Teresa Maria Sgaramella

Production of proper names: A clinical case study of the effects of phonemic cueing

The production of proper names is a task that in everyday life is particularly prone to temporary failures, especially in elderly subjects. The reason for this is still rather obscure but indications in recent literature suggest an independent status for proper names in comparison with common ones, which may entail differences in processing or in processing demands. The main sources of empirical evidence come, on the one hand, from studies of face and person identity recognition and, on the other, from neuropsychological observations. All the findings appear to concur in supporting theoretical distinctions that have been made for a long time in the field of philosophy of language. These distinctions have directed the endeavours of experimental research. The present study describes, for the first time, a neuropsychological patient who shows, in certain conditions, a sparing of proper names despite an otherwise deeply troubled linguistic production. This finding may appear to be counterintuitive, considering the fact that proper names are viewed, in general, as more difficult to produce than common ones. However, in consideration also of other emerging neuropsychological and experimental findings, it is proposed that possible differences in lexical access for the two categories of common and proper names may explain the phenomenon and still be consistent with mainstream philosophical theories.

Proper names in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease

Normal participants display a leftward bias when bisecting horizontal lines. It has been proposed that bisection errors can be affected by representational biases. We investigated the possibility that this effect could also be explained as the result of perceptual cueing. Participants bisected horizontal lines with identical arrows arranged around the lines, all pointing to the same end. The arrows significantly affected bisection placement, although participants bisected significantly away from the direction the arrows pointed to. The findings favor the hypothesis that cueing, rather than representation, can affect bisection errors.  2000 Academic Press

Endogenous Task Shift Processes in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

This paper reports a study that was aimed to evaluate executive functions in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. The groups tested comprised 22 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients, and 22 non-brain damaged controls. When one is engaged in two speeded tasks, not simultaneously but with some form of alternation, it is slower to respond to an item of task A if it was preceded by an item of task B, than when it was preceded by an item of task A. Shifts between sets of cognitive operations can be internally or externally generated. Endogenous task shift refers to advance preparation for the new task. In the present study, we tested endogenous shift cost in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. The results indicate a greater shift cost for patients than for non-brain damaged controls.

Design My Future An Instrument to Assess Future Orientation and Resilience

This article reports the development and psychometric requisites of Design My Future, an instrument assessing future orientation and resilience. Three different studies involving Italian preadolescents were conducted. With the first, the items were developed and the factor structure verified; the second confirmed instrument’s multidimensional structure and evaluated its discriminant validity. The third study was conducted to verify the invariance of factorial structure across gender. Results provide strong psychometric support for Design My Future as a valid measure for analyzing middle school students’ thoughts about their future orientation and resilience and for career education and career counseling activities.

Analysis of the Spontaneous Writing Errors of Normal and Aphasic Writers

Samples of spontaneous writing were collected from 150 normal subjects, 13 Brocas aphasics, 23 Wernickes aphasics and 14 conduction aphasics. The errors obtained were classified using a system derived from investigations of slips of the pen in normal subjects. All three aphasic groups made a higher proportion of word-level errors than did the normal writers. Word-level errors tended to be selection errors (substitutions, blends, neologisms, and omissions) rather than movement errors (anticipations, perseverations and reversals). Conduction aphasics showed proportionately more letter movement and fewer letter selection errors than normal writers while Wernickes and Brocas aphasics showed similar proportions. Graphic and phonetic similarity was no more important a determinant of letter errors in aphasics than in normals. The span of movement errors was particularly restricted in the Brocas and conduction aphasics. Asking patients to write connected text yields insight into the nature of the underlying disorder that could not be obtained from studying the writing of single words.

A serious games system for the analysis and the development of visual skills in children with CVI: A pilot study with kindergarten children

The development of visual skills is crucial in sustaining an adaptive cognitive and social development in children. The paper describes the result of a pilot study, involving a group of 4 years old children, with a set of serious games to improve the assessment and rehabilitation process in children with CVI. The system uses an eye tracker system to correctly measure the performances of the child and his/her capability to watch and touch a moving object at the same time and to perform ab cognitive visual decision making.

A Crisis in Career Development: Life Designing and Implications for Transition

The field of transition—and the Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT)—was built upon a foundation established by theories of career development that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and paved the way for the work/study movement of the 1960s and the vocational and career education for students with disabilities movement that dominated the 1970s and, eventually, the transition services movement. Today’s leaders in vocational psychology and career guidance suggest that market and global economic forces associated with a postmodern world have created a crisis in career development models and methods. This article discusses the evolution of how career development has been understood, and the potential importance of a life design framework and its emphasis on career construction, rather than career development, for the future of transition services.

Career Development and Career Design

Practices in career development are changing in response to shifting economic conditions, and young people with and without disabilities increasingly require new skills and different competencies to navigate this changing work and life world. Such career and life development efforts need to begin earlier to enable youth to become self-determined and take on present and future challenges that lead to a better quality of life. This view is supported by recent models of positive career development proposed by international organizations that promote integration between individual strengths and contextual resources and, ultimately, a Life Design approach to career and life planning. Recent studies in career development concerning children, preadolescents, and adolescents, both with and without disabilities, are summarized in this chapter. Although studies involving people with disability are limited, research findings from childhood to adolescence provide clear evidence of the importance of shifting to the strength-based, Life Design models.

A screening battery for the assessment of executive functioning in young and adult individuals with intellectual disability

Abstract Background: According to literature, the assessment of executive functions (EFs) is helpful not only for the diagnosis of brain diseases and of their possible progression over time, but also for describing the ability of an individual to develop and coordinate an adaptive response to the environment. The limited development of EFs has been described in individuals with intellectual disabilities of different ages and aetiology. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), a well-known brief battery, for a first assessment of executive functioning in young and adult individuals with intellectual disabilities. Methods: One hundred and twenty-two young and adult individuals with mild to severe intellectual disability completed the FAB, which included six executive tasks, pertaining to three different domains. Their ages ranged from 18 to 50 years. Results: FAB scores were significantly decreased in the study participants. The analyses showed that both main domains and specific executive tasks were differently affected in their levels of functioning in terms of age, aetiology and severity of intellectual disability. Conclusions: The FAB can provide screening information on executive functioning in intellectual disabilities and can help trace dys-executive profiles in adults.

Training for Career Guidance and Counseling Academic Scientists: Future Challenges and Directions

Based on analysis of the related literature, this chapter discusses the attitudes and competences that should be promoted to better prepare doctoral students in career guidance and counseling to become tomorrow’s successful scholars. Three main areas of focus have been identified. The first is development of good professional practices, including: the readiness to receive supervision, mentoring, and coaching; a proclivity for international collaborations; and the use of technology and social media. The second is personal growth, which requires the development of a positive mindset and openness to change. The third is the establishment of guiding principles for research and practice, including the adoption of an interdisciplinary perspective and the necessity of valuing diversity and of developing cultural competence along with social responsibility for an inclusive society. Finally, the chapter addresses the responsibilities of professionals involved in developing doctoral programs in the field of career guidance and counseling.