There is growing recognition of the communicative potential in many of the informal and idiosyncratic behaviors exhibited by children with developmental and physical disabilities. To assist in assessment and intervention planning, it would seem important to identify these potential communicative acts. To this end, the present article describes the development of the Inventory of Potential Communicative Acts (IPCA). The IPCA is an interview schedule designed to be completed by parents, teachers, and therapists of children with developmental and physical disabilities and severe communication impairment. It consists of 53 questions asking informants to indicate how the child communicates 10 distinct pragmatic functions. To date, pilot testing, development research, and field trials have involved 30 children. The results of this development work indicate that the IPCA is an efficient means of collecting accurate and verifiable data on the potential communicative acts of children with severe communication impairment associated with a range of developmental and physical disabilities. Use of the IPCA in communication assessment and intervention is discussed.

The Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale (IDP) was used to explore the attitudes of preservice teachers at a large Australian University to people with disabilities. Using structural equation modelling, the factor structure of the IDP Scale was tested. The best fitting model was found to be one in which there were four factors (Discomfort, Sympathy, Embarrassment, and Vulnerability) that were derived from 16 items. Although significant effects were found for type of course, age, gender, language, and frequency of contact, the magnitude of these effects was minimal. Changes in student teachers’ attitudes toward disability over a one year general teacher training course were found to be minimal.

To evaluate parent use of functional communication training (FCT) to replace and enhance prelinguistic behaviours in six young children with developmental and physical disabilities. Initially, the communicative functions of the children's prelinguistic behaviours were assessed by parent interviews. Three communication functions were identified for each child and intervention goals to replace or enhance the child's existing prelinguistic behaviours were developed in consultation with parents. After a baseline phase, parents received training on implementation of FCT. Intervention was staggered across the three communicative functions in a multiple-probe design. Intervention was associated with increases in the replacement communication behaviour. Treatment gains were generally maintained at the monthly follow-ups. The results suggest that parents can use FCT to enhance communication skills in children with developmental and physical disabilities.

Rural Australians comprise a third of the population. However, there are relatively few research studies that have focused on issues for children with developmental disabilities in rural regions. In particular, there is very limited research that gives voice to parents regarding challenges faced by them due to their location in rural regions. This article is based on the qualitative component of a mixed-methods study undertaken in rural settings. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 17 parents yielding 30 h of information rich taped data. Thematic analysis techniques were used to identify major issues. Three core themes emerged from analysis of the qualitative data regarding information and support needs: an ongoing lack of timely and relevant information about disabilities and support services; inadequacies in interactions with service providers particularly doctors and allied health staff; and considerable challenges and barriers to access and use of health services. Within the constraints of limited rural service provision, there are still opportunities for considerable improvements, through focussed in-service training to narrow the information gap, improve provider-client interaction around attitudinal issues and uptake of tele-health to minimise the long waiting times and the need to regularly travel long distances to access services and setting up online support groups. There is limited information on challenges faced by parents of children with developmental disabilities in rural Australia. The challenges around lack of information about support systems available add to parental stress as does limited experience, frequent staff turnover and poor attitude of many service providers. There is a need to improve rural service provision. Feasible options within resource constraints include focussed in-service training to narrow the information gap, improve provider-client interaction around attitudinal issues, and uptake of tele-health services. Setting up of parent-professional support groups as well peer support groups using digital technologies will help reduce the sense of isolation for rural carers and minimise impediments related to travelling long distances.

The survey compared the scores of 159 (118 females) randomly selected Brunei and Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) student teachers on the New General Self-efficacy Scale (NGSS); Self-efficacy in Implementing Inclusive Practices Scale (SIIPS); Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (SACIES); and Inclusive Classroom Setting Scale (ICSS). The scales were reliable and valid for use with participants in both countries. Females scored significantly higher on NGSS than male counterparts. In addition, Brunei participants scored significantly higher on NGSS and SACIES than Hong Kong peers. Furthermore, the samples’ scores differed significantly on NGSS and SACIES by participants’ educational level with A-Level trainees scoring highest. Moreover, the majority of the participants generally scored high on all the scales. However, Two-Way ANOVA revealed only one independent variable (ICSS) with a significant main effect on SIIPS, the dependent variable. Also only one lower-order interaction variable (gender and educational level) had a significant joint effect on the dependent variable, SIIPS. Overall, the results indicate a need to increase self-efficacy in males and Hong Kong students. Extra attention and interventions ought to be directed to SACIES and ICSS variables. Mixed-methods research was recommended to gain more comprehensive insights.