Learning Disability in RASopathies

Learning disabilities are relatively common conditions in pediatric population. The incidence of learning disability ranges from 1% to 17%, reflecting that learning disability may be not a single clinical entity but a wide distribution of cognitive traits in the population. As reported by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), among the prenatal learning disability causes, chromosomal disorders, genetic syndromes, and inborn errors of metabolism must be taken into account. In this chapter, we will focus the attention on RASopathies, genetic disorders characterized by germline mutations in the RAS-MAPK pathway whose role is crucial in the regulation of the cell cycle, differentiation, growth, and cell senescence. This group of disorders includes Noonan syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1, Costello syndrome (CS), Legius syndrome, Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines, and cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome. Mutations in RAS-MAPK pathways lead to impairments in synaptic plasticity, necessary for normal brain function, especially for learning and memory. Variation across the RAS/MAPK pathway syndromes suggests that different gene mutations affecting this pathway can have markedly different developmental effects

Therapeutic Learning Software for Down Syndrome

Nowadays, children with Down Syndrome are not left behind in terms of education. One significant finding is that to utilize 'early intervention principle', which sated that learning process for Down Syndrome children will be more effective if it is conducted when the children are still young. Older children who have passed the age for 'early intervention principle' program or those who did not have the opportunity to join the program earlier will be enrolled into 'kelas pendidikan khas' at government school. However, one of the entry requirements is the children must know how to take care of themselves without help from others. In order to help these children, the 'Therapeutic Learning Software for Down Syndrome' is developed. The term therapeutic means the results of medical treatment that is beneficial and desirable. The main objective of this project is to design a software that focuses on occupational therapy and language therapy for older Down Syndrome children. The software will be designed to be in an interactive mauner, as the studies proved that using visual aids and sounds will make the learning process more effective. The methodology used for this project is Prototyping methodology. As for the data gathering methodology, the technique chosen are interviews and questionnaires. Overall, the system is aimed to address the learning process of Down Syndrome children, through therapeutic learning, and to take advantage of the information technology which is to use visual aids and sounds in order to make the learning process more interactive and effective

Prior History of Learning Disabilities in Reye's Syndrome Survivors

Twenty-six children, ages nine-18, who had recovered from Reye's syndrome were tested for possible memory deficits. In reviewing school histories, an unexpected finding was the disproportionately high number of students who were Learning Disabled before contracting Reye's syndrome. Seven of the children had been receiving special education services for being Learning Disabled and another two were viewed by their schools as being hyperactive. This is 10 times the expected incident rate. This group of Learning Disabled students did not score significantly worse on any measure than did the other children who had Reye's syndrome.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68975/2/10.1177_002221948501800607.pd