Best Schools for Children with Aspergers Syndrome

Best Schools for Children with Aspergers Syndrome In recent years, more and more children have been diagnosed with autism or autistic spectrum disorders, including high-functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome. Students who are non-verbal generally need special-education settings, but when it comes to educating those students who are high functioning yet still on the autistic spectrum, it can often be harder to find the appropriate learning environment due to their specific needs both in and out of the classroom. How Aspergers Students Learn Students with Aspergers or high-functioning autism may seem gifted in certain areas, and many of these children are quite bright. By definition, they have above-average intelligence, and they may also show talents such as a well-developed vocabulary or the ability to do math. Aspergers kids often also have an area of great interest, which may be in a restricted area, such as subway cars or certain kinds of animals. However, they may need a great deal of structure and routine, and they may react negatively to changes in schedules. They tend to have trouble making transitions, and they may need advanced warning when their schedules are going to change, as change can be a trigger that negatively impacts their abilities to cope with a situation. They may also have sensory issues that make them sensitive to loud noises or to smells or textures. Finally, many students with Aspergers have difficulty communicating about their wants and needs. Even though their vocabularies may be sophisticat ed, they may struggle with the practical aspects of language. The Accommodations Aspergers Students Need While Aspergers students are often bright, they may need accommodations or changes in their curriculum or classroom, including changes that are reflected in their Individual Education Plan, or IEP. While public schools are required to grant students with learning issues or other disabilities accommodations, private and parochial schools that do not receive public funding are not required to grant students these accommodations. However, with the proper documentation, including a professional evaluation, private schools may often grant students certain accommodations that can help these students handle the curriculum. Aspergers students may require accommodations such as speech and language therapy to improve their ability to communicate and to help them understand when to use pragmatic expressions such as how are you? They may also need occupational therapy for autism, which helps them make sense of the information coming in through their senses and integrate it. Occupational and speech and language therapists can also help students with Aspergers play better with other kids and understand how to navigate the classroom. In addition, students with Aspergers may benefit from counseling to help them process their emotions. Best Placement for Students with Aspergers Aspergers students can thrive in a range of schools, and to determine the best school you may need the assistance of an educational consultant who has experience working with students with special needs, including Aspergers. Some students may do well in a mainstream private or public school setting, with additional services such as counseling or occupational or speech and language therapy provided in school or outside of school. Other students may benefit from placement in a special education school. There are schools designed to meet the needs of students with autistic spectrum disorder; some special-education schools are for lower-functioning kids, while others are for higher-functioning kids. Placing a higher-functioning child with Aspergers requires parents to visit the school to make sure that the school can offer the right academic program. Often, special-education schools are so small that they can offer individualized instruction to meet the needs of a child with Aspergers. In other words, these types of schools can offer a student a higher-level class in an area in which he or she excels, such as math, while still providing other services the child requires, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, and social skills training to help students improve their ability to interact with other children and teachers. With these types of services, students with Aspergers and other forms of autistic spectrum disorders can often be very successful in school.

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buy custom Business and Management Final Assessment essay Netflix is a major company in the popular Silicon Valley. Netflix offers its subscribers with the internet movie streaming and the traditional DVDs by the mail services. It is evident that the company is very popular. This is because by April, 2011 it had more than 23 million subscribers. This growth by Netflix has been witnessed, despite the magnitude of criticism that the company has endured over the years. It was initiated in the market in 1997, and gained its market share because of its superior movie services it offered to its customers. The incorporation of new technology was fundamental to this revolution in the market, but the management knew that after its videos streaming service had gained the required market share and all the technicalities had been fixed, it would shrink. Therefore, the company had a long run plan that would cushion it against this vagary. That is, the company would split its movie services into internet streaming videos and DVD rental services via email . This study, therefore, aims at evaluating the effects of Netflixs corporate decision on its profit margins, market share, SWOT analysis and BCG analysis to determine its performance in terms of growth and market share retention. Immediate Effect of the Decision to Split the Movie Services In 2011, the company founder and chief executive officer Mr. Hasting announced this split. However, this decision, despite warning from a few of his corporate managers, resulted in the companys subscribers revolting against it, and they closed their accounts. It is evident that the company lost more than 800,000 subscribers in the third quarter of the companys fiscal year (Wingfield Stelter, 1). This decision turned out to be disastrous for the company. The announcement by the management on the fall in the number of subscribers made the companys stock to plummet resulting in more than 25% downturn in companys stock trading on the regular basis at the New York stock exchange. This demanded that something should be done. Netflix chief executive officer had to apologize to the public three weeks after the decision to split its services had been made, and he decided to reverse it (Wingfield Stelter 1). The company had also decided to increase its prices from $10 a month subscription fee for the combination of the video stream and the DVDs to $16 a month for the same. This increase was necessitated by the need to caution itself against the increase in the amount of money that was being spent on licensing for more materials for its video streaming service. Mr. Hasting had defended this decision by citing that the companys customers were fast moving into the future, in which the internet would serve as the media that people would watch their favorite TV shows nd new movies (OBrien, Jeffery 1). This new medium was more advantageous, as it would offer them instant viewing. This new trend in the market was the driving force for the companys decision to split its services as the mailed DVD service had already peaked. The company had recorded in the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year that there was a decline in the DVD shipment, and this trend has been increasing year after year. Therefore, Netflix had to change and incorporate the internet movie streaming as its major service in the market (Ho and Ramamurthi 1). However, it is evident that its initial decision to split its services was hasty, and it had irked its customers. It is evident that the companys chief executive officer was not fully aware as to whether the company had carried out an effective customer focus study that was expected to evaluate, how the public would have received the radical changes that the company was implementing (Wingfield Stelter, 2). In a nutshell, Netflix had not taken in to consideration the emotions people attached to the periodic DVD delivery packages they received, despite the fact that they at times did not watch those movies. They had not consulted with the customers, like many companies based in the Silicon Valley. Netflix had over relied on its analytical data-driven decision-making process that evidently cannot quantify emotions of the customers. Therefore, there was a need for the company to slow its decision-making process, so that it would give room for all relevant stakeholders to express their o pinion on the rooming changes at the company. This approach will ensure that the decisions made were holistic, and they took into consideration all the premiums proposed (Wingfield Stelter 1). However, it should be noted that Netflix future depended on this split, and implementation of this strategy was crucial. This is because the subset of the DVD rental services of the company products would shrink, as technology would continue playing the more pivotal role of re-insurrecting the market. Downloading and streaming would dominate the market, but Netflixs drastic decision to incorporate it would not aid well its evolution to be the greatest company in the digital entertainment. This decision required correct and cautious implementation (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 58). Netflixs SWOT Analysis Strengths Netflix market entry timing was superb. This is because there were fewer competitors. This enabled it to establish its brand name as a unique service provider. This well-timed entry in the market has allowed it to maintain a high market share. Leading online market share for the movie reentals Its services have a low fixed cost It provides its customers with free rented DVD shipping and postage services It has the largest DVD selection catalogue in the world Netflix boasts of an award winning website Weaknesses Netflixs primary disability to fully satisfy the rush customer demand for a movie after its release Netflixs rent by email service has some delays and it may take days for a movie to get to a particular customer. This creates room for customers dissatisfaction, as their mood to watch that particular movie could change before it gets to him or her. Netflix faces strong suppliers Netflix faces volatile performance from particular movies The studios that produce those movies are the only ones who can determine the release date of a movie, even when it is most anticipated in the market Opportunities Netflix has the potential to expand its services to the global market Threats Studios can form an alliance against it It can easily lose its goodwill It faces the risk of malware It has the potential of being obsolete within a limited time, due to the rapid growth in technology Netflixs Growth Market Share The above diagram shows that Netflix has maintained a high market share, and its growth has continued tremendously. This high performance in both facets of the market can be articulated to its aggressive marketing strategy and networking campaign. This is eminent for the companys strategic policies of splitting its services into two. This is because the management was able to forecast the demand patterns of its customers, despite the initial pitfall of its announcement on implementing these changes in its service delivery (Boone and Kurtz 22). It is evident that the reception of the changes that Netflix had implemented had negative impacts on its customers, and consequently, the market forces. This is the reason why its shares plummeted. However, it is evident that the companys business model had been drafted to enable it thrive in the movie service industry. This is because the development of new technology that complemented video services was necessitating the acquisition of the video streaming formats that would become popular with its customers. Therefore, Netflix had to incorporate these transitions to ultimately be in the position of being the ideal digital entertainment company in the globe. This splitting was fundamental in attaining this ideal. Buy custom Business and Management Final Assessment essay

Bulgaria and the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Bulgaria and the European Union - Essay Example Although Bulgarian has implemented significant institutional changes, it still must overcome its past and some important domestic hurdles. This research paper will explore the accession of Bulgaria into the ranks of the European Union through an analysis of the process, as well as the challenges this country faces within the EU framework. This is important, not only for Bulgaria and current EU member states but also for future EU enlargement. Accordingly, accelerated Europeanisation will be discussed with reference to the Bulgarian case in the European Union (Richardson 2001, p. 44; Nugent 2003, 23-33; see Warleigh 2004). The EU is a supranational body composed of constituent member states, found largely on the European peninsula. Democracy, negotiation, and collective decision-making through multilateralism are all inherent attributes of the modern EU. As a multinational organization, the EU represents various national interests within an overarching political framework. The EU is an international organization which operates on the basis of negotiation between member states and relies on collective decision-making to achieve its ends. ... Although there were initially only five members of the precursor to the European Union (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany), there are presently 27 countries in the EU and they are, in alphabetical order, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and finally, the United Kingdom. Countries currently seeking membership in the EU include parts of the former Federal State of Yugoslavia as well as Turkey. A political and economic powerhouse, this intergovernmental organization is estimated to account for up to 30% of the world's total Gross Domestic Product (see Warleigh 2004). Although it has not always been the case, modern-day Europe is characterized by a unifying democratic political culture. While the concept of democracy originated on its shores, the philosophy of democratic governance was challenged in 20th century Europe by authoritarian political movements, including fascism (expressed by Nazi Germany & Mussolini's Italy), and communism (as exemplified in Eastern Europe during the Cold War). With Allied victory in World War II and the recent collapse of the Soviet Union, democracy - in varying degrees- is now a universal trend amongst European states. In fact liberal democracy, best expressed by the states of Western Europe with entrenched democratic traditions, is quickly becoming the standard for the continent. Democratic norms and rules have subsequently been established