Vitor Geraldi Haase

Treinamento de habilidades sociais educativas para pais de crianças com problemas de comportamento

This paper describes a Parental Social Skills Program aimed to reduce children behavior problems. The program, lasting 11 weeks, was implemented by means of weekly sequential steps starting with behavior analysis principles for parents to practice a non-coercitive discipline and to learn, models of parental social skills. Parents received weekly home assignments to observe the childrens behavior, to establish favorable learning conditions for children to behave in desirable ways (empathy, compliance, independence etc.) and to adequately express emotions. Thirty-two mothers and two fathers participated in the program. Self-report questionnaires and open interviews in the pre-and post-intervention phases were used to assess the programs efficacy. Results showed significant reduction in the frequency and severity of disruptive and/or noncompliant behavior, as assessed by the parents. In conclusion, the approach of educational social abilities for parents may contribute positively to the development of non-coercitive disciplinary practices.

A hand full of numbers: a role for offloading in arithmetics learning?

Finger counting has been associated to arithmetic learning in children. We examined children with (n = 14) and without (n = 84) mathematics learning difficulties with ages between 8 and 11 years. Deficits in finger gnosia were found in association to mathematical difficulties. Finger gnosia was particularly relevant for the performance in word problems requiring active manipulation of small magnitudes in the range between 1 and 10. Moreover, the deficits in finger gnosia could not be attributed to a shortage in working memory capacity but rather to a specific inability to use fingers to transiently represent magnitudes, tagging to be counted objects, and reducing the cognitive load necessary to solve arithmetic problems. Since finger gnosia was more related to symbolic than to non-symbolic magnitude processing, finger-related representation of magnitude seems to be an important link for learning the mapping of analog onto discrete symbolic magnitudes.

Phonemic awareness as a pathway to number transcoding

Although verbal and numerical abilities have a well-established interaction, the impact of phonological processing on numeric abilities remains elusive. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of phonemic awareness in number processing and to explore its association with other functions such as working memory and magnitude processing. One hundred seventy-two children in 2nd grade to 4th grade were evaluated in terms of their intelligence, number transcoding, phonemic awareness, verbal and visuospatial working memory and number sense (non-symbolic magnitude comparison) performance. All of the children had normal intelligence. Among these measurements of magnitude processing, working memory and phonemic awareness, only the last was retained in regression and path models predicting transcoding ability. Phonemic awareness mediated the influence of verbal working memory on number transcoding. The evidence suggests that phonemic awareness significantly affects number transcoding. Such an association is robust and should be considered in cognitive models of both dyslexia and dyscalculia.

Validação da Bateria de Avaliação da Memória de Trabalho (BAMT-UFMG)

Working memory may be conceived in terms of storing systems or by means of models of dynamic processes. We adapted a working memory assessment procedure based on a process model for use in Brazil. The model conceives working memory as three interrelated aspects: processing speed or efficiency, temporary storage and coordinative capacity. Results with 832 participants of several ages and educational levels indicate that the procedure is adequate to be used in our cultural environment, preserving the original characteristics and displaying acceptable reliability and validity characteristics. Working memory performance correlated with measures of executive function and fluid intelligence but not with measures of associative episodic memory. This research program will be pursued further examining the clinical neuropsychological usefulness of the BAMT-UFMG.

Interferon beta-1a-induced depression and suicidal ideation in multiple sclerosis

Depression and suicide have been reported in association with multiple sclerosis (MS). Some studies show that interferon beta may increase the depression rate. We report a case of depression and suicidal ideation in coincidence with the start of increased doses of interferon beta-1a and their complete reversal following the drug withdrawal. The patient was a 21-year-old man with MS and no past history of affective disorders who was given interferon beta-1a in the dose of 11 microgram three times per week. As a new relapse occurred the dose of interferon beta-1a was increased to 22 microgram three times a week. The patient then observed increased worry, irritability and a sense of discouragement as well as recurring suicidal thoughts. His mood was rapidly restored following interferon beta-1a withdrawal. This case suggests that patients with MS may develop depression and suicidal thoughts when treated with high doses of interferon beta-1a.

In How Many Ways is the Approximate Number System Associated with Exact Calculation

The approximate number system (ANS) has been consistently found to be associated with math achievement. However, little is known about the interactions between the different instantiations of the ANS and in how many ways they are related to exact calculation. In a cross-sectional design, we investigated the relationship between three measures of ANS acuity (non-symbolic comparison, non-symbolic estimation and non-symbolic addition), their cross-sectional trajectories and specific contributions to exact calculation. Children with mathematical difficulties (MD) and typically achieving (TA) controls attending the first six years of formal schooling participated in the study. The MD group exhibited impairments in multiple instantiations of the ANS compared to their TA peers. The ANS acuity measured by all three tasks positively correlated with age in TA children, while no correlation was found between non-symbolic comparison and age in the MD group. The measures of ANS acuity significantly correlated with each other, reflecting at least in part a common numerosity code. Crucially, we found that non-symbolic estimation partially and non-symbolic addition fully mediated the effects of non-symbolic comparison in exact calculation.

Multidisciplinary perspective for cerebral palsy assessment after an International, Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health training

Objective: To assess knowledge related to the ICF before and after an ICF training and to identify items to compose a monocentric rehabilitation ICF code set for cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: (a) Design: A cross-sectional study with a descriptive-explorative design. (b) Participants: Professionals from the fields of physiotherapy, nutrition, dentistry, occupational therapy, psychology, social work, speech therapy and medicine. (c) Instrument: A questionnaire to assess ICFs knowledge (total score = 17). Results: A high effect size of the ICF training was found (Cohens d = 4.10). Ninety-one and 43 ICF categories were selected for a comprehensive evaluation and triage, respectively, for CP. Conclusion: ICF categories were identified to compose a comprehensive evaluation and for triage through an ICF code sets for CP. Studies are needed to validate the instrument on the knowledge of the ICF and to test the impact of ICFs training for clinical rehabilitation of CP.

Content identification of the interdisciplinary assessment of cerebral palsy using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as reference

Purpose: To identify relevant items and most frequents categories related to functioning and disability recorded by professionals involved in rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to assess the filling of the records. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study based on the written documents provided by an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team. Participated in the study 40 patients with CP, aged 10 months to 17 years. Two raters extracted information from the patients’ medical documents as recorded by physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, psychologists and dieticians using the ICF-CY. Patients’ records were scored (+functioning, -disability and *environmental factors) using 27 ICF-CY items to assess the filling of the records. Results: Eighty-one items in the medical records [body structure(15), bodily functions(32), activity(24) and environmental factors(10)] were identified as related to the evaluation of the different professions involved with neuro-rehabilitation. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy provided the most comprehensive assessments performed. Fourteen categories had a minimum frequency of 40% during the registration process. Conclusions: The content of the information involves categories related to the structures and body functions, activities and environmental factors. The information follows a heterogeneous pattern in content and number of categories. The most frequent items can comprise a set of codes for triage of CP. It is necessary to establish an interdisciplinary consensus based on ICF-CY for systematize the information’s record. Implications for Rehabilitation The 81 ICF-CY categories identified can comprise a set of codes for cerebral palsy’s assessment in the rehabilitation practice. Professionals must identify and record not only the negative aspects, but also the positive aspects related to the functioning of children with CP. A standardized assessment based on the ICF model may contribute to a more efficient functioning evaluation, in agreement with the biopsychosocial model. There is a need for more specific training and education on the use of the ICF.

Math Self-Assessment, but Not Negative Feelings, Predicts Mathematics Performance of Elementary School Children

Mathematics anxiety has been associated to performance in school mathematics. The association between math anxiety and psychosocial competencies as well as their specific contribution to explain school mathematics performance are still unclear. In the present study, the impact of sociodemographic factors, psychosocial competencies, and math anxiety on mathematics and spelling performance was examined in school children with and without mathematics difficulties. The specific contributions of psychosocial competencies (i.e., general anxiety and attentional deficits with hyperactivity) and math anxiety (i.e., selfassessment in mathematics) to school mathematics performance were found to be statistically independent from each other. Moreover, psychosocial competencies—but not math anxiety—were related also to spelling performance. These results suggest that psychosocial competencies are more related to general mechanisms of emotional regulation and emotional response towards academic performance, while mathematics anxiety is related to the specific cognitive aspect of self-assessment in mathematics.

Contribuição do Mismatch Negativity na avaliação cognitiva de indivíduos portadores de esclerose múltipla

Mismatch Negativity is a functional index of the supratemporal auditory cortex. AIM: The aim of the present study on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients was to evaluate if the MMN can be correlated with cognitive deficits assessed by the Paced Auditory Addition Task - PASAT. METHOD: a clinical study in forty females and 20 males separated in two groups: control individuals and those with a definite diagnosis of MS underwent a duration and frequncy MMN. The MMN latencies and negative amplitudes obtained from the MS group were compared to the ones from the control group. The scores from the Paced Auditory Addition Task were correlated either with the presence or the absence of MMN. RESULTS: MMN was found in 60% of the individuals with multiple sclerosis within the auditory stimulation protocol with varied durations, and in 45 % within the auditory stimulation protocol with frequency variations. There were no statistically significant differences in latencies and amplitudes when compared to controls. We found a statistically significant correlation for the lack of MMN wave together with cognitive disorder asserted by the PASAT. CONCLUSIONS: The MMN correlated to the cognitive deficit assessed by the PASAT.