Virtual reality refers to interactive three-dimensional computer-generated simulations which are experienced multisensory. Virtual reality practises while has been discussed in the computer sciences since 1970's, has become more accessible to the public with the advances in technology in recent years. Special education field also benefits from these current developments, as the number of virtual learning environments developed for the persons with special needs increase each passing day. Solutions responding to different kind of needs for the individuals with special needs are developed with virtual learning environments. These applications can be used for the instruction of various academic, social, daily life, communication skills or supporting skills or for various types of supports. In the literature there are several research studies evaluating virtual learning environments developed for different kind of special needs groups including; autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, hearing impairments. Recent study discusses the opinions on virtual learning environments on the basis of literature.

Sanal gerçeklik, bilgisayarda yaratılmış üç boyutlu ortamların birden fazla duyum ile deneyimlendiği etkileşimli benzetimlerdir. Bilgisayar bilimlerinde 1970’li yıllardan beri tartışılan sanal gerçeklik uygulamaları, son yıllardaki teknolojik gelişmelerle toplum için daha erişilebilir hale gelmiştir. Özel eğitim alanı da bu güncel gelişmelerden etkilenmekte, özel gereksinimli bireylere yönelik geliştirilen sanal gerçeklik uygulamalarının sayısı her geçen gün artmaktadır. Sanal gerçeklik uygulamaları ile özel gereksinimi olan bireylerin farklı türdeki gereksinimlerine yanıt verecek çözümler üretilmektedir. Bu uygulamalar çeşitli akademik, sosyal, günlük yaşam, iletişim becerilerinin öğretiminde ya da başka türlü destekler için kullanılabilmektedir. Alanyazında; otizm spektrum bozukluğu, zihin yetersizliği, fiziksel yetersizlik ve işitme yetersizliği gibi farklı özel gereksinim grupları için geliştirilmiş sanal gerçeklik uygulamalarının değerlendirilmesine yönelik çok sayıda araştırma yer almaktadır. Mevcut çalışma, alanyazında sanal gerçeklik uygulamalarına ilişkin değerlendirmeleri araştırma bulgularıyla tartışmaktadır.

The purpose of this study is to determine the opinions and suggestions of teachers about inclusion who works at five preschool education institutions and students with disabilities in their classes. Inductive research technique was used in this study and semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten teachers who had mainstreamed students in their classes. The data were analyzed with inductive analyze technique. As a result of the inductive analyze technique, the data were themed and the findings of the research were attained. Results showed that the teachers expressed positive opinions about the necessity of inclusion but they generally have problems about inclusion in their classes, schools and they are not satisfied with this implementation. Teachers expressed that they have very little knowledge about inclusion, this knowledge is inadequate for them and not having adequate knowledge caused them to be incapable about inclusion in their classes and face problems. The majority of the teachers who expressed that inclusion have lots of benefits for students with disabilities, also mentioned that it is not appropriate to include visually and severe mentally handicapped in the preschool education institutions, other students with disabilities should be accepted in inclusion as long as they can learn. Besides, as a result of the research it is revealed that the teachers emphasized that inclusion implemented in our country has lots of shortages and they have suggestions about inclusion with expectations from various foundations and individuals.

Bu arastirmanin amaci, kaynastirma uygulamasi yapilmakta olan bes okuloncesi egitim kurumunda gorev yapan ve siniflarinda kaynastirma ogrencisi bulunan okuloncesi egitimi ogretmenlerinin kaynastirmaya iliskin goruslerini ve onerilerini belirlemektir. Arastirmada niteliksel arastirma yontemi kullanilmis ve sinifinda kaynastirma ogrencisi bulunan 10 ogretmenle yari-yapilandirilmis gorusmeler yapilmistir. Gorusmeler sonucunda elde edilen veriler, tumevarimsal veri analizi teknigi ile analiz edilmistir. Tumevarimsal veri analizi sonucunda veriler temalar haline donusturulmus ve arastirmanin bulgularina ulasilmistir. Bu arastirmanin bulgularina dayali olarak, ogretmenlerin kaynastirma egitiminin gerekliligi hakkinda olumlu goruslere sahip olduklari ancak siniflarindaki ve okullarindaki kaynastirma uygulamalarinda genel olarak sorunlar yasadiklari soylenebilir. Ogretmenler kaynastirma egitimi ile ilgili cok az bilgi sahibi olduklarini, bu bilgilerin onlar icin yetersiz oldugunu ve kaynastirma egitimi ile ilgili yeterli bilgi sahibi olmamalarinin siniflarindaki kaynastirma uygulamasinda yetersiz kalmalarina ve sorunlar yasamalarina neden oldugunu belirtmislerdir. Kaynastirma uygulamasinin ozel gereksinimli ogrencilere pek cok yarari oldugunu belirten ogretmenlerin cogunlugu, gorme ve ileri derecede zihinsel yetersizligi olan ogrencilerin okuloncesi egitim kurumlarinda kaynastirilmasinin uygun olmadigini, diger ozel gereksinimli ogrencilerin ogrenebildigi surece kaynastirma egitimine alinmasi gerektigini dile getirmislerdir. Ayrica arastirma sonucunda ogretmenler ulkemizde kaynastirma egitiminin uygulanabilmesi icin cesitli onerilerde bulunmuslardir.

Social validation refers to the evaluation of intervention procedures by those who receive, and implement these interventions whether they are fair, reasonable and appropriate. In the present paper, social validation literature is evaluated in the context of four areas: (a) problem behaviors, (b) instructional procedures, (c) social skills interventions, and (d) language interventions. A brief description of evaluation methods of treatment acceptability is also provided. Finally, suggestions for future research are offered.

This study describes the communication repair behaviors used by nonverbal students with developmental disabilities in the interactions they were involved in with their teachers during free play activities. All children were students at centers serving student with developmental disabilities at Anadolu University in Turkey. Data were collected by videotaping the students during free play sessions at the centers they attended. The tapes were observed by the researchers, and any communication repair behaviors displayed by the students and communication breakdowns used by their teachers was recorded. The results of this study revealed that repetition, no response, addition, and recast were most frequent communication breakdown strategies displayed by nonverbal students with developmental disabilities, respectively. In addition, results showed that there was a positive correlation between the way teachers expressed communication breakdowns and the communication strategies the students used, which may be interpreted as the more teachers made use of asking for clarification, the more students utilized recast, addition and repetition strategies.

The Purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of consultation alone and consultation plus feedback on the proper we of positive behavior support strategies (PBS) on behaviors of three mothers with children with developmental disabilities. Results indicated that consultation plus feedback was more effective than consultation alone condition on the mothers' behavior. Also, results showed that when mothers implemented PBS procedures correctly, children's problem behaviors decreased and remained at low rate.

Problem Statement: Speech and language therapists support and work with individuals who will provide and contribute to children's early language development. Milieu teaching should be included in the curriculum of speech and language pathology students to teach them how to endorse early language development.Purpose of Study: This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to teach mand-model-one of the milieu teaching techniques-and the effectiveness of that mand-model on teaching vocabulary items to children with delayed speech and language. Furthermore, the follow-up effects of this program also were examined eight and sixteen weeks after the termination of the program.Methods: One of the single-subject research designs, multiple-probe model across subjects, was used to assess the effectiveness of the instructional program developed to teach mand-model, a technique in milieu teaching. The participants were two speech and language therapy graduate students and one teacher working with three children with developmental disabilities. Three children with whom these participants were working also attended the study. Full probe, probe, training, and follow-up sessions were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the instructional program designed to teach mand-model. All sessions were carried out in a one-to-one educational setting. Both interobserver and procedural reliability data were collected and the effectiveness of the instructional program developed to teach mand-model was determined through graphic analysis.Findings and Results: The findings of the study revealed that the instructional program designed to teach mand-model was effective for all participants and that the newly-learned items were retained eight and sixteen weeks after termination of the program.Conclusions and Recommendations: Practitioners in the field may consider using this training program when delivering instruction to teachers and student teachers. Further research could conduct an error analysis to identify whether participants make more errors in giving mand or providing model.

The purpose of this survey study was to determine the following: (a) What strategies do Turkish special education teachers use to address problem behaviors in their classroom? (b) What are teachers' views with regard to the effectiveness and acceptability of these strategies? (c) Is there a relationship between the use of strategies and teachers' perceived effectiveness and acceptability? and (d) Are differences among teacher ratings of strategy use, effectiveness, and acceptability associated with teacher characteristics (e. g., area of specialization, years of experience)? Results revealed that Turkish teachers' views of acceptability and effectiveness of strategies varied; however, in general, their ratings of positive strategies were higher than their ratings of reductive strategies. Results are discussed in the context of current literature, and directions for further research are suggested.

The purpose of this survey study was to determine Turkish teachers' attributions of problem behaviors. The participants' (special education teachers) attributions of problem behaviors varied with some teachers showing agreement with a behavioral perspective while others attributed the occurrence of problem behaviors to other factors (e.g., poor parenting, God, the child's disability). Teachers' educational area of specialty and training on behavioral interventions were associated with their beliefs about problem behaviors. Results are discussed in the context of current literature and directions for future researches are suggested.

Özel gereksinimli öğrencilere yönelik olarak hazırlanan matematik programlarında yer alan amaçlar ve davranışların, çocukların günlük yaşamlarını kolaylaştırıcı ve karşılaştıkları çeşitli sorunları çözmede kullanabilecekleri kavramları ve becerileri kapsayan işlevsel akademik beceriler olması son derece önemlidir. Özel gereksinimli öğrencilerin kaynaştırma uygulamalarıyla genel eğitim içinde daha fazla yer almasıyla birlikte, bu bireylere işlevsel akademik becerilerin öğretimi önem kazanmıştır. İşlevsel akademik beceriler, genelde eğitimin ilk yıllarında öğrenilen ve yaşam boyunca kullanılan becerilerdir. İşlevsel akademik beceriler arasında para kullanma da yer almaktadır. Bu makalede, özel gereksinimli öğrencilere para kullanımını öğretmede yararlanılan yöntemlere ve beceri analizlerine yer verilmiştir.

Goals and behaviors included in the math curricula developed for students with special needs are functional academic skills that contain concepts and skills useful to cope with the problems they encounter; thus they facilitate students' lives. Teaching functional academic skills has become more important with more frequent placement of students with special needs into the general educational setting through inclusion. Functional academic skills are those that are learned during the early years of education and that are used throughout whole life. Using money can also be included in functional academic skills. This article presents information on methods and skill analyses utilized during teaching how to use money to students with special needs.

Gelişimsel geriliği olan öğrencilerde problem davranışlar sıklıkla görülmektedir. Bu davranışların azaltılmasında en etkili yöntemlerden biri olumlu davranışsal destek uygulamasıdır. Bu çalışmada olumlu davranışsal destek uygulamalarının öğretmenlere öğretilmesi için hazırlanan öğretim programının etkililiği ve olumlu davranışsal destek uygulamasının öğretmenler tarafından uygulandığında meydana gelen değişlikler ve değişikliğin kalıcılığı incelenmiştir. Bu çalışmaya üç özel eğitim öğretmeni ve üç gelişimsel geriliği olan öğrenci katılmıştır. Çalışma Kayseri ilindeki Özel Özel Eğitim İlköğretim Okullarından birinin üç sınıfında yürütülmüştür. Bu çalışmada, tek denekli araştırma modellerinden deneklerarası (öğretmenler ve öğrenciler arası) yoklama evreli çoklu yoklama modeli kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada programının etkililiğini sınamak üzere, katılımcı davranışlarına ve güvenirliğe ilişkin veri toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın bulguları incelendiğinde, olumlu davranışsal destek programını öğretmek için hazırlanan programının etkili olduğu söylenebilir. Ayrıca, öğretmenler olumlu davranışsal destek programını kullanmalarıyla birlikte, hedef öğrencilerin problem davranışlarında azalma görülmüştür

Students with developmental delays frequently show problem behaviors. Positive behavioral support program (PBS) hass been found be be one of the most effective methods to reduce such behaviors. The pupose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the program designed to train teachers on positive behavioral support program, and identify and follow the behavioral changes after the application of positive behavioral support program by teachers. Three special education teachers and children with disabilities participated in this study. The study was conducted in the private school for student with disabilities. Multiple probe design across subjects with probe conditions was used. Reliability data and data for the participants' behaviors were collected to analyze the effects of the program. Results showed that the instructional program was effective on teaching how to use positive behavioral support program. When the teachers used positive behaviral support program in their classroom, the problem behaviors of target students were decreased.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of most to least prompting on teaching pedestrian skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. Five individuals with developmental disabilities were taught three different pedestrian skills, all related to crossing the streets, using simulation activities on a road model in the gym of their school. A multiple probe design across behaviors was used to evaluate the effects of most to least prompting. The results of the study revealed that most to least prompting was effective in teaching pedestrian skills. The subjects learned each of the skills and managed to generalize these skills to the actual city traffic.

Three Turkish special education teachers conducted a functional analysis to identify variables that might initiate or maintain the problem behaviors of three children with developmental disabilities. The analysis procedures were conducted in natural classroom settings. In Phase 1, following initial training in functional analysis procedures, the teachers generated hypotheses regarding the function of children's problem behaviors. Hypotheses emerged from parent interview and direct observation data. In Phase 2, the hypotheses were tested using functional analysis procedures developed by Iwata and his colleagues. For two of the three children, functional analysis results were consistent with hypotheses developed during Phase 1. Results for all children suggested that special education teachers were able to implement the descriptive and experimental phases of functional analysis procedures. Turkish teachers effectively identified specific contingencies that were likely to initiate or maintain problem behavior for each of the three children.

Effects of a training program utilized to teach how to conduct functional analysis process to teachers of children with developmental disabilities was examined. Furthermore, teachers' opinions regarding this process were investigated. A multiple probe design across subjects with probe conditions was used. Teacher training was in two phases. In the first phase, teachers were given information about functional analysis methods. Then, in the second phase, teachers were asked to implement the functional analysis process with their students who had problem behaviors. Results showed that the training program was effective in teaching special education teachers how to conduct a functional analysis process. However, teachers needed intensive consultation about how to conduct the functional analysis process during the study. Responses of teachers to Social Validity Form revealed that opinions concerning functional analysis changed positively after training.