Education Commons^™

Adopting Children With Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study Of Family Experiences, Emily L. Richter

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively investigate and compare the family beliefs, values, and perceptions of parenting of families who have adopted children with Down syndrome (DS) to parents who have biological children with DS. Participants in the study included 27 parents of biological children with DS and six parents of adopted children with DS. Participants were interviewed through a digital survey that was distributed through Qualtrics Online Survey Software. Quantitative analysis placed the participants into groups and qualitative analysis was used to identify beliefs, values, and perceptions. Results showed that while both adoptive and biological parents indicated …

Learning To Be Fit: Social Change For Individuals With Cognitive Differences Through Organized Team Based Sports, Kayla T. Waters

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

This project investigated the importance and impact of physical activity on the lives of individuals with special needs. Two three-person focus groups, one composed of individuals involved in the Special Olympics and one of individuals not involved in the Special Olympics, participated in the study. Data was collected by videotaping each group’s process during a 20-minute self-directed session that included assigning roles and responsibilities in order to answer 10 semi-structured interview questions. Approach to assigning roles, organization of the process, and answers to the interview questions were analyzed and member checked. This study found that individuals involved in the …