Efekti različitih modela plesnog programa na promene parametara motoričkog fitnesa dece

Utvrđivanje promena motoričkog fitnesa dece starijeg predškolskog uzrasta nakon realizacije eksperimentalnog programa i efekata realizovanih modela plesnog programa na motorički fitnes dece starijeg predškolskog uzrasta bio je osnovni cilj sprovedenog istraživanja. Primena plesa u predškolskom uzrastu ima značajnu ulogu u formiranju motorike najmlađih, a isto tako i u njihovom ukupnom psihofizičkom razvoju. Plesne aktivnosti doprinose razvoju sposobnosti uočavanja, razlikovanja i izvođenja ritmičkih struktura, dinamike i tempa, percipiranja, snalaženja i vladanja prostorom. Disertacija bi trebalo da da odgovore na pitanja: da li različiti modeli plesnog programa deluju na promene motoričkog fitnesa dece predškolskog uzrasta (najstarije predškolske grupe) i kako primenjeni modeli plesnog programa vežbanja utiču na motorički fitnes dece pomenutog uzrasta? Uzorak ispitanika je činilo 120 deteta predškolskog uzrasta (najstarijih grupa) iz vrtića u Vranju. Ispitanici su podeljeni na četiri grupe: tri eksperimentalne (E1, E2 i E3) i jedna kontrolana grupa (K). Sve eksperimentalne grupe su bile podvrgnute plesnom programu u trajanju od 12 nedelja, ali je broj treninga u toku nedelje bio različit između pomenutih grupa. Kontrolna grupa je u pomenutom vremenskom periodu radila redovan program u vrtiću. Svaku grupu je činilo po 30 ispitanika. Merni instrumenti za procenu motoričkog fitnesa Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency BOT2: Fina motorna preciznost, Fina motorna integracija, Manuelna spretnost, Bilateralna koordinacija, Ravnoteža, Brzina trčanja i agilnost, Koordinacija gornjeg dela tela, Snaga. Za obradu i analizu podataka korišćen je statistički paket za obradu podataka SPSS v. 20. Izračunati su deskriptivni parametri, jednofaktorska anova + naknadno poređenje (lsd post hoc test), T-test za zavisne uzorke uz izračunavanje i veličine uticaja (Cohen Effec Size), multivarijantna analiza kovarijanse (MANSOVA), univarijantna analiza kovarijanse (ANCOVA). Eksperimentalni program, koji podrazumeva primenu plesnog programa, trajao je 12 nedelja, a broj treninga u toku nedelje je različit za sve eksperimentalne grupe (E1, E2 i E3). E1 grupa primenjivala je plesni program dva puta nedeljno po 35min, E2 tri puta nedeljno po 25min, a E3 pet puta nedeljno po 15min. Obim treninga je za sve tri eksperimentalne grupe na nedeljnom nivou od 70 do 75min. Kontrolna grupa je u pomenutom vremenskom periodu radila redovan program u vrtiću. Rezultati ove disertacije pokazali su da različiti modeli plesnog programa, u trajanju od 12 nedelja, ostvaruju efekte na određene parametre motoričkog fitnesa dece predškolskog uzrasta. Ostvareni efekti kod eksperimentalnih grupa pokazuju da promene u motoričkom razvoju mogu biti izazvani spoljašnjim faktorima. Napredovanje u motoričkom razvoju može se videti kroz ostvarene b olje rezultate u testovima koji p rocenjuju nivo motoričkih sposobnosti, naročito kod onih na koje ples svojom strukturom i najviše utiče (ravnoteža i koordinacija)

Ironija, prevara i teorija uma kod osoba sa intelektualnom ometenošću i dualnim dijagnozama

Background/Aim. The ability to comprehend and produce irony and deception is rarely explored in people with intellectual disability (ID) or dual diagnoses (DD). The ability to understand irony and deception appears to be related to many cognitive skills, but some authors point out that the theory of mind is one of the most important factors for this ability. This research was conducted to determine the linguistic aspects of production and comprehension of irony and deception in adults with ID and DD, as well as the relationship of these abilities with theory of mind. Methods. The sample consisted of 120 people with ID aged between 20 and 56. Half of the sample comprised people with DD. Four subscales from the Assessment Battery for Communication were used to assess the participants' abilities to produce and comprehend irony and deception. False-belief tasks from "appearance-reality" category were used in theory of mind assessment. The level of intellectual functioning was measured by the Raven's progressive matrices, while the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to assess speech comprehension ability. Results. The results show that participants with DD and ID comprehend and produce false statements better than ironic ones. Participants with ID were more successful in production than in comprehension tasks of both false and ironic statements, while the same was true for participants with DD only for ironic statements. Participants with ID were significantly more successful than participants with DD in irony comprehension tasks. In participants with ID, first-order theory of mind significantly correlated only with the ability to produce irony, and second-order theory of mind significantly correlated with producing irony and deception. There were no significant correlations between theory of mind and producing and comprehending irony and deception in participants with DD. Conclusion. Although differences in some aspects of assessed abilities were found between the two groups of participants, the similarities in the profile of these abilities were dominant. Results of variability can be explained by differences in speech comprehension ability more than by differences in nonverbal intellectual functioning or theory of mind acquisition. Future studies should assess the influence of other cognitive factors.Uvod/Cilj. Sposobnost razumevanja i produkcije ironije i prevare je retko izučavana u populaciji osoba sa intelektualnom ometenošću (IO) ili dualnim dijagnozama (DD). Sposobnost razumevanja ironije i prevare se dovodi u vezu sa mnogim kognitivnim veštinama, ali neki autori ističu da je upravo teorija uma jedan od najznačajnijih faktora za ovu sposobnost. Ovo istraživanje je sprovedeno radi utvrđivanja lingvističke sposobnosti razumevanja i produkcije ironije i prevare odraslih osoba sa IO i DD, kao i utvrđivanja odnosa između ovih sposobnosti i teorije uma. Metode. Uzorak je činilo 120 osoba sa IO starosne dobi između 20 i 56 godina. Polovinu uzorka činile su osobe sa DD. Za procenu ispitanikovih sposobnosti produkcije i razumevanja ironije i prevare korišćene su četiri supskale iz Baterije za procenu komunikacije. Za procenu teorije uma korišćeni su zadaci lažnog verovanja iz kategorije "izgled-realnost". Nivo intelektualnog funkcionisanja proveravan je Ravenovim progresivnim matricama, dok je sposobnost razumevanja govora procenjivana Peabody Picture Vocabulary testom. Rezultati. Rezultati pokazuju da ispitanici sa IO i DD bolje razumeju i produkuju lažne nego ironične iskaze. Ispitanici sa IO su uspešniji u zadacima produkovanja, nego u zadacima razumevanja, kako lažnih, tako i ironičnih iskaza, dok za ispitanike sa DD ovo važi samo za ironične tvrdnje. U zadacima razumevanja ironije, ispitanici sa IO su bili značajno uspešniji od ispitanika sa DD. Kod ispitanika sa IO teorija uma prvog reda ostvarila je značajne korelacije samo sa sposobnošću produkcije ironije, a teorija uma drugog reda sa produkcijom ironije i produkcijom prevare. U grupi ispitanika sa DD nisu ustanovljene značajne korelacije između teorije uma i produkcije i razumevanja ironije i prevare. Zaključak. Između dve grupe ispitanika pronađene su razlike u nekim aspektima ispitivanih sposobnosti, ali ipak dominiraju sličnosti u profilu ovih sposobosti. Varijabilnost rezultata više objašnjava razlike u sposobnosti razumevanja govora, nego razlike u neverbalnom intelektualnom funkcionisanju ili usvojenosti teorije uma. Narednim istraživanjima trebalo bi proveriti uticaj drugih kognitivnih faktora

Paralinguistic abilities of adults with intellectual disability

The aim of this research was to determine the ability level of paralinguistic production and comprehension in adults with intellectual disability (ID) with regard to the level of their intellectual functioning and presence of co-morbid psychiatric conditions or dual diagnosis (DD). The sample consisted of 120 participants of both genders, ranging in age between 20 and 56 years (M=31.82, SD =8.702). Approximately 50% of the sample comprised participants with a co-existing psychiatric condition. Each of these two sub-samples (those with ID only and those with DD) consisted of 25 participants with mild ID and 35 participants with moderate ID. The paralinguistic scale from The Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo; Sacco et al., 2008) was used to assess the abilities of comprehension and production of paralinguistic elements. The results showed that the participants with mild ID are more successful than the participants with moderate ID both in paralinguistic comprehension tasks (p =.000) and in paralinguistic production tasks (p =.001). Additionally, the results indicated the presence of separate influences of both ID levels on all of the paralinguistic abilities (F [116]= 42.549, p =.000) and the existence of DD (F[116] = 18.215, p =.000).This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: Dordević, M.; Glumbićs, N.; Brojčin, B. Paralinguistic Abilities of Adults with Intellectual Disability. Res. Dev. Disabil. 2016, 48, 211–219. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2015.11.001

ANESTHETIC MANAGEMENT FOR A PATIENT WITH ACUTE INTERMITTENT PORPHYRIA

Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare metabolic disorder resulting from a partial deficiency of porphobilinogen deaminase, enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway. Its inheritance is autosomal dominant. A deficiency of porphobilinogen deaminase is not sufficient by its self to produce acute intermittent porphyria, and other activating factors must also be present. These include some drugs, hormones, infection, injury and alcohol. Besides others, anesthetics have been implicated in the triggering of a number of severe porphyric reactions. Although there is no clinical evidence, the fear of hypothesized porphyrinogenicity of repetitive anesthetics exposures still remains. Despite these doubts, we report here the case of uneventful repeated exposure to anesthetics in a patient suffering from acute intermittent porphyria, within a fifteen- month period. On both occasions, the patient was safely exposed to certain anesthetics included: propofol, sevoflurane, rocuronium, midazolam and fentanyl

Improving the packaging performance of low-density polyethylene with modified nanocellulose barrier layers

U okviru ove doktorske disertacije izvršeno je formiranje polietilenskih/polikaprolaktonskih (PE/PCL) hibridnih materijala na bazi nanoceluloze i metalnih oksida. Rad je podeljen na četiri celine. U prvoj je sintetisana i okarakterisana nanoceluloza NC i modifikovana nanoceluloza NCMA i formirani su kompoziti na bazi gvožđe oksida NC-Fe3O4 i NCMA-Fe3O4. U drugom delu su formirani i ispitani dvoslojni hibridni filmovi PE/PCL sa kompozitima NC-Fe3O4 i NCMA-Fe3O4 u polikaprolaktonskom sloju. U trećem delu je sintetisana i okarakterisana nanoceluloza NC i modifikovana nanoceluloza NCMA i formirani su kompoziti na bazi bakar (II) oksida NC-CuO i NCMA-CuO i u četvrtom su formirani i ispitani dvoslojni hibridni filmovi PE/PCL sa kompozitima NC-CuO i NCMA-CuO u polikaprolaktonskom sloju. U prvom delu disertacije su sintetisani kompoziti nanoceluloza-magnetit (NC-Fe3O4) i maleinskom kiselinom funkcionalizovana nanoceluloza/magnetit (NCMA-Fe3O4), a zatim upotrebljeni kao punioci u polikaprolaktonskom sloju (PLC) pri različitim koncentracijama (5, 10 i 15 mas%). Kompozitnim materijalima nanoceluloza-magnetit su najpre proučavane strukturne, morfološke i termalne karakteristike, a nakon toga su inkorporirani u PCL sloj. Strukturna analiza izvršena je na osnovu rezultata dobijenih primenom rendgenske difrakcione analize (XRD) i infracrvene spektroskopije sa Furijeovom transformacijom (FTIR). Morfološka svojstva su proučavana skenirajućom elektronskom mikroskopijom (SEM). Termička svojstva su ispitana primenom termogravimetrijske analize. U drugom delu disertacije, polikaprolaktonski sloj sa puniocima je nanet na površinu polietilenske folije i ispitana su barijerna svojstva dobijenih hibridnih dvoslojnih filmova. Dodatak filera (punilaca) ne narušava prvobitna svojstva polimernog sloja, naročito u pogledu njegovih barijernih svojstava...Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene/polycaprolactone-modified nanocellulose hybrid materials containing different metal oxides was performed. The work is divided into four parts, and the first is a synthesized and characterized NC nanocellulose and modified NCMA nanocellulose, and composites based on iron oxide NC-Fe3O4 and NCMA- Fe3O4 are formed. In the second part, two-layer hybrid PE/PCL films were formed and tested with NC- Fe3O4 and NCMA- Fe3O4 composites in a polycaprolactone layer. In the third part, NC nanocellulose NC and modified NCMA nanocellulose were synthesized and characterized by copper (II) oxide NC-CuO and NCMA-CuO composites, and in the fourth, two-layer hybrid PE/PCL films were formed with NC-CuO and NCMA-CuO in a polycrystalline layer. Nanonocelulose/magnetite (NC-Fe3O4) nanocomposite and maleic acid functionalized NC/magnetite (NCMA-Fe3O4) nanocomposite were prepared and used as filler at various concentrations (5, 10 and 15 wt. %) in polycaprolactone (PCL) layer. The structural, morphological and thermal properties were investigated, upon composite materials were incorporated in PCL layer. Structural properties of composites were investigated by using FT–IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and XRD analysis. The morphological properties were investigated by SEM (scanning electron microscopy). The second part of the thesis was focused on characterization of hybrid multicomponent films containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Polycaprolactone filled with nanocellulose/magnetite composites were coated on LDPE layer and barrier properties of low-density polyethylene/polycaprolactone-modified nanocellulose hybrid materials were investigated..

Moving loads in structural dynamics of cranes: Bridging the gap between theoretical and practical researches

Problematika pokretnog opterećenja je jedno od osnovnih poglavlja dinamike struktura. Tokom poslednjih sto godina sprovedena su mnoga istraživanja koja se bave analizom dinamičkih odziva struktura, najpre kod železničkih i drumskih mostova. U poslednje vreme predmet ovih istraživanja postaju i strukture dizalica. u poslednjih nekoliko godina istraživanja iz oblasti uticaja pokretnog opterećenja na strukture dizalica su privukla pažnju nekolicine istraživača. Pa ipak, nezavisno od teorijskih dostignuća u ovoj oblasti, nakon provere usvojenih parametara dizalica, očigledno je da dobijeni rezultati u mnogim radovima nisu relevantni za praktičnu primenu na postojećim dizalicama. Sa druge strane, izazov za inženjere i naučnike je upravo konverzija teorijskih ideja u praktičan pristup, koji se može iskoristiti za projektovanje dizalica. Međutim, ponekad je potrebno pretpostaviti parametre koji prevazilaze trenutni nivo tehničkih rešenja, posebno imajući u vidu da se performanse dizalica konstantno poboljšavaju, što će i dalje biti nastavljeno. Na primer, današnje obalske kontejnerske dizalice i portalne dizalice su trostruko povećale raspone, nosivosti i brzine kolica u poređenju sa istim napravljenim pre 50 godina. Zbog toga je neophodno razmatranje dinamičkih modela dizaličnih kolica. U poslednje vreme velika pažnja je posvećena boljem razumevanju dinamičkog ponašanja i vibracija kod struktura obalskih kontejnerskih dizalica i portalnih dizalica usled dejstva kretanja kolica. Jedan od osnovnih problema u istraživanjima jeste usvajanje odgovarajućeg modela pokretnog opterećenja. Cilj ovog rada je da da osvrt na širok spektar najvažnijih objavljenih radova iz ove oblasti u odnosu na budući razvoj struktura dizalica i da naglasi kako se može premostiti jaz između 'čistog' teorijskog pristupa (njihove korisnosti) i praktičnih potreba konstruktora koji projektuju dizalice visokih performansi.The moving load problem is one of the fundamental problems in structural dynamics. A lot of work has been reported during more than a century ago dealing with the dynamic response of structures at first in the field of transportation such as railway bridges, later on highway bridges and finally various constructions such as are cranes, under the influence of moving loads. Research discussing the moving load effects on structural dynamics of cranes attracted the interest of several authors in the past years. However, regardless of the theoretical accomplishments in, after checking the adopted crane's parameters it is obvious that the obtained results in many papers are not relevant for practical considerations for already existing cranes. On the other hand, one of the challenges for engineers and scientists is the conversion of theoretical ideas and researches into practical and efficient approaches that can be used by designers of mechanical equipment. However, sometimes it is needed to move from research findings of existing machines to future systems, particularly having in mind that cranes performances have increased over the years and this intension is not yet finished. For instance, high-performance mega quayside container cranes (QCCs) and gantry cranes have already tripled in outreach, capacity and trolley velocity compared to the machines built more than 50 years ago. This reason makes the investigations on mathematical models of a crane moving trolley necessary. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to better understand the dynamic behavior and vibration of large QCCs and gantry cranes under a moving trolley. The other direction in research is how to adopt the most appropriate moving load model. The goal of this paper is to discuss a wide spectrum of the most significant published papers in this field with respect to the future perspective of cranes structures development and to point out how to bridge the gap between 'pure theoretical researches' (their usefulness) and practical requirements that are imposed by the structural engineers who are involved in the design of high-performance cranes

Predictors of aggressive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder

Introduction: Aggressive behaviour is not the main symptom of autism spectrum disorders, and if it occurs in this population, it is a consequence of some other factors. Objectives: With regard to that, the aim of this paper isto determine to what extent certain aspects of executive functions, severity of autism, sleep habits, and parenting actions contribute to the manifestation of different forms of aggressive behaviourin children with an autism spectrum disorder. Methods: The sample included 40 children with autism spectrum disorders, 5-7 years of age (M=6.18, SD= .55). The following instruments were used in the assessment: The Children's Scale of Hostility andAggression –Reactive/Proactive, Gilliam Autism Rating Scale –Third Edition, The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire andBehaviorRating Inventory of Executive Function. Results: The obtained results showed that sleep problems were the most significant predictor of verbal, physical and covert aggression. From the domain of behavioural aspects of executive functions, only task monitor was a significant predictor of bullying, and inhibit and shift were significant predictors of hostility. From the field of autistic disorders, significant predictors of aggressive behaviour were emotional responses (as predictors of bullying, covert aggression and hostility), and maladaptive speech (as a predictor of verbal aggression, covert aggression and hostility). Punitive discipline was a significant factor only in explaining verbal aggression. Conclusion: Practical implications of this research indicate that, in treating aggressive behaviour in children with ASD, more attention should be paid to sleep habits, practising task monitor, inhibit and shift skills, and avoiding rigorous punitive measures

Procedura uvođenja vizuelnih rasporeda kod učenika sa poremećajem autističkog spektra u cilju olakšavanja tranzicionih procesa u školskom kontekstu

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly show signs of resistance to regular school transition activities. This issue can be overcome through the use of a visual schedule. The research presented in the paper aimed to test the possibilities of introducing visual schedules for students with ASD. The research sample consisted of students with ASD (H = 7) and their special education teachers (H = 7). Student training was carried out in four phases. Data were collected using a general questionnaire, a questionnaire for assessing the severity of autism spectrum symptoms, a procedure monitoring form, and a questionnaire on the use of the visual schedule. The results obtained indicate that during their four-day training, four students successfully mastered all four phases, while three students managed to complete phase three. Physical stimuli decreased over the course of the training, so that in the last phase none of the students relied on either complete or partial physical stimuli. Success in mastering the independent use of the visual schedules is not significantly related to the degree of repetitive behavior exhibited, to time spent on training, or to the number of negative or positive reactions. We can conclude that introducing this procedure into everyday work with children with ASD would improve pedagogical practice, both in regular schools and in schools for children with developmental disabilities.Učenici sa poremećajem autističkog spektra vrlo često pokazuju znake otpora pri uobičajenim školskim tranzicionim aktivnostima. Radi prevazilaženja ovog problema preporučuje se primena vizuelnog rasporeda. Cilj ovog rada je ispitati mogućnost primene procedure za uvođenje vizuelnih rasporeda kod učenika sa poremećajem autističkog spektra. Uzorak ovog istraživanja činili su učenici sa poremećajem autističkog spektra i njihovi specijalni edukatori. Obuka učenika je realizovana kroz četiri faze. Za potrebe prikupljanja podataka korišćeni su: opšti upitnik, upitnik za procenu stepena autističkog poremećaja, formular za praćenje procedure, kao i upitnik o primeni vizuelnog rasporeda. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da su četiri učenika uspešno ovladala svim fazama, dok su tri učenika dosegla treću fazu tokom četvorodnevne obuke. Fizički podsticaji su tokom obuke slabili, tako da tokom poslednje faze nijedan učenik nije koristio potpuni, a ni delimični fizički podsticaj. Uspeh u savladavanju samostalnog korišćenja vizuelnog rasporeda nije značajno povezan sa stepenom ispoljenosti repetitivnih ponašanja, utroškom vremena pri obuci, brojem negativnih, kao ni brojem pozitivnih reakcija. Može se zaključiti da bi uvođenje ove procedure u svakodnevni rad sa decom sa poremećajem autističkog spektra unapredilo pedagošku praksu, kako u redovnim tako i u školama u kojima se obrazuju deca sa smetnjama u razvoju

Creating and applying social stories in working with young people with high-functioning autism from the perspective of students

Apstrakt: Visokofunkcionalni autizam pripada grupi poremećaja iz spektra autizma i ne predstavlja zasebnu nozološku kategoriju u zvaničnim dijagnostičkim pri- ručnicima, mada se vrlo često koristi u stručnom žargonu i istraživačkim člancima. Socijalne priče predstavljaju jednu od mnogih intervencija koje se preporučuju u radu sa osobama sa autizmom. Priče se izrađuju kombinovanjem različitih tipova rečenica. Cilj ovog istraživanja je utvrditi u kojoj meri socijalne priče koje su studenti primenjivali u radu sa mladim osobama sa visokofunkcionalnim autizmom zadovoljava- ju postavljene kriterijume, kao i ispitati njihovu socijalnu validnost. U ovo istraži- vanje bile su uključene dve grupe učesnika – šest ispitanika sa visokofunkcionalnim autizmom i 46 studenata završne godine osnovnih studija. Analizom je utvrđeno da sve priče zadovoljavaju kriterijume koji se odnose na sledeća dva pitanja: Da li priča daje odgovore na pitanja šta, kada, kako, zašto? Da li sadrži ilustracije koje odgovaraju značenju teksta? U većini priča bile su zastupljene pozitivne jezičke formulacije i obraćanje u prvom ili trećem licu jednine. Na osnovu prikazanih rezultata primećujemo da su studentska iskustva sa ovom intervencijom u najvećoj meri pozitivna. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da priče u najvećoj meri zadovoljavaju pre- poručene kriterijume i da je njihova struktura u skladu sa onima koje su prikazane u inostranim istraživanjima. Takođe, šalju i ohrabrujuću poruku profesionalcima da se oprobaju u izradi i primeni socijalnih priča. Narednim istraživanjima bi trebalo planirati detaljniju procenu targetiranih ponašanja, merenje efekata, njihove trajno- sti, kao i mogućnosti generalizacije stečenih veština. Ključne reči: autizam, studenti, socijalne priče.Summary: High-functioning autism belongs to the group of disorders from the autism spectrum and does not represent a separate nosological category in official diagnostic manuals, although it is very often used informally in research articles. Social stories are one of the many interventions that are recommended in working with people with autism, which contribute to the improvement of their social skills. Stories are created by combining different types of sentences. The aim of this research is to determine the extent to which social stories that students have applied in their work with young people with high-functioning autism meet the set criteria, as well as to examine their social validity. The research included two groups of participants – six subjects with high-functioning autism and 46 final-year undergraduate students of the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, study program Special Education and Rehabilitation of Persons with Mental Disabilities. The analysis has shown that all stories met the criteria related to the following two questions: Does the story provide answers to the questions what, when, how, and why? Does it contain illustrations that correspond to the meaning of the text? In most stories, positive language formulations and first- or third-person singular addresses were used. Based on the results, it can be concluded that students’ experiences with this type of intervention are mostly positive. The results of this research show that the stories mostly meet the recommended criteria and that their structure is in line with those presented in foreign research. Additionally, the research results send an encouraging message to professionals to try their hand at creating and applying social stories. Future research should plan a more detailed assessment of targeted behaviors, measuring effects, their duration, as well as the possibility of generalizing acquired skills

Assessment of cognitivepragmatic functioning as a contribution to diagnosing asperger syndrome in adulthood

Aspergerov sindrom karakterišu kvalitativna oštećenja komunikacije i re- cipročnih socijalnih interakcija i oskudni, repetitivni i stereotipni ob- lici ponašanja, interesovanja i aktivnosti. Iako se dijagnoza Aspergerovog sindroma najčešće postavlja u detinjstvu, neretko se dešava i da se osobe u odraslom dobu opredeljuju za dijagnostičku procenu. Cilj ovog rada je prikaz odabranog instrumentarijuma za procenu kognitivno- pragmatskog funkcionisanja kao prilog dijagnostikovanju Aspergerovog sindro- ma u adultnom periodu, kao i postignutih rezultata primenjene procene. Ispitanik N. N., star 44 godine, na procenu dolazi po preporuci porodice, a i na osnovu sopstvenog uverenja da je uzrok njegovog stanja Aspergerov poremećaj. Korišćeni su sledeći instrumenti: Ravenove progresivne matrice, AQ, SQ, EQ testovi, Baterija za procenu komunikacije, faux pas priče, zadaci za procenu ver- balne i neverbalne inhibitorne kontrole, sposobnosti planiranja, formiranja verbalnih strategija, fluentnosti i pažnje. Postignuća na primenjenim testovima isključuju mogućnost prisustva Aspergerovog sindroma. Nasuprot tome, teškoće koje se uočavaju u kognitivnom i pragmatskom funkcionisanju ovog ispitanika mogu biti posledica nekih dru- gih stanja ili bolesti.Asperger syndrome is characterized by qualitative damage to communication and reciprocal social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotypical forms of behavior, interest and activity. Although the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome is most commonly found in childhood, it often happens that persons in the adult age opt for a diagnostic assessment. The aim of this paper is to present a selected instrument for the assessment of cognitivepragmatic functioning as a contribution to the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome in adulthood, as well as the achieved results of the applied assessment. Participant N.N, aged 44, is assessed on the recommendation of his family, and on the basis of his own belief that the cause of his condition is Asperger disorder. The following instruments were used: Raven’s progressive matrices, AQ, SQ, and EQ tests, The Assessment Battery for Communication, faux pas stories, tasks for assessing verbal and non-verbal inhibitory control, planning skills, verbal strategies formation skills, fluency and attention. The achievements on the test exclude the possibility of the presence of Asperger syndrome. In contrast, the difficulties observed in the cognitive and pragmatic functioning of this subject may be the result of other conditions or illnesses