Teaching children with intellectual disabilities (ID) has become an acute concern in Saudi Arabia. The primary reason for it is that such students cannot reach the standards society and the educational system have set due to their decreased ability to maintain their health and wellbeing (Tassé, Luckasson, & Schalock, 2016). To eliminate this problem, educational programs should focus on adaptive behavioral skills (ABS), teaching children how to perform regular tasks, such as dressing (Shireman, 2015). However, ABS can lead to adverse consequences in students having ID if not trained properly. For instance, Zhu et al. (2016) report that, if ABS is taught incorrectly, children may fail in being independent in adulthood.
Another concern is that many schools in Saudi Arabia may lack awareness of ABS’s significance. For example, Courtade, Spooner, Browder, and Jimenez (2012) note that teachers are not tasked with addressing ABS inadequacies in pupils during their elementary years. In addition, many educators lack the knowledge about effective strategies of ABS implementation; some of them also do not have the confidence to teach ABS (Temple, Brown, & Sawanas, 2013; Curry & Jones, 2014).
As a result, the primary focus of instructors’ development is related to pedagogy, technology, and curriculum content materials. Unfortunately, elementary teachers a forte in special education encounter problems in applying their ABS expertise to practice, too (Andrews, Falkmer, & Girdler, 2015). These data show that there is an increased need for performing experimental investigations and outlining the best approaches in eliminating existing problems. The literature review has identified a gap in special education instructors’ views on how children’s needs can be met (Vetter, 2012).
References
Andrews, J., Falkmer, M., & Girdler, S. (2015). Community participation interventions for children and adolescents with a neurodevelopmental intellectual disability: A systematic review. Disability & Rehabilitation, 37(10), 825–833.
Courtade, G., Spooner, F., Browder, D., & Jimenez, C. B. (2012). Seven reasons to promote standards-based instruction for students with severe disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 47(1), 3-13.
Curry, V. E., & Jones, R. (2014). Implementing transition activities: How competent do special education teachers feel? Delta Journal of Education, 4(1), 104-114.
Shireman, J. F. (2015). Critical issues in child welfare (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Tassé, M. J., Luckasson, R., & Schalock, R. L. (2016). The relation between intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior in the diagnosis of intellectual disability. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 54(6), 381-390.
Temple, V., Brown, D., & Sawanas, C. (2013). Adaptive daily living skills in northern Ontario first nations communities: Results from a diary study. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 19(1), 70-78.
Vetter, A. (2012). Teachers as architects of transformation: The change process of an elementary-school teacher in a practitioner research group. Teacher Education Quarterly, 39(1), 27-49.
Zhu, Z., Li, W., Zhan, J., Hu, L., Wu, L., & Zhao, Z. (2016). Adaptive behavior of Chinese boys with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 60(1), 1-8.