Joanna Cannon

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of high school students’ experiences of returning to school after sustaining a concussion, and the barriers and facilitators that influenced asuccessful return. Utilization of the qualitative, Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (ECIT) methodology allowed for an exploratory, in-depth investigation of the topic. Through 6 individual, semi-structured interviews, male high school students injured through sport described the factors that helped them and hindered them when returning to school after concussion (i.e., critical incidents). Additionally, students identified supports they wished were available to assist them in their return to school (i.e., wish list items). From the interview transcripts, helpful and hindering Critical Incidents (CIs), and wish list (WL) items were generated. Through an iterative data analysis process, critical incidents were organized into eight emergent categories: Staff Knowledge, Understanding and Attitude to Concussion, Quality and Responsiveness of Planning, Impact of Academic Context, Impact of Environmental Context, In/Exclusion from Important Activities, Social Support, Change in Capacity, and Negative Psychological Impact. Interestingly, many categories encompassed critical incidents pertaining to both helping and hindering experiences and those categories that included both helping and hindering factors were also those endorsed as WL items. The findings are reflective of heterogeneity of student experiences and Return-To-Learn (RTL) practices in British Columbia (BC) but highlight avenues to improve student experiences of returning to school after a concussion. Finally, practical implications, study contributions, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

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This dissertation utilized four consecutive studies to examine considerations in the education of students who are deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) with disabilities to gain a better understanding of how to effectively support the learners, their families, and their schools. First, a case study of a 9-year-old deaf child with autism from an immigrant family was conducted to understand the educational experiences of d/Dhh learners with disabilities and to form a foundation for future research. In Study 1, the perspectives of parents and teachers are explored regarding educational eligibility, placement, and intervention. Study 2 examines language and communication factors reported by administrators in educational decision-making and documentation for the case study. Themes are reported across the learner, partners (i.e., parents, educators, peers), and environment based on the Tri-Focus framework (Siegel-Causey & Bashinski, 1997). It is recommended educators implement culturally and linguistically responsive practices in collaboration with parents. Employing a non-concurrent multiple baseline design, Study 3 investigates the effects of reading social stories with American Sign Language vocabulary to increase social interaction between d/Dhh students with autism and their peers across three general education classrooms. The frequency of communicative social behaviors and the duration of social engagement at lunchtime and recess were recorded. The results do not show an immediate effect of the intervention across all participants, although teachers reported the social validity of the intervention as significant. Implications for promoting social inclusion of d/Dhh students with autism in general education classrooms are discussed. Study 4 was conducted to explore practices and considerations in the education of d/Dhh students with disabilities in British Columbia from the educators’ perspective through an online survey and focus group interviews. Findings from the previous studies provided the groundwork for the survey. Results indicate that equitable services should be delivered according to the needs of students, not by the categorical labels of disabilities. Recommendations are made on how strengths-based approaches can be practiced across the whole learning process including assessment, planning and placement, and intervention. Together, these studies provide theoretical and practical implications for the field as well as an empirical basis for researchers.

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