Developmental disabilities Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The development of imitation during the second year of life plays an important role in domains of socio-cognitive development such as language and social learning. Deficits in imitation ability in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have also been repeatedly documented from toddlerhood into adulthood, raising the possibility that early disruptions in imitation contribute to the onset of ASD and the deficits in language and social interaction that define the disorder. This study prospectively examined the development of imitation between 12 and 24 months of age in 154 infants at familial risk for ASD and 78 typically developing infants who were all later assessed at 36 months for ASD or other developmental delays. The study established a developmental measure of imitation ability, and examined group differences over time, using an analytic Rasch measurement model. Results revealed a unidimensional latent construct of imitation and verified a reliable sequence of imitation skills that was invariant over time for all outcome groups. Results also showed that all groups displayed similar significant linear increases in imitation ability between 12 and 24 months and that these increases were related to individual growth in both expressive language and ratings of social engagement, but not fine motor development. The group of children who developed ASD by age 3 years exhibited delayed imitation development compared to the low-risk typical outcome group across all time-points, but were indistinguishable from other high-risk infants who showed other cognitive delays not related to ASD.

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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Language Acquisition

What is community participation and how do we measure it? These questions are important as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue to experience exclusion, as policymakers design national funding schemes, and as researchers evaluate the success of interventions. A measurable definition of community participation enables people to know which interventions work, why, and where to target funding. Yet there may be good reasons to resist a universal definition of community participation. Building on work in feminist theory, this article shows the benefits of community participation as an essentially contested concept as contestation spurs innovative research. But even if contested concepts are good for researchers, are they good for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and professionals in the field? Aligning the goals of research with practice may be an important yet unattainable goal.

Dyssomnias Sleep duration Early childhood Risk factors Consequences Model s u m m a r y Dyssomnias are largely under-diagnosed in infants and toddlers. This literature review proposes an integrative model based on empirical data on determinants and consequences of sleep disturbances occurring in early life. This model proposes that parental behaviors that impede the child's autonomy toward sleep periods are primary grounds for the development of dyssomnias, e.g., parental presence until the child falls asleep, and putting an already sleeping child to bed. The model also indicates the serious potential consequences of a modest but chronic loss of sleep in childhood. At least three developmental domains could be directly affected: behavioral/social competence, cognitive performance, and physical condition. Thus, children with short nocturnal sleep duration before age 3.5 years show increased risk of high hyperactivity-impulsivity scores and low cognitive performance at 6 years compared to children who sleep 11 h per night, after controlling for potentially confounding variables. Moreover, persistent short sleep duration in early infancy increased the risk of suffering of obesity at 6 years of age, after controlling for potentially confounding variables. Finally, the importance of allowing the child to sleep at least 10 h per night in early childhood is stressed, as the National Sleep Foundation Poll suggests, for optimal child development.

- by Evelyne Touchette
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- Child Development, Early Childhood, Child, Circadian Rhythm

We compared the effectiveness of two extinction interventions, extinction by omission and noncontingent delivery of reinforcement, to treat aggressive behavior with a 10-year-old boy. Before the intervention, a functional analysis revealed that aggression was maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of attention. The extinction by omission intervention consisted of ignoring aggressive behavior. Noncontingent reinforcement involved delivering attention to the boy on a fixed-time schedule. Both treatments were compared using a multielement research design. Noncontingent reinforcement produced a more rapid elimination of aggression. Additionally, the schedule of noncontingent reinforcement was gradually thinned during the intervention. Finally, both parents successfully implemented the noncontingent schedule of reinforcement independently for up to 5 weeks after treatment.

- by Ian Taylor
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- Psychology, Functional Analysis, Behavior Modification, Research Design

Background Extremely low and very low gestational age (ELGA and VLGA) constitutes a risk factor for development even in absence of cerebral damage, as an immature central nervous system is exposed to invasive and inadequate stimulation. We tested the hypothesis that GA impacts developmental outcomes and trajectories of preterms without major cerebral damage in the first 2 years of life, expecting poorer developmental outcomes and higher rate of impairment with the decreasing of GA. We also evaluated whether GA, together with developmental outcomes in the first year of life, was related to developmental outcomes at 24 months.Methods Eighty-eight infants, divided into three GA groups (ELGA: ≤28 weeks; VLGA: 29–32 weeks; full term: >37 weeks) were assessed longitudinally at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales.Results Use of a repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance resulted in several significant findings. GA was associated with the developmental quotient (DQ) scores (P= 0.006); and locomotor (P < 0.001), eye and hand co-ordination (P= 0.016) and performance (P= 0.040) sub-scale quotient (SQ) scores; age of evaluation was also associated with DQ scores (P= 0.002), and locomotor (P < 0.001) and performance (P < 0.001) SQ scores. In particular, ELGAs exhibited lower DQ and SQ scores compared with the VLGA and full-term groups; some ELGAs showed mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairments, while few VLGAs mild impairments. Linear regression analysis showed that GA (P= 0.034) and 12-month developmental outcome (P < 0.001) were related to 24-month developmental outcome.Conclusions Different developmental trajectories emerged in relation to GA, with poorer developmental outcomes and higher rates of impairment in ELGAs and few mild impairments in VLGAs. The relevance of taking into account both GA and repeated assessments in the first 2 years of life was shown.

- by Alessandra Sansavini
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- Education, Child Development, Italy, Infant

Abstract.
BACKGROUND: One of the most serious concerns of parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists is children’s independent living, particularly of those with special educational needs (SEN). Purpose-built programs for the acquisition of independent living skills are considered a priority in special education settings. The main problem is the inefficacy of detached interventions to meet the needs of as many students as possible.
OBJECTIVE: Our response is to create transmedia applications for inclusive learning environments. To this end, we have taken a participatory design approach to develop a project for Daily Living Skills Training by combining special education pedagogies, filmic methods, game design and innovative technologies. In this paper, we present the design and development of Waking up In the Morning (WUIM), and its improvement through user-based and expert-based evaluations by students, therapists and developers. The main research purpose is to confirm if: (1) the final products of the WUIM project could be educational resources for students with SEN and (2) the common gaming experience could promote collaborative learning, regardless of students’ cognitive profile.
METHODS: During the alpha phase, we developed and improved WUIM. In July 2020, we implemented and evaluated WUIM in special education settings (beta-phase). More specifically, a quantitative and qualitative formative evaluation was conducted with children who have developmental disabilities (N=11), their therapists (N=7) and developers (N=2). Methods of data collection included questionnaires filled in by therapists and developers, participant observation by researchers and interviews with children.
RESULTS: The results of the formative evaluation were generally positive regarding four-factor groups that shape the learning experience: Content, Technical characteristics, User state of mind, Characteristics that allow learning. After the design team reviewed the potential users and experts’ comments that were mainly related to the user interface, the application was improved.
CONCLUSIONS: The two hypotheses have been largely confirmed. Overall, we propose a simplified development process that showcases the importance of arts-based methods and aesthetics which deliver representational fidelity. The study reveals the necessity of developing transmedia learning materials to meet each individual’s needs.

- by Polyxeni Kaimara and +2
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- Game Design, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Game Development
- by Sanne Giesbers
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- Psychology, Intellectual Disability, Child, Behavior Therapy
- by Mats Eriksson and +1
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- Psychology, Child Development, Epilepsy, Speech

Independent toileting is an important developmental skill which individuals with developmental disabilities often ®nd a challenge to master. Effective toilet training interventions have been designed which rely on a combination of basic operant principles of positive reinforcement and punishment. In the present study, the effectiveness of a reinforcement-based toilet training intervention was investigated with three children with a diagnosis of autism. Procedures included a combination of positive reinforcement, graduated guidance, scheduled practice trials and forward prompting. Results indicated that all procedures were implemented in response to urination accidents. A three participants reduced urination accidents to zero and learned to spontaneously request use of the bathroom within 7±11 days of training. Gains were maintained over 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. Findings suggest that the proposed procedure is an effective and rapid method of toilet training, which can be implemented within a structured school setting with generalization to the home environment.

- by Albert Pfadt
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- Psychology, Special Education, Behavior Modification, Autism
- by Justine Joan Sheppard
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- Psychology, Psychometrics, Adolescent, Intellectual Disability

Women with mental disabilities confront sexual assault at an alarming rate. We have argued elsewhere that this reality should be reflected in our understanding of the concepts of consent and capacity in the criminal law of sexual assault (Benedet and Grant 2007a; Benedet and Grant 2007b). In this paper, we examine recent developments in Canadian sexual assault law and consider whether they are adequate to recognize the experience of sexual assault for women with mental disabilities. In using the term mental disability, we refer to any developmental disability, psychiatric condition or other chronic, non-episodic disability that affects cognition or decision- making. Of course, the range of conditions that might fall within this category is vast and its boundaries not clearly fixed. Disability is both bio-medically and socially constructed in ways that shift with time and place. We are focusing on cases where the complainant is an adult woman with impairments in cognition, memory, an...

- by Isabel grant
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- Decision Making, Social construction, Sexual Assault, Down Syndrome

Pyrethroid insecticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, few studies have examined whether lower-level exposures could adversely affect children's neurodevelopment. The PELAGIE cohort included 3421 pregnant women from Brittany, France between 2002 and 2006. When their children reached their sixth birthday, 428 mothers from the cohort were randomly selected, successfully contacted and found eligible. A total of 287 (67%) mothers agreed to participate with their children in the neuropsychological follow-up. Two cognitive domains were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: verbal comprehension and working memory. Five pyrethroid and two organophosphate insecticide metabolites were measured in maternal and child first-void urine samples collected between 6 and 19 gestational weeks and at 6years of age, respectively. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between cogniti...

- by Gwendolina Limon
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- Cognition, Agriculture, France, Multidisciplinary

The opiate antagonist naloxone was effective in reducing self-abusive behavior in two mentally retarded clients with an extensive history of such behavior. Three doses of naloxone (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 rag) were compared with a vehicle solution in a double-blind, crossover design. Naloxone greatly attenuated self-abusive episodes in one client and eliminated them entirely in the second client. In addition, use of self-restraining behavior by one client was reduced. The findings suggested that some clients with self-injurious behavior may have disturbances of the endogenous opiate system. Maintenance of self-abuse by tonically elevated pain threshold and~or by the putative addictive characteristics of such behavior was discussed.

- by James Swanson
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- Pain, Intellectual Disability, Applied, Developmental disabilities
- by Esben Budtz-Jørgensen
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- Research Design, Child Development, Diet, Denmark

Objective Poor condition at birth may impact on IQ, although its effect on other measures of neurodevelopment is unclear. The authors' aim was to determine whether infants receiving resuscitation after birth have reduced scores in measures of attention, memory and language skills or the need for educational support at school even in the absence of clinical encephalopathy. Methods Three groups of term infants were identifi ed from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children: infants resuscitated at birth but asymptomatic for encephalopathy (n=612), infants resuscitated who developed symptoms of encephalopathy (n=40) and the reference infants who were not resuscitated and had no further neonatal care (n=8080). Measures of attention, language, memory and the need for educational support were obtained for children between 8 years and 11 years. Test results (standardised to a mean of 100 and SD of 15) were adjusted for clinical and social covariates. Missing covariate data were imputed using chained equations. Results Infants asymptomatic after resuscitation had similar scores to those not requiring resuscitation for all measures while infants who developed encephalopathy had lower working memory (−6.65 (−12.34 to −0.96)), reading accuracy (−7.95 (−13.28 to −2.63)) and comprehension (−9.32 (−14.47 to −4.17) scores and increased risk of receiving educational support (OR 6.24 (1.52 to 26.43)) than infants thought to be well at birth, although there was little evidence for an association after excluding infants who developed cerebral palsy. Conclusions The authors found no evidence that infants who were resuscitated but remained well afterwards differed from those not requiring resuscitation in the aspects of neuropsychological functioning assessed in this study. Infants who developed neonatal encephalopathy had evidence of worse functioning, particularly in language skills and were more likely to receive educational support at school.

- by David Odd
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- Special Education, Attention, Working Memory, Cerebral Palsy

Developmental data were abstracted from medical records on 50 trisomy 18 individuals ranging in age from 1 to 232 months and 12 trisomy 13 individuals ranging in age from 1 to 130 months. Data on the age when trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 children achieved developmental skills were collected from a larger group of 62 trisomy 18 individuals and 14 trisomy 13 individuals whose families filled out parent questionnaires. Developmental quotient (DQ), defined as developmental age divided by chronological age, averaged 0.18 for trisomy 18 and 0.25 for trisomy 13. There was a dramatic drop in DQ from infancy to later childhood. The highest DQs and the greatest variation in DQs were in the first 2-3 years of life. Developmental ages in 7 skill areas were significantly different, with daily living and receptive language having the highest values and motor and communication skills having the lowest. When chronological age was taken into account, there was no significant difference in DQs in the same 7 skill areas, although there was a trend that was similar to the pattern of differences with developmental age. Older children could use a walker, understand words and phrases, use a few words and/or signs, crawl, follow simple commands, recognize and interact with others, and play independently. Walking and some toileting skills were also reported for trisomy 13. Although individuals with trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 were clearly functioning in the severe to profound developmentally handicapped range, they did achieve some psychomotor maturation and always continued to learn.

- by Brent Blackburn
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- Genetics, Natural History, Intellectual Disability, Child

To compare pregnancy outcome prospectively after phenytoin and carbamazepine monotherapy with outcome in matched mother-child pairs exposed to nonteratogens to evaluate the relative fetal safety of these drugs. A prospective, controlled, and blinded observational study. Thirty-six mother-child pairs exposed to carbamazepine monotherapy and 34 pairs exposed to phenytoin monotherapy, all prospectively studied, were compared with mother-child pairs exposed to nonteratogens. The controls were matched for maternal age, time of consultation, obstetric history, and socioeconomic status. The primary end point of interest was the children's global IQ measured by either the Bayley or the McCarthy scale according to their ages. A teratology consultation program and two neurology services in Toronto, Ontario. Children exposed to phenytoin in utero had a mean (+/- SD) global IQ 10 points lower (95% confidence interval, 4.9 to 15.8 points) than their matched controls (113.4 +/- 13.1 and 103.1 +/- 25.1; P = .038). The Reynell language development scores followed a similar trend, with children exposed to phenytoin scoring significantly lower than their controls. Phenytoin-exposed children had a global IQ of 84 or less significantly more often than the control group (P < .01). Children exposed in utero to carbamazepine did not differ from their controls on any of the neurobehavioral tests. Our study suggests a clinically important negative effect of phenytoin on neurobehavioral development, independent of maternal or environmental factors, causing a substantial number of children to achieve a lower score than expected on cognitive tests. No similar effects could be shown after gestational use of carbamazepine.

- by Irena Nulman
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- Cognition, Prospective studies, Pregnancy, Child

The instructional scheduling arrangements of simulated and community-based instruction across an equivalent set of functional and vocational skills were examined. Five secondary age students with moderate intellectual disabilities participated in four instructional scheduling arrangements measuring skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of functional tasks. The four instructional scheduling arrangements examined were simulated-only instruction (SOI), community-based instruction only (CBI), combination of SOI and CBI on consecutive school days (CCD), and combination of SOI and CBI on the same school day (CSD). The CSD schedule was significantly more effective for student acquisition performance than SOI, CBI, and CCD schedules. Although the CBI schedule resulted in the fewest number of instructional sessions for students to acquire the targeted skill, fewer sessions for skill generalization were required for students during the combined simulation and community instruction CSD schedule. Overall, both combined instructional scheduling arrangements (e.g., CCD, CSD) produced more efficient outcomes for generalization than SOI and CBI scheduling arrangements.

- by Paul Alberto
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- Psychology, Scheduling, Vocational Education, Skill Acquisition

The aim of the study is to investigate the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in the climate change and disaster management related rules and policies in the coastal belt of Bangladesh. The perceptual or field data have been collected through field survey based on semi-structured questionnaire. A total 385 questionnaires were equally distributed among five study areas. The study reviewed that nearly fifteen (15) types of rules and policies have been identified among which eight (8) types of rules and policies are directly addressing the inclusion of PwDs in climate change and disaster management issues in Bangladesh. The study found that only 20 percent PwDs are included in disaster management committee in the national, district, metropolitan, municipal, upazila and union or ward levels. Although the maximum inclusion has been identified at the union level, the reason of execution is unaware of the rules of PwDs. In these circumstances, they do not get the security at she...

We begin this article by examining the role of intellectual disabilities within child psychiatry, highlighting the relatively steady role of disabilities and the recent movement to examine behavior in specific genetic syndromes. We next propose five questions for future work. Questions relate to (1) specifying the nature of gene-brain-behavior connections; (2) delineating environmental effects and gene-environment interactions; (3) understanding behaviors, physical characteristics, health issues, and other personal characteristics by which children with intellectual disabilities influence others; (4) clarifying the roles of gender and aging in behavioral functioning; and (5) working to improve pharmacological, educational, and other interventions and supports for children and their families. Although great advances have occurred over the past 50 years, intellectual disability research lags behind other areas of child psychiatry; much remains to be discovered that might help these children.

- by Robert Hodapp
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- Genetics, Cognitive Science, Behavior, Forecasting

Socioeconomic inequalities in the health of adults have been largely attributed to lifestyle inequalities. The cognitive development (CD) and emotional health (EH) of the child provides a basis for many of the health-related behaviours which are observed in adulthood. There has been relatively little attention paid to the way CD and EH are transmitted in the foetal and childhood periods, even though these provide a foundation for subsequent socioeconomic inequalities in adult health. The Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) is a large, prospective, pre-birth cohort study which enrolled 8556 pregnant women at their first clinic visit over the period 1981-1983. These mothers (and their children) have been followed up at intervals until 14 years after the birth. The socioeconomic status of the child was measured using maternal age, family income, and marital status and the grandfathers' occupational status. Measures of child CD and child EH were obtained at 5 and 14 years of age. Child smoking at 14 years of age was also determined. Family income was related to all measures of child CD and EH and smoking, independently of all other indicators of the socioeconomic status of the child. In addition, the grandfathers' occupational status was independently related to child CD (at 5 and 14 years of age). Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families (previous generations' socioeconomic status as well as current socioeconomic status) begin their lives with a poorer platform of health and a reduced capacity to benefit from the economic and social advances experienced by the rest of society.

- by Jake Najman
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- Anthropology, Education, Cognitive development, Behavior

Headache in children and adolescents represents a number of complex and multifaceted pain syndromes that can benefit from psychological intervention. There is good evidence for the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation training, and biofeedback. The choice of intervention is influenced by patients' age, sex, family and cultural background, as well as the nature of stressors and comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Management must always be family-centered. Psychological treatments are essential elements of the multidisciplinary, biopsychosocial management of primary headache disorders, particularly for those with frequent or chronic headache, a high level of headache-related disability, medication overuse, or comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Future studies of efficacy and effectiveness of psychological treatment should use the International Headache Society's definition and classification of headache disorders, and stratify results by headache type, associated conditi...

- by Christine Sieberg
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- Cognitive Science, Adolescent, Child, Behavior Therapy

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is associated with cognitive changes, but the extent of cognition decline depends on age at onset, duration of diabetes and occurrence of attacks of hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis.This study was designed to assess cognitive function in a group of children with type I diabetes mellitus. Forty diabetic children, with mean age at onset of 8.59±2.71 year, were recruited from the Pediatric Department of Assuit University Hospital, Egypt. Forty healthy children matched for age, sex, socioeconomic states were chosen as controls for comparison. Cognition was assessed using the psychometric (Stanford Binet test) and electrophysiologic (Event Related Potentials) tests. Compared to control group, patients reported significant reduction in intelligent quotient, comprehension, abstract visual reasoning, quantitative reasoning, bead memory and total short memory testing for cognitive functions. Prolonged N1, P200, N2 and P300 latencies and reduced P300-N2 amplitude of event related potentials were also reported. Significant negative correlations were identified between in most studied cognitive functions and ketoacidosis or family history of diabetes mellitus. Type I diabetes mellitus and diabetes-related factors are important risks for cognitive deficits in children group of population.

- by Amany Mohamed
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- Cognitive Science, Intelligence, Electroencephalography, Comorbidity

A ttention is the process by which we select stimuli in our environment for perception and action. The ability to orient to salient visual stimuli and to parse the visual world begins to emerge in the first few months of life and continues to evolve through childhood. This review addresses how visuospatial attention develops, is deployed, and can be damaged in children. In particular, we discuss orienting, lateralized attention, and global vs local processing. Advances in our basic understanding of the cognitive neuroscience of visuospatial attention are beginning to inform pediatric neurology, but much work remains to be done.

- by Anjan Chatterjee
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- Cognitive Science, Attention, Cognitive Neuroscience, Adolescent

We evaluated the effects of an enriched environment, based on a paired-choice preference assessment, on both rates of self-injurious behavior (SIB) and percentage of session intervals during which signs of negative affect were displayed by a woman with mental retardation and a mood disorder. Results suggested that SIB and signs of negative affect were highly correlated and that the enriched environment effectively reduced both.

- by Iser DeLeon
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Applied Behavior Analysis, Mental Retardation

An 11-year-old boy was evaluated for progressive ataxia, cognitive deterioration, and ophthalmoplegia. The child initially presented with abnormal eye movements at the age of 2 months and was noted to have developmental delay at 6 months. At the age of 7 years, he developed ataxia and cognitive impairment, and subsequently manifested dysphagia and incontinence. The pertinent family history included gait difficulty in the paternal grandmother. At the age of 11, his general physical examination was normal. On neurological examination, he had bilateral external ophthalmoplegia, ataxic dysarthria, dysmetria and tremor in the upper extremities, and marked gait ataxia. An ophthalmological evaluation showed no evidence of pigmentary retinopathy. Brain MRI demonstrated cerebellar, brainstem, and cerebral atrophy. An ataxia panel showed 62 repeats in one allele of the SCA2 gene. Most cases of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) present between 20 years and 40 years, and affected individuals typically have between 34 and 57 CAG repeats.

- by Benjamin Roa
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- Genetics, Child, Spinocerebellar ataxia, Developmental disabilities

The objective of the study was to evaluate perinatal and long-term complications of fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) compared with constitutionally small for gestational age (SGA) ones. The outcome of infants with IUGR and SGA born at the Medical University Graz (Austria) between 2003 and 2009 was retrospectively analyzed. Group assignment was based on birthweight, Doppler ultrasound, and placental morphology. The primary outcome was neurodevelopmental delay at 2 years corrected age. The secondary outcomes were perinatal complications. We included 219 IUGR and 299 SGA infants for perinatal and 146 and 215 for long-term analysis. Fetuses with IUGR were delivered earlier (35 vs 38 weeks) and had higher rates of mortality (8% vs 1%; odds ratio [OR], 8.3) as well as perinatal complications (24.4% vs 1.0%; OR, 31.6). The long-term outcome was affected by increased risk for neurodevelopmental impairment (24.7% vs 5.6%; OR, 5.5) and growth delay (21.2% vs 7.4%; OR, 3.4). IUGR infants are subject to an increased risk for adverse short- and long-term outcome compared with SGA children.

- by Uwe Lang
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- Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Risk assessment, Adolescent, Pregnancy

These two studies extended previous research on the use of verbal instructions and support technology for helping persons with mild or moderate... more

These two studies extended previous research on the use of verbal instructions and support technology for helping persons with mild or moderate Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease perform daily activities. Study I included seven participants who were to carry out one of two previously targeted activities (i.e., either coffee preparation or table setting). Study II included four participants who were to carry out two new activities (i.e., preparation of a fruit salad and of a vegetable salad). The effects of activity engagement on mood (i.e., indices of happiness) were assessed by recording the participants&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; behavior during the activity trials and parallel non-activity periods. The participants of Study I reached percentages of correct activity performance, which normally exceeded 85. Five of them also showed higher indices of happiness during the activity trials as opposed to the non-activity periods. Three of the participants of Study II reached high percentages of correct performance on both activities available. One of these participants also showed higher indices of happiness during the activity trials. The findings were discussed in relation to previous research outcomes and in terms of their practical implications for intervention programs.

- by Nirbhay N Singh
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- Psychology, Instructional Technology, Happiness, Activities of Daily Living

Although no Canadian studies have been conducted, studies suggest parents of children with autism experience difficulties obtaining a diagnosis for their child. Fifty-six parents of children with autism completed three questionnaires providing information on the families' demographics, parents' experiences throughout the diagnostic process, and their child's autistic symptomatology. These parents experienced significant difficulties obtaining a diagnosis for their child. Parents saw an average of 4.5 professionals, and waited almost 3 years to receive a diagnosis following their first visit to a professional regarding their child's development. The impact of autistic symptomatology on the diagnostic process is discussed.

- by Kimberly Kerns
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- Demography, Area Studies, Autism, Mental Health

The study objectives were: (a) to compare the prevalence of children at risk and/or with developmental delay (at risk/delayed) among the Ultra-Orthodox community with the prevalence reported in the literature and (b) to compare the performance of Ultra-Orthodox children in kindergarten versus that of children in preschool. To this end, motor, visual-motor integration and cognitive performance of 203 Ultra-Orthodox boys from low socioeconomic status were assessed. We found a higher percentage of children who were at risk/delayed in gross motor and motor-cognitive skills as compared with the percentage reported in the literature. However, as opposed to expected, the results did not show that there was a higher percent of at-risk/delayed children among the kindergarten group as compared with those among the preschool group. Our findings are consistent with the research literature suggesting that children's cultural background and economic constraints can affect their motor and cognitive development. Thus, occupational therapists and other health professionals should be more culturally competent and more aware of the specific values and practices of families of children with whom they work, which can impact their development. However, in this study, it is difficult to distinguish between the influence of the cultural factors and the influence of socio-economic factors. Therefore, it is recommended to repeat this study among children from either low socio-economic status or other cultural backgrounds.

- by Naomi Weintraub and +1
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- Religion, Occupational Therapy, Risk assessment, Israel
- by Angel Lachapel
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- Intelligence, Poverty, Mental Health, Cognition

The discomfort reported by the general public at the prospect of personal contact with marginalised groups is an expression of the stigma they experience. This has been widely studied in relation to ethnic minorities and immigrants but less so for persons with disabilities. A national survey with a representative sample of over 1100 Irish adults provided an opportunity to examine reported discomfort with persons who had different impairments, including mental health conditions, with four other minority groups. Moreover, the personal and situational variables associated with expressions of discomfort were identified. Respondents were most comfortable having persons with physical and sensorial disabilities living in their neighbourhood or in their workplace but less so for persons with intellectual disabilities and even less for people with mental health conditions. They were much less comfortable with the four other social groups: gay, lesbian or bisexual people; Eastern European mig...

- by Roy McConkey
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- Psychology, Public Opinion, Social Support, Adolescent

In the present paper is studied an approach to accessibility for people with disabilities in Protected Areas, focusing on the area of information offered to visitors in the area of the National Marine Park of Alonissos-Northern Sporades (N.M.P.A.N.S.). At first accessible information material to the Information Center of the N.M.P.A.N.S. Management Body is examined. The findings and recommendations raised during the research process gave rise to the construction of information materials concerning the N.M.P.A.N.S. and react to the needs of people with visual impairments. Then, an evaluation of the material of the individuals surveyed and approved its suitability. The most informative material exhibits the Information Center of the Management Body, being an important means of visually impaired visitors. This action is a first step toward the realization of the difficult goal of accessibility for people with disabilities in N.M.P.A.N.S.

Memory illusions occur quite frequently in the laboratory as well as in real life, and their developmental trajectory depends on the nature of the illusion. When memory illusions stem from processing semantically related information (e.g., Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm: Brainerd, Holliday, & Reyna, 2004; connected-meaning paradigms: Howe, 2006), typically developing children often demonstrate age-related increases in the frequency of memory errors (Brainerd,

- by Gianluca Lo Presti
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- Psychology, Semantics, Face recognition (Psychology), Adolescent

In the FXS full mutation this single-gene defect results in reduced or absent FMR-1 protein (FMRP) expression (Koukoui & Chaudhuri, 2007). FMRP is argued to be specifically involved in synaptic and dendritical refinement during early brain development (Christie, Akins, Schwob, & Fallon, 2009). Absence of FMRP is primarily associated with abnormal maturation of synaptic connectivity (Oostra & Chiurazzi, 2001), and is argued to be the primary cause of the cognitive deficits frequently observed in FXS (Loesch, Huggins, & Hagerman, 2004; Visootsak, Warren, Anido, & Graham, 2005). Although the cognitive profile of FXS males has been extensively studied over the years, little is known about the relation between performance level and cognitive profile. The goal of the present study was: (a) to examine the cognitive profile of FXS full mutation males of different performance levels over a wide range of cognitive abilities; and (b) to investigate whether such a cognitive profile would be similar for FXS males of different levels of performance.

- by Maurits van der Molen
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- Psychology, Psychometrics, Adolescent, Intellectual Disability
- by Roslyn Boyd
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- Psychology, Neurology, Autism, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Developmental delay (DD) in infants and children is one of the chief complaints of parents. It has been established that the concerns of parents are as accurate as quality screening tests. Some kinds of concerns are particularly useful in the early detection of associated developmental problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the main parental concerns and the final diagnosis based on professional assessment of children who are suspected to have DD. One-hundred and 1 infants or children were recruited into this study. The major concerns of parents were elicited and categorized by various developmental domains: speech, motor, behavioral, cognitive, global, and non-specific developmental problems. All children underwent comprehensive combined assessments by professionals in the hospital, and were classified into 6 subtypes: speech, motor, behavioral, cognitive, and global DD, and normal development. Our results revealed that parental concerns abo...

- by Shih-ching Chen
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- Hospitals, Movement disorders, Child, Infant

Since fetal alcohol syndrome was first described over 35 years ago, considerable progress has been made in the delineation of the neurocognitive profile in children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Preclinical investigators have made impressive strides in elucidating the mechanisms of alcohol teratogenesis and in testing the effectiveness of pharmacological agents and dietary supplementation in the amelioration of alcohol-induced deficits. Despite these

- by Piyadasa Kodituwakku
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- Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuropsychology, Mathematics

Little is known about how AAC use in preschool may impact language development for children with complex communication needs (e.g., children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities). We developed two surveys (a) to describe children ' s use of AAC in preschool classrooms, as well as the use of prompts and question asking, and augmented input by their communication partners; and (b) to describe teachers ' experience, training, and perceived support in providing AAC. We then examined the relationship between children ' s experience of AAC, including the use of prompts, question asking, and augmented input by their partners, and the growth of receptive and expressive language for 71 children with developmental disabilities over a two-year period. The use of AAC by peers to provide augmented input was associated with stronger language growth; the use of prompting and question asking by teachers was associated with weaker language growth. Teachers reported that they received little training regarding ways to support a child ' s use of AAC. Results suggest the need for further research on promoting AAC use at the preschool level, including research to promote peer interactions for AAC users.

This study tested the relationship between prelinguistic vocalization and expressive vocabulary 1 year later in young children with mild to moderate developmental delays. Three vocalization variables were tested: rate of all vocalization, rate of vocalizations with consonants, and rate of vocalizations used interactively. The 58 toddlers in the study were 17–34 months old, not sensory impaired, and had Bayley Mental Development Indices (Bayley, 1969; Bayley, 1993) from 35–85. In addition, the children had fewer than 3 words in their expressive vocabularies and during classroom observation each showed at least one instance of intentional prelinguistic communication before testing. Selected sections of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales procedures (CSBS; Wetherby & Prizant, 1993) were administered at the beginning and at the end of the study. The vocal measures were obtained in the initial CSBS session. One measure of expressive vocabulary was obtained in the CSBS session ...

- by Paul Yoder
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- Cognitive Science, Language Acquisition, Phonetics, Child Development

Children with developmental disabilities often converse less frequently than their developmentally matched peers. This low conversational participation can cause problems for the children’s future language and discourse development. The purpose of this experimental study was to test the hypothesis that adult topic-continuing wh-questions would elicit topic continuations in children with relatively low language ability, but not in children with relatively high language ability. Twenty-three children with developmental delays interacted with an adult who conducted two play sessions. In each session, the adult used a different interaction style. The two styles differed in the adult’s use of topic-continuing wh-questions. Results indicate that adult use of topic-continuing wh-questions supported the use of child continuations in children at all language levels. The type of continuations (single word versus multiword) that were elicited depended on the language level of the children. Cli...

- by Hardyal Gill
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- Food, Melatonin, Antioxidants, Brain

Aim: This descriptive cross-sectional study estimates the frequencies and kinds of potential developmental disabilities (DD) and behavior problems (BP) among children in grades R and 1 who attend a primary public school in rural Western Cape Province, South Africa. Methods: Data were collected on 174 children aged 5.1-8.8 years using the Ten Question Screener (10QS) and the Developmental Behaviors Checklist-Short form. Results: For the entire sample, 42% (n = 73) screened positive for 1 or more possible DD on the 10SQ. Twenty-one percent (n = 36) screened positive for one or more possible DDs. Thirty-six percent (n = 63) of the sample scored above the cutoff for a behavioral problem that may be clinically significant. For this group the proportion of females (n = 36, 39%) was slightly higher than males (n = 28, 35%). Conclusion: The percent of possible DDs and BP among children in grades R and 1 is higher than the number of learners with special needs reported by the Principal for the entire school (18.7%). The findings from this study suggest that there may be more learners than formally designated who have special educational needs that may benefit from special educational programs (e.g. speech, occupational, language, etc.). There may be a need for expanded remedial educational and behavioral services in this school and elsewhere in the district. ß

- by Sarah Ratcliffe
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- Psychology, Special Education, Mental Health, Public Health