Research Proposal: Disability Support at Sheffield Hallam University

This research proposal investigates the support provided to students with disabilities, specifically communication problems and language difficulties, at Sheffield Hallam University. It highlights the rationale for the study, emphasizing the importance of person-centered therapy and tailored support for these students to succeed academically. The background of the study focuses on Sheffield Hallam University's Disabled Student Support services and their approach to assisting students with conditions like dyslexia, ADHD, and dyspraxia. The research questions aim to identify the types of support available and their uptake by students. The literature review examines teaching approaches for students with communication problems, emphasizing the need for a balance between teacher-centered and student-centered learning, and explores the use of mobile-based support, such as the Picaa platform, in promoting learning development among students with special educational needs. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and solved assignments for students.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
An investigation to examine how students with disabilities (communication problem and
language difficulty) are supported within Sheffield Hallam University
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Working title
An investigation to examine how students with disabilities (communication problem
and language difficulty) are supported within Sheffield Hallam University
Rationale
According to Feng and Sass (2013), disabilities can be placed into numerous
categories like internal/external or mental/physical. The following research plan will mainly
focus on the physical disability, communication problems and language difficulty. According
to Bishop (2014), communication problem or language difficulty mainly affects the verbal
communication skills. Deficits in the verbal communication skills further create
complications in the non-verbal communication skills and this disequilibrium hamper the
overall communication style. Lewsader and Myers-Walls (2017) are of the opinion that
communication of language difficulty creates a barrier towards Vygotsky developmental
progression of communication. Under such circumstances, capacity to send and receive the
information becomes complex, making it difficult to communicate, increasing susceptibility
of getting distracted, difficulty in absorbing information through face-to-face interactions
and miss-understanding of the appropriate use of communication. These groups of children
and young adults thus suffer from poor-self esteemed and lack of confidence, creating mental
health complications further (Lewsader & Myers-Walls, 2017). Kersner & Wright (2013)
stated that the group of students or the young adults who suffers from communication
problems or language difficulty requires general assistance in the form of person-centred
therapy in order to succeed in academics. Thus the importance of this research plan is, it will
help to investigate how the officials of the Sheffield Hallam University are providing
valuable and meaningful support to the students with language difficulty and communication
problems. Highlighting such strategies will be helpful in the recent future in order to draft a

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person-centred care plan for the students of schools and other academic institutions and to
improve their overall academic performance and educating them about the tricks to improve
the communication problems. Moreover, this research will also provide insights of the
curriculum or the teaching plan, which a teacher must follow in order to assist the students
with the communication problems or language difficulty.
From my personal perspective, I want to highlight that the exploration of how
disabilities are supported within Sheffield Hallam University is applicable, valuable and
meaningful for me due to my personal experience of dealing with disability and its affect on
my life.
Background of the study
Sheffield Hallam University is an esteemed university in the United Kingdom which
offers an exhaustive range of graduate and undergraduate courses along with special support
service to the inter-national students. Apart from the regular curriculum, this university
provides special support to the disabled students under the service entitled Disabled Student
Support. According to the official website of the university, the disabled student support
mainly focus on the students with long-term disability and this includes long-term medical
conditions like specific learning difficulties (dyspraxia, dyslexia and attention deficient
hyperactive disorder) and other mental health complications. Under special support helps this
special student to excel in their academic career with equipment assistive technology, teacher
support and other person centred care (Sheffield Hallam Universty, 2018).
According to Frith (2017) complication like dyslexia hampers communication. Under
this condition, an individual experiences difficulty in reading accurately and speaking
fluently while asked to complete a task of reading comprehension. As per the reports
published by the British Dyslexic Association (2018), children who are dyslexic suffers from

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language difficulty as they frequently experiences persistent jumbled phrases like ‘toddlers
club’ and ‘cobbler’s cough’ and difficulty in identifying words which have identical
pronunciation. Hawkins et al. (2016) are of the opinion that children with Attention Deficient
Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), experiences communication problems. The poor
communication skills results in low literacy levels. These same co-morbidities are highlighted
among the students with other neuro-developmental complications like autism spectrum
disorder (ASD). According to Smith et al. (2015), devising proper teaching plans for the
children with ADHD will help them to overcome their problems in communication and
language difficulty and thereby helping them to succeed them in the academic career.
Thus analyzing the strategies used by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)
professionals in helping the students with dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia and other mental health
complications will help in drafting proper care plan and teaching procedures for the students
with communication problems and language difficulties.
Research Question
 How are students with disabilities supported within SHU?
Research Objectives
 To identify what support is available to students
 To identify the uptake of that support
Overview View of the Literature Review
The teaching approach while working with students with communication problems
The study conducted by Zebron, Mhute and Musingafi (2015) is based on the
background of the challenges which the teachers experiences while working with the students

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suffering from communications problems. The entire study was based under the secondary
education set-up. The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between the
communication disorder and the learning from general point of view. Discussing different
types of disability was not the main motive of the paper. The main motive of the paper is to
help the teachers in getting the basic understanding about the students about the
communication disorders and the process of learning from simplified point of view. The main
literature site by the paper helps in understanding of the different concepts of communication
and a detailed overview of the teaching and the learning approaches, which are employed
under the classroom settings. The concepts of learning highlighted in this paper include
teacher-centered teaching methods and pupil centered teaching methods. Under teacher-
centered learning methods, the teaching philosophies and the practices tend to be more
authoritarian and is more conservative. Here the teacher has the sole control over the learning
process. The Pupil-centred teaching methods are defined as a process where the pupil has the
power and the sole control over outcome and pace of the learning process. However, the main
gap, which is highlighted, by Zebron, Mhute and Musingafi (2015), the main approach of the
learning model which is followed in the majority of the schools is the teacher-centered
learning process. So when the teacher have sole control over learning outcome, the pupils or
the students experiences a fear in highlighting their exact needs or the knowledge gaps. The
condition becomes more severe with the children suffering the language difficulty or
communication problems. Due to poor communication problems, they fail to approach to the
teachers and since the teacher has the sole authority in the teaching process, they fail to
recognize or lacks in taking appropriate initiatives in knowing the actual concerns of the
students with communication problem. Thus keeping this gap in review, the paper focuses on
the problems and challenges experienced by the teachers in handling students with language
difficulty of communication problems. The paper also highlight the initiatives that are

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required to be undertaken in order to overcome the challenges to ensure effective learning
among the students with communication problems. In order to explore the gaps in the
knowledge and it achieve the objectives of the research, Zebron, Mhute and Musingafi (2015)
uses systematic review of literature in a qualitative form. The key findings of the research
argued that the teaching and learning are the two sides of the same coin. Thus, when people
discuss about the effectiveness of the teachers, they are mainly highlighting the actual
learning of the students. Generally, there are numerous learning and teaching methods just
like there are teachers and the students. However, the main learning approach that must be
undertaken in order assist students with communication problem is the student must be an
amalgamation of both teacher and student centered learning process. Because following
student-centered learning process for the students with language and communication problem
might not be helpful as the in this case, the student’s opinion are given first preferences.
Thus, students with communication problems can be excluded from effective learning, as
they are unable to respond or reply or are unable to express their emotions or requirements.
(Zebron, Mhute and Musingafi, 2015). Apart from describing the learning approach, the
paper also highlights few teaching strategies, which can be used while handling students with
communication or language difficulty. The approaches include understanding and patience,
provision for extra time to answers the questions, proper encouragement for speech practice
with one-to-one conversation and communicating with eye-contact, keeping classroom
environment relaxed and organized and taking initiatives so that the students gain courage to
provide speech in front of others (Zebron, Mhute and Musingafi, 2015). The initiates or
approaches which one teacher must avoid is mimicking a child with speech disorder,
identifying the student as langue disorder in front of others and pointing out the faults of the
students with communication disorder in front of others.

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Mobile based support for the students with learning disability and its uptake by the
students
The research conducted by FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) is based on the background
that the students with special education requirements experiences difficulties in developing
cognitive abilities. Difficulty in the development of the cognitive ability prevents the children
from acquiring new knowledge. Hulme and Snowling (2013) are of the opinion that this
scenario is relevant in case of students who are suffering from the speech or language
problems. Hulme and Snowling (2013) highlighted that not only on the academic grounds but
on special care are required to be undertaken in order to help these students to work on their
behaviour, communications problems and sustaining relationships with the other members of
the society. The analysis of the review of the literature highlighted that the proper
development of bespoke approach under the adaptable applications which is specifically
tailored for students with speech or language disability helps in shaping up the learning
process for the students physical disability like speech or communication problems or other
language difficulties. This bespoke approach also helps in developing the cognitive skills and
sensorial ability (FernáNdez-LóPez et al., 2013). However, the research gaps identified that
no specific literature have yet been published in order to access how these bespoke
techniques are required to be designed and implemented for the promotion of the learning
development among the students with communication problem or speech and language
difficulty (FernáNdez-LóPez et al., 2013). On basis of the research gap, the main aim of the
study conducted by FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) conducted a pre-experimental in order to
study the application of Picaa over 39 students with special learning needs. The Picca is a
special mobile platform devised by FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) and is compatible with the
iPad and iPod devices. The authors used Picca is order to cover the main phases of the
learning process. FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) mainly studies the four different kinds of

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educational activities and this includes exploration, puzzle, association and sorting. All these
activities are designed in the software in such a way that it can be personalized by the
educators at the content level and at the interface levels by taking into consideration of the
student’s requirement. Thus over the overall methodology that has been highlighted by the
study of FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) it can be said that the approach is unique and its
provides a scope to explore the effect of technology in managing students with disability. The
pre-experimental study was succinctly designed along with detailed descriptions of the
application, Picaa. However, the main limitations of the study are its poor sample size. Only
39 students with special educational needs and residing in Spain are included in the
evaluation based on pre and post testing.
The analysis of the results highlighted that the use of the learning platform Picca is
associated with positive effects in the developmental process of learning among the children
with special educational needs like communication problems of language difficulty.
Application of the Picca software helps in the promotion of the language development,
increase in the sense of autonomy, increase in the level of socialization and increase in the
level of awareness about the environment (FernáNdez-LóPez et al., 2013). Leary (2013) is of
the opinion that the increase in the sense of autonomy among the students with language
difficulty and communication problems helps them to overcome the sense of social anxiety.
Decrease in social anxiety; increases their level of participation in socialization and thereby
promoting language and communication development. FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) stated
that the use of software bestows the students with repertoire of types of activities. These
activities engage the students in an interactive session by the use of software. The use of
software through interactive sessions helps to increase the understanding about the language
among the students and increases their knowledge about their vocabulary. This promotes
their improvement in the academic career. The main gap in the research conducted by

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FernáNdez-LóPez et al. (2013) is it fails to highlight the approach, which the educators take
in order to encourage the students to make use of the technological advancements in the
process of language learning and the communication skills training. FernáNdez-LóPez et al.
(2013) did not covered the areas which showcases whether the student with learning or
language difficulty experienced any hurdle in using the software towards their academic
advancements.
Social interventions and its effect on learning needs of the students with communication
problems
Cornoldi and Oakhill (2013) are of the opinion that reading comprehensive is the
central aspect of learning and academic progress. Reading comprehension helps the students
to gain new knowledge and subsequent demonstration of the understanding about the
concept. However, the students with communication or language problems experiences
problems in reading comprehension. These groups of students lack proper knowledge about
the vocabulary and fail to identify the words which are similar in spellings or in
pronunciation. This problem is extremely profound among the children who are suffering
from autism spectrum disorder or dyslexia. Thus use of proper intervention is important in
order to increase their level of understanding in the reading comprehension and thereby
increasing their academic performance (Cornoldi & Oakhill, 2013). Thus the main research
gap which is highlighted in this research is lack of proper knowledge of the interventions that
can be used in order to increase the level of understanding about reading comprehension or
phrases among the students with language difficulty or communication problem. Swanson et
al. (2014) conducted a meta-analysis over the extant of research in order study about the
effects of reading interventions, which are procured by the use of social studies content over
the students with learning disabilities. The main purpose of the article is to expand the
approach of the social interventions implemented on the students with learning disability.

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They selected 27 studies, which met the criteria of the research and inclusion criteria selected
for the meta-analysis. The articles selected for the study mainly included children who belong
to the Kindergarten group to Grade 12. The study mainly implemented the reading
interventions under the context of the social studies. The reading interventions was employed
with the use of the graphic organizers, mnemonics, proper reading and answering of the
questions, use of the guided notes and multi-component comprehension instruction. The
meta-analysis was studied with the mean effect size of 1.02. The analysis of the results done
by taking the mean size effect of 1.02 highlighted that the reading interventions, which are
delivered by the use of the social studies, have significant positive effects on the overall
outcome of the students with learning disabilities. The main limitations of the study is its
small size, the meta-analysis of the study was conducted with only 27 studies. The small
sample size hampered the generalization of the data. Moreover, the studies, which are
included in the meta-analysis, have children in between the diverse age group. This can be
considered as other limitations of the study because the interventions applicable for the
students at the kindergarten level with communication or language difficulty might not be
helpful for the students who are in theory 12 grades or in the secondary level of education
(Swanson et al., 2014). One of the strength of the study is its presentation the tabular
representation of the data of different papers and the interventions selected from the each
paper towards improving the language difficulty of the students helped the readers to get a
detailed aspect of the research. The future progress of the research will be analysing the
comparative effectiveness of the each of the social interventions in improving the
communication problems of the students with speech or language difficulty. The future scope
of the research will also include whether not the students experiences any form of barrier in
up taking this social interventions.

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Research Gap
The main research gap with the highlighted from the review of the three articles, is
though there are enough evidences behind the importance of the interventions in improving
the language and communication problems among the students with physical disability, there
are no specific studies which are conducted from the perspective of educators. One study
which is highlighted in the review of the literature helped in understanding of the approaches
or the manner in which the students with the learning disabilities will be treated. However,
the review of literature highlighted that there is gap in the understanding about the specific
approaches which must be implemented in order to assist the students with the speech or the
language difficulty in order to excel in the academic. Moreover, the analysis of the review
also revealed that there are no specific challenges which are highlighted from the perspective
of the students or from the perspective of the teachers in implementing or using the
interventions for the improvement of their language knowledge and the communication skills.
Justification of the research design
In order to evaluate the research aims and objectives, the main research design that
will be taken into consideration will include qualitative research. The qualitative research was
selected over the quantitative research because, Creswell and Creswell (2017) stated that the
conduction of the qualitative research helps to get a detailed insight about the cause and
effect relationship of the identified problem. On the other hand, quantitative research helps in
the measurement of the research problems or the research questions in a deductive format by
forming a hypothesis which is derived from certain theory. The qualitative research design
helps in exploring the pattern of the hum feelings and emotions and subsequently helps to
probe it with the research questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). This helps in the retrieval
of the descriptive data. Thus selection of the qualitative research design will help the research

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to derive the relationship of the approaches used by the educators in improving the
communication or learning skills of the students with learning disability. It will also help the
researcher in analysing the emotions or the feelings of the teachers and the students in
relation to the limitation or barriers of the approaches.
The research strategy that will be used for this qualitative research is use of semi-
structured in-depth interview in order to know the views of the educators about the education
approaches and their shortcoming towards improving the language difficulty and
communication skills of the students with physical disability. According to Ritchie et al.
(2013) interview helps to provide a deeper understanding about the social phenomenon from
personal perspectives. Moreover, the conduction of the interview is mainly done with the
help of the questionnaire and this help the researcher to quickly analyse the data. Moreover,
since the format of the interview is known to the majority of the person, the level of
participation increases.
The main mode of the data collection that will be used for this research is use of open-
ended questionnaire directed towards the educators or the teachers of the SHU. At least 10
educators will be selected. The use of open-ended questionnaire for the conduction of the
interview helps the respondents to deeply explain their thoughts along with the emotional
consequences. This approach is opposed to close-ended questionnaire as it give the
respondents a specific set of options and thus the response is restricted to those set options
(Ritchie et al., 2013).
Purpose of the project planning and justification
According to Kerzner and Kerzner (2017) project planning is regarded as an
important contributor towards the success of the project. Kerzner and Kerzner (2017) stated
that the traditional wisdom is that planning and proper analysis is extremely important in