Annamaria Pepi

Temporal Abnormalities in Children With Developmental Dyscalculia

Recent imaging studies have associated Developmental dyscalculia (DD) to structural and functional alterations corresponding Parietal and the Prefrontal cortex (PFC). Since these areas were shown also to be involved in timing abilities, we hypothesized that time processing is abnormal in DD. We compared time processing abilities between 10 children with pure DD (8 years old) and 11 age-matched healthy children. Results show that the DD group underestimated duration of a sub-second scale when asked to perform a time comparison task. The timing abnormality observed in our DD participants is consistent with evidence of a shared fronto-parietal neural network for representing time and quantity.

SELF-ESTEEM AT SCHOOL AND SELF-HANDICAPPING IN CHILDHOOD: COMPARISON OF GROUPS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Recent research has focused on the role of self-esteem and self-handicapping strategies in the school domain. Self-handicapping refers to maladaptive strategies employed by adults and children for protection and maintenance of positive school self esteem. In this study the self-esteem and the self-handicapping strategies of children with dyslexia, reading comprehension disabilities, and mathematical disabilities were compared to a control group with normal learning. There were 56 children whose mean age was 8 (23 girls, 33 boys), attending Grade 3 of primary school. These pupils were selected by scores on a battery of learning tests commonly used in Italy for assessment of learning disabilities. Analyses suggested these children with dyslexia, reading comprehension disabilities, and mathematical disabilities had lower ratings of self-esteem at school and employed more self-handicapping strategies than did children whose learning was normal. More research is required to identify and examine in depth the factors that promote adaptive strategies to cope with childrens reading difficulties.

Motor and cognitive growth following a Football Training Program

Motor and cognitive growth in children may be influenced by football practice. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess whether a Football Training Program taken over 6 months would improve motor and cognitive performances in children. Motor skills concerned coordinative skills, running, and explosive legs strength. Cognitive abilities involved visual discrimination times and visual selective attention times. Forty-six children with chronological age of ∼9.10 years, were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n = 24) attended a Football Exercise Program and Group 2 (n = 22) was composed of sedentary children. Their abilities were measured by a battery of tests including motor and cognitive tasks. Football Exercise Program resulted in improved running, coordination, and explosive leg strength performances as well as shorter visual discrimination times in children regularly attending football courses compared with their sedentary peers. On the whole these results support the thesis that the improvement of motor and cognitive abilities is related not only to general physical activity but also to specific ability related to the ball. Football Exercise Programs is assumed to be a “natural and enjoyable tool” to enhance cognitive resources as well as promoting and encouraging the participation in sport activities from early development.

Attribution Style in Adolescents with Down's Syndrome.

Educational research places emphasis on the fact that individuals who have experienced repeated failures may develop an attribution profile characterized by a bias towards primarily external causes. The aim of this study is to compare the attribution style of adolescents with Downs syndrome with that of normal children and adolescents matched for mental and chronological age; three groups consisting of 10 participants each were employed, an experimental group and two control groups were employed. The experimental group were Downs syndrome adolescents. Participants in the first control group were matched to the experimental groups for mental age, and those in the second for chronological age. All of the 30 participants were given an attribution test consisting of 14 items, illustrative of everyday or school‐related events in which the main character experienced either success or failure. The participants were asked to attribute the characters performance to one of five causes: ability, effort, help, luck or task difficulty. The results show that adolescents with Downs syndrome tend to attribute performance to external help. Their attribution style would seem to be very similar to that of the control participants matched for mental age.

Improvement of gross motor and cognitive abilities by an exercise training program: three case reports

Background This work examined the efficacy of an integrated exercise training program (coach and family) in three children with Down syndrome to improve their motor and cognitive abilities, in particular reaction time and working memory. Methods The integrated exercise training program was used in three children with Down syndrome, comprising two boys (M1, with a chronological age of 10.3 years and a mental age of 4.7 years; M2, with a chronological age of 14.6 years and a mental age of less than 4 years) and one girl (F1, chronological age 14.0 years and a mental age of less than 4 years). Results Improvements in gross motor ability scores were seen after the training period. Greater improvements in task reaction time were noted for both evaluation parameters, ie, time and omissions. Conclusion There is a close interrelationship between motor and cognitive domains in individuals with atypical development. There is a need to plan intervention programs based on the simultaneous involvement of child and parents and aimed at promoting an active lifestyle in individuals with Down syndrome.

Physical Activity Engagement in Young People with Down Syndrome: Investigating Parental Beliefs

BACKGROUND Despite the wide documentation of the physical/psychological benefits derived from regular physical activity (PA), high levels of inactivity are reported among people with Down syndrome. This study aims to explore parental beliefs concerning involvement, facilitators/barriers and benefits of PA in young people. METHOD Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 parents of young people with Down syndrome. RESULTS Three facilitation themes were identified: (i) the support derived from family; (ii) the availability of APA (Adapted Physical Activity) expert instructors and coaches; (iii) the challenging nature of sport activities. Three barrier themes were identified: (i) the lack of APA expert coaches and specialized gyms; (ii) the characteristics of Down syndrome; and (iii) the parental beliefs and worries. CONCLUSIONS Family plays a key role, as facilitator and barrier, to the participation of their children with Down syndrome in PA. Crucial is the implementation of evidence-based exercise programmes involving people with Down syndrome and their families.

Improving Children's Coordinative Skills and Executive Functions: The Effects of a Football Exercise Program

Recent studies have focused on the positive influence of regular physical activity on executive functioning in children. Coordinative skills (agility) and executive functions (updating, attention, inhibition and planning processes) were investigated in children before and after 6 months of a Football Exercise Program compared to a control group of sedentary peers. The participants were 44 children aged 8.8 years: Group 1 comprised 24 children in a football (i.e., soccer) exercise program and Group 2 comprised 20 sedentary children. At pre-test and post-test, coordinative skills and executive functions were measured. After the Football Exercise Program, there were significant differences between sport and sedentary groups in coordinative skills and executive functions. The football group at post-test showed significantly larger gains than the sedentary group on measures of agility, visuo-spatial working memory, attention, planning and inhibition. Findings shed light on the issue to plan structured sport activities as a natural and enjoyable way to improve cognitive skills.

Theories of intelligence in children with reading disabilities: a training proposal.

A recent trend in the study of reading difficulties promotes multidimensional intervention, focusing on the reciprocal influences exerted by cognitive and emotional-motivational variables. This study evaluated improvements in reading performance as a function of metacognitive training in 36 children (M age = 8.7 yr.) with different representations of intelligence. Posttest evaluations show significantly more improvement in reading comprehension in children with an incremental theory of intelligence. These results indicate the importance of treatment programmes that take into account both the specificity of deficits and factors relating to the domain of motivation.

Depression, Anxiety at School and Self-Esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities

Educational research places emphasis on the fact that pupils with Learning Disabilities may develop depressive and anxiety symptoms characterized by lower levels of self-esteem. The aim of this research is to compare the levels of depression, anxiety at school and self-esteem in children with learning disabilities, mathematical disabilities and a control group who showed typical learning. The participants were 132 children (52 girls and 80 boys), with an average age of 9 years, attending the fourth grade of primary school. These pupils were selected by scores on a battery of tests commonly used in Italy for the assessment of learning disabilities. On the whole, analyses revealed that children with Learning Disabilities and Mathematical Disabilities showed higher level of depression and school anxiety as well as lower rated self-esteem at school than children with typical learning. Moreover our findings highlight the co-occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in pupils with Learning Disabilities. One of the issues that emerges from this study is the need to implement prevention programs aimed at identifying at an early age high-risk children showing increased levels of depression and anxiety. Moreover, these findings highlight the importance to find which are the most appropriate educational and clinical interventions to reduce cognitive maladaptive strategies in school aged children.

Strategie di autosabotaggio e autostima in bambini con differenti profili di apprendimento

Recenti ricerche si sono focalizzate sul ruolo dell’autostima e delle strategie di autosabotaggio nel contesto scolastico. In particolare l’autosabotaggio indica strategie disadattive impiegate da un individuo di fronte ad un compito minaccioso per proteggersi e mantenere un’autostima positiva. Abbiamo condotto due studi per confrontare il livello di autostima e le strategie di autosabotaggio in bambini di eta media 8 anni, frequentanti la terza classe della scuola primaria, con differenti profili di apprendimento. Nello specifico nel primo abbiamo confrontato due gruppi: uno con difficolta generalizzate sia di lettura che di matematica ed uno con normale livello di apprendimento. Nel secondo studio, invece, abbiamo confrontato tre gruppi: uno con dislessia, uno con difficolta generalizzate sia di lettura che di matematica ed uno con normale livello di apprendimento. In generale, i risultati dimostrano che i bambini con dislessia e quelli con difficolta generalizzata di apprendimento hanno livelli di autostima piu bassi dei coetanei con normale livello di appredimento. Relativamente all’impiego di strategie di autosabotaggio solo nel secondo studio abbiamo trovato differenze significative tra i gruppi. In particolare, i bambini con dislessia manifestano un maggiore bisogno di autoprotezione rispetto ai bambini con difficolta generalizzata di apprendimento e rispetto ai bambini con normale livello di apprendimento. Questo risultato enfatizza il ruolo della specificita della difficolta allo scopo di stimolare l’impiego di strategie difensive anche durante la frequenza della scuola primaria.