The Impact of Neuro-Education Intervention Methods Upon the Learning and Development of an Individual with Developmental Disabilities

The purpose of this qualitative retrospective case study was to measure the impact that intervention methods derived from Arwood’s Neuro-Education Model had upon the learning and development of one young adult with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. One participant received the intervention methods over the course of 2 years from a single practitioner operating in a private clinic setting. Drawings, writings, and oral language samples were coded and analyzed to track how the participant evolved over time in the developmental domains of cognition, language, and social-emotional functioning. Additionally, these same artifacts were coded and analyzed to identify changes to the participant’s capacity for learning, as measured by language function. At the onset of the study the participant was 16 years of age, yet functioned at levels associated with 3- to 4-year-old developmental milestones. Results demonstrated that the participant exhibited approximately 3 years of growth in language development, 2 years of growth in cognitive development, and 3 years of growth in social-emotional development during the time period studied. Similarly, results showed that the participant advanced in all measured language functions including semanticity function, referential function, productivity function, flexibility function, and displacement of ideas. These advancements were observed in multiple literacy processes including thinking, speaking, listening, reading, writing, drawing, observing, and calculating. The participant was also reported to have experienced demonstrable changes to their quality of life including greater social-emotional engagement with family members and peers at school. Though this study was not experimental by design, and thus causation could not be confirmed, the changes observed in the participant throughout this study were hypothesized to have occurred primarily due to their exposure to the Neuro-Education based methods, as these particular interventions had not been experienced by the participant prior to them initiating services at the clinic setting

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by failure to acquire, retrieve, and use information competently. These disorders have a multifactorial aetiology and are most common and severe in children, especially when comorbid with other chronic health conditions. This book provides current and comprehensive information about learning disorders, including information on neurobiology, assessment, clinical features, and treatment. Chapters cover such topics as historical research and hypotheses of learning disorders, neuropsychological assessment and counselling, characteristics of specific disorders such as autism and ADHD, evidence-based treatment strategies and assistive technologies, and much more

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by failure to acquire, retrieve, or use information competently. They are the most severe and chronic form of learning difficulty in children. They can be present at birth or acquired as a result of illness, exposure to toxins, poor nutrition, medical treatment, sociocultural deprivation, or injury. Learning problems typically consist in failure to acquire reading, writing, or math skills, which are traditionally considered core domains. This book explores the epidemiology, neurobiological bases, and diagnostic tools necessary for a comprehensive assessment of children with learning disabilities. It also presents examples of children with specific learning disabilities and explains possible intervention strategies

Movement Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

This review explored the following question: Are the comprehensive treatment models Makoto Therapy, Brain Gym, and Interactive Metronome effective interventions for improving occupational performance including improving executive function, academic performance, and physical coordination in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Because current research on Interactive Metronome, Brain Gym®, and Makoto Therapy fails to address children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, presents multiple flaws in research design, and does not measure occupational outcomes such as occupational performance, we recommend that these interventions should not be used as comprehensive treatment models in occupational therapy. We recommend that more occupational-based, methodologically-sound research involving youth with ASD be conducted before implementing these interventions in occupational therapy practice

Writing Development in Struggling Learners

In Writing Development in Struggling Learners, international researchers provide insights into the development of writing skills from early writing and spelling development through to composition, the reasons individuals struggle to acquire proficient writing skills and how to help these learners.; Readership: Academic libraries, graduate students; post-graduate researchers; literacy researchers; educated lay persons; literacy specialists; primary/secondary educators