket that vibrates when the break is over.
• Buy a white football instead of the blue.
Group:
• Create a peer support system that allows John to more easily participate
in activities at the break.
Individual:
• Motivate John to use a cap or sun glasses. Help him to get comfortable to use his
digital aid.

22. Some example of answers and follow up data
• The agency contacts the pre-school or school three months after the
completion of the special investigation and asks a number of questions
about the usefulness of the special investigation for them and the pupil.

23. Reflections from school staff
• Valuable to get a complete transparency.
• Got an understanding of how to respond to the student in a new way.
• An understanding of that small details can be important for the student.
• The planning is better now.
• As a group, we have become stronger and more secure both in terms of
treatment and educational.
• As principal, I have gained a greater understanding of the student's problems.
• The method of filming and then watching and talking has been helpful.

24. Conclusion
• A special needs investigation gives perspective with focus of the
environment.
• Recommendations in a written report gives pre-schools and schools
something concrete to work with.
• The evaluation which is being done after three months, shows what
we need to improve and what the investigation have resulted in the
pre-school or school.
• Changes in the environment can lead to major changes in the
students conditions for learning.

25. The special needs investigation has provided knowledge that has
affected my business at organisational level
• Correctly 30%
• Is true in large part 25%
• Is true to some extent 10%
• Not correct at all 30%
• Other 5%

26. The special needs investigation has provided knowledge of pedagogical
consequences and disability and which adaptations that needs to be
made.
• Correctly 55%
• Is true in large part 35%
• Is true to some extent 5%
• Not correct at all 5%
• Other 0%

27. The special educational questions have been answered.
• Correctly 50%
• Is true in large part 40%
• Is true to some extent 5%
• Not correct at all 5%
• Other 0%

28. Contact details
www.spsm.se
Phone: +46 10 473 50 00
Textphone: +46 10 473 68 00
Facebook SPSMsverige
Twitter @SPSMsverige
Instagram Specialpedagogiska skolmyndigheten
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29. Thank you!
Annica.bostrom@spsm.se
Berit.ronnasen@spsm.se