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[Epilepsy and childhood learning disabilities].

Epilepsy is very frequent in childhood. Learning disabilities in epilepsy are not very well known. Even if mental retardation has been studied, very few teams have focused on the different cognitive functions in children with epilepsy. Several neuropsychological studies have been carried out but only on epileptic syndromes as West syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It looks very important to study the neuropsychological profiles in the different types of epilepsy in childhood (generalized and partial epilepsy, idiopathic and non idiopathic). Different tools are now available for detection of cognitive deficits.

Child↗

Neuropsychological clusters within intelligence levels for learning disabled children.

The present study assessed 1142 learning disabled children with the Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Subjects were divided into four groups based upon Full Scale IQ (i.e., 70-79; 80-89; 90-99 and 100-110). Subsequent clustering of the test data within each group suggested that while the students in the 70-79 IQ range were represented by a single Impaired Cluster, each of the other IQ groups had both an Impaired Cluster and a Non-Impaired Cluster.

Adolescent↗

Simulated and in situ vocational social skills training for youths with learning disabilities.

Social skills training for youth with learning disabilities in transition from school to work is of substantial importance. To examine the generalization of such training to real employment settings, this study used a multiple-baseline design to investigate the effects of 12 measured behaviors (3 behaviors per student) on four high school seniors. An initial simulated social skills package delivered at school led to generalization in 8 of 12 behaviors. Subsequently, in situ training at the work site produced generalization in 4 of 6 behaviors. This two-phase model appears to be a powerful way to promote generalization of behavioral skills.

Adolescent↗

[The diagnostic value of the intelligence quotient in learning disabilities].

In 1983-88 period, 206 subjects with a average age of 9 years and 6 months, referred [correction of envoied] to our service for learning disabilities, have been submitted to neuropsychiatric visit with a psychometric evaluation, I.Q. included, by which a neuropsychological diagnosis has been expressed. The distribution curves of I.Q. of different diagnostic groups (neurosis, psychosis, specific learning disability with and without sociocultural deprivation, central neuromotor damage, psychomotor delay, Down syndrome, mental retardation) have been examined. The analysis shows that only subjects with central neuromotor damage, psychomotor delay, Down syndrome, mental retardation have an I.Q. less than or equal to 70. The anamnesis and clinical evaluation consent to assert an "organic" etiopathogenesis in 9 of 20 subjects with mental retardation. Therefore for diagnostic evaluation of children with learning disabilities seems useful to perform always an I.Q. and, when I.Q. less than or equal to 70, to execute an instrumental examination to exclude an "organic" etiopathogenesis.

Child↗

Epilepsy or stereotypy? Diagnostic issues in learning disabilities.

Approximately 0.8% of people in the general population have epilepsy. Within this group are specific sub-populations who co-present with other additional conditions, learning disability being one such example. Epilepsy rates are the highest of all in this subgroup, between 21% and 50% and positively correlated with degree of learning disability. In addition, in the more severe categories, problems frequently arise when attempting to differentiate epileptic events from other phenomenon, such as stereotyped behaviours and involuntary movements. The individual is unable to communicate changes in consciousness and perception and observers often find it difficult to detect such changes, particularly with regard to the partial epilepsies. Intensive monitoring using EEG and video equipment can often prove valuable in such a situation in assisting carers to recognize epileptic episodes and respond accordingly.

Adult↗

Learning disabilities in children with sex chromosome anomalies.

Studies of clinical populations have suggested that genetic factors may be involved in the etiology of learning disabilities. The present study included 44 children (ages 7-16) with sex chromosome anomalies (SCA) who were identified in a 10-year sex chromosome screening of all newborns in 2 large hospitals and thus represents an unbiased sample of children with a genetic etiology. 17 chromosomally normal siblings are included as controls. All subjects were given IQ and achievement tests, and extensive, repeated school histories were taken from parents and school personnel. Results demonstrate that SCA children are at an increased risk for encountering learning problems and receiving special education intervention in school. Furthermore, the nature of the learning disabilities may be karyotype specific, although the results are not invariant within karytypes. 45,X children demonstrate a visuo-spatial deficit as evidenced by lower-performance IQ scores and an increased incidence of handwriting problems, while 47,XXY children experience a verbal language deficit seen in lower verbal IQs and a tendency toward more reading delays. 47,XXX children demonstrate a more global delay crossing most cognitive skill areas, although retardation is rare. Mosaic children are relatively unaffected by their karyotypic variations and hence serve as a second control group which guards against the effects of a negative self-fulfilling prophecy. It is concluded from this evidence that learning disabilities can have a genetic basis, although the specific biological mechanism that affects cognitive development in this population remains elusive.

Child↗

Parent, teacher, peer, and self-reports of the social competence of students with learning disabilities.

The social competence of students with learning disabilities (LD), low achievement (LA), and average to high achievement (AHA) was examined from the perspectives of parents, teachers, peers, and self, guided by a theoretical model of social competence (Vaughn & Hogan, 1990) that includes social skills, behavior problems, peer relations, and self-perceptions. Parent ratings of social skills did not differ significantly among achievement groups; however, for two factors of behavior problems (internalizing and hyperactivity), students with LD and LA were rated as having more problems than AHA students. Teachers perceived students with LD and LA as demonstrating poorer social skills and more behavior problems than AHA students. Peer ratings indicated that students with LD and LA were less likely by peers than were AHA students, yet only LA students received significantly higher peer rejection. Self-reports differentiated the groups on one factor: cooperation. Discussion focuses on the complexity of social competence as a construct, and explanations of the results are offered.

Child↗

Modification of impulsive tempo in learning-disabled pupils.

Thirty-three impulsive learning-disabled males, aged 9-12 years, were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (a) Modeling, in which subjects were exposed to a videotape of a boy demonstrating reflective problem-solving activities and instructing himself to perform cautiously; (b) Modeling Plus Self-Verbalization, in which subjects observed the same videotape and were additionally required to verbalize similar reflective instructions; and (c) Control, in which subjects were shown a videotape of the task materials used in the modeling videotape, but without the model. Subjects were tested immediately after exposure to treatment, and again 3 weeks later, on different forms of the Matching Familiar Figures test. Both Modeling and Modeling Plus Self-Verbalization conditions were superior to Control in reducing errors on the immediate test, but the three treatments did not differ on the delayed test. No significant differences among the three conditions were found with regard to response latency. Discrepancies between the present results and those of previous related studies were noted, and potential research directions were suggested.

Behavior Therapy↗

Staff behaviour and its implications for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours.

Many people with learning disabilities engage in challenging behaviours which, behaviour analytic models suggest, are social behaviours sensitive to the actions of others in the environment. In this paper, the research literature on the behaviour of staff, especially that pertaining to interactions with people with challenging behaviours, is reviewed. Empirical evidence is found to support the hypothesis that staff actions affect clients' challenging behaviours. In addition, studies of staff behaviour show that their behaviour is often counter-habilitative. Firstly, staff spend little time interacting with clients and the quality of these interactions is often poor. Secondly, observational studies have shown that staff respond intermittently to challenging behaviours, and self-report studies indicate that many of these responses are of a nature that may reinforce such behaviours. Finally, although limited, evidence suggests that behavioural programmes for clients with challenging behaviours are rare and where they do exist they are often not carried out by staff. To date, interventions for staff behaviour (training and management approaches) have acted to change these ways of behaving but have not been founded on adequate analyses of staff action. A call is made for analyses of staff behaviour, and other implications for research and practical work with staff are discussed.

Humans↗

Learning disability: occurrence and long-term consequences in childhood-onset epilepsy.

This study analyzed the occurrence of learning disability (LD) in adults with childhood-onset epilepsy and the impact of LD on medical and social outcome. Any LD occurred in 76%: in 57% of mentally normal (IQ>85), in 67% of mentally near-normal (IQ=71-85), and, self-evidently, in all mentally retarded (IQ<71) adults. Half of the patients (51%) with LD had mental retardation. In multivariate analysis, mental retardation and subsequent LD were predicted by occurrence of cerebral palsy (odds ratio [OR]=3.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.77-8.28, P=0.0006), onset of epilepsy before the age of 6 years (OR=3.63, 95% CI=1.57-8.42, P=0.0026), and poor early effect of drug therapy (OR=2.78, 95% CI=1.43-5.39, P=0.0025). Among mentally normal or near-normal subjects, a symptomatic etiology of epilepsy was the only predictor (OR=7.72, 95% CI=3.02-19.76). The degree of LD significantly affected medical, social, and educational long-term outcomes.

Adolescent↗

Effectiveness of zuclopenthixol compared with haloperidol in the treatment of behavioural disturbances in learning disabled patients.

BACKGROUND: We compared the efficacy of two neuroleptics with different receptor profiles (zuclopenthixol and haloperidol) in learning disabled patients with behavioural disturbance. METHOD: A double-blind crossover study (2 x 8 weeks; n = 34), interrupted by a two-week single-blind washout period, was employed. Assessments included the Schedule for Handicaps, Behaviour, and Skills (SHBS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). RESULTS: The SHBS score was significantly reduced for the zuclopenthixol cohort only. End-point analysis between the two drugs also showed an enhanced effect for zuclopenthixol over haloperidol. CGI scores did not reveal significant differences between the two drugs. CONCLUSION: Zuclopenthixol may be superior to haloperidol for the treatment of behavioural disturbances in mentally retarded subjects.

Adult↗

Verbal analogical reasoning in children with language-learning disabilities.

This study was designed to explore the influences of both cognitive and linguistic abilities on verbal analogy completion. School-age children classified as language-learning disabled were administered five types of verbal analogies: synonyms, antonyms, linear order, category membership, and functional relationship. The performance of the children with language-learning disabilities was compared with one group of normally developing children matched for mental age and another group matched for language age. Results indicated that the group matched for mental age performed better than the other two groups on all types of analogies. Although they had significantly higher mental ages, the children with language-learning disabilities did no better than the language-matched group on any analogy type except antonyms.

Adolescent↗

Using video and conversational analysis to train staff working with people with learning disabilities.

Through analysis of video data of interaction between staff and clients with learning disabilities and limited vocal skills, it was possible to demonstrate that clients used gaze and body orientation to display a readiness that was often not responded to by staff. Yet staff could recognize that readiness from the videos. Video analysis was therefore developed as a medium for education and training where staff were helped to become more aware of strategies for non-vocal communication, which could help them achieve their policies of supporting clients more successfully. The study also allowed development of methodology in the field of services for people with learning disabilities.

Adult↗

Knowledge of writing and the composing process, attitude toward writing, and self-efficacy for students with and without learning disabilities.

Twenty-nine seventh- and eighth-grade (21 males and 8 females) and 10 fourth- and fifth-grade (7 males and 3 females) students with learning disabilities, as well as 18 seventh- and eighth-grade (14 males and 4 females) and 11 fourth- and fifth-grade (7 males and 4 females) normally achieving students, were administered an interview designed to assess their knowledge of writing and the composing process, attitude toward writing, and self-efficacy as a writer. Students with learning disabilities were found to have less mature conceptualizations of writing than their normally achieving counterparts. Furthermore, while students with learning disabilities were generally positive about writing, they viewed it less favorably than their regular classmates. Finally, there were no differences between the two groups of students in their evaluations of their competence in either writing or carrying out the processes underlying effective composing.

Adolescent↗

In their own words: therapeutic factors for adolescents who have learning disabilities.

A qualitative study explored the therapeutic elements in psychodynamic group therapy for adolescents with learning disabilities and related psychosocial problems. Four boys and four girls, diagnosed with learning disabilities, were interviewed on completion of group therapy, to obtain their subjective experiences. Therapeutic factors were identified, grouped, and found to be operative through an interpersonal process, termed mutual recognition. Mutual recognition is defined as the adolescents realizing that they saw themselves in the others and that the others saw themselves in the participants. The subcategories were trust, connection, and group issues/process. The subcategories were interactive: they contributed to, and were influenced by, mutual recognition.

Adolescent↗

A critique of the application of sensory integration therapy to children with learning disabilities.

Sensory integration (SI) therapy is a controversial--though popular--treatment for the remediation of motor and academic problems. It has been applied primarily to children with learning disabilities, under the assumption that such children (or at least a subgroup of them) have problems in sensory integration to which some or all of their learning difficulties can be ascribed. The present article critically examines the related issues of whether children with learning disabilities differentially exhibit concomitant problems in sensory integration, and whether such children are helped in any way by means specific to SI therapy. An overview of theoretical contentions and empirical findings pertaining to the first issue is presented, followed by a detailed review of recent studies in the SI therapy research literature, in an effort to resolve the second issue. Results of this critique raise serious doubts as to the validity or utility of SI therapy as an appropriate, indicated treatment for the clinical population in question--and, by extension, for any other groups diagnosed as having "sensory integrative dysfunction." It is concluded that the current fund of research findings may well be sufficient to declare SI therapy not merely an unproven, but a demonstrably ineffective, primary or adjunctive remedial treatment for learning disabilities and other disorders.

Child↗

Nystagmus duration changes of learning disabled children during sensory integrative therapy.

Sensory integrative therapy was administered to 43 learning disabled children categorized according to their pretherapeutic duration of postrotary nystagmus. The duration then was recorded after relatively short or long treatments. Children displaying initial subnormal nystagmic functioning responded to therapy with increases in duration while others displayed decreases, and these effects were more apparent after long therapy. These data support the claims that learning disabled children can be meaningfully categorized according to their nystagmic responses and that attention to their interoceptive sensory functioning may be of clinical significance.

Child↗

Practical recommendations for using homework with students with learning disabilities.

Homework is a commonly used school practice. Its importance for students with learning disabilities has increased in recent years as these students have spent more instructional time in inclusive settings where homework is regularly given and as educational reforms have influenced the amount of homework being given. The first part of the article reviews selected issues that relate to using homework with students who have been identified as learning disabled. The major part of the article highlights effective (i.e., empirically validated) and recommended (i.e., suggested in the literature or determined by field-based reports) practices for using homework with this population.

Achievement↗