El contacto y la información como motor de cambio hacia una educación inclusiva

Research on inclusive education shows that increasing the knowledge and contact of future teachers with people with disabilities positively favours their attitudes towards a better development of classroom work with children with disabilities. The aim of this research is to study the attitudes of future teachers towards students with disabilities and to examine the influence of certain socio-demographic variables such as age, sex and speciality. The quantitative methodology has been articulated through a questionnaire composed of 31 items for a non-probabilistic sample of 400 students of the Master's Degree in Teacher Training in Secondary Education. The procedure consisted of a bivariate analysis using t-tests for equality of means and Spearman correlations, based on the Scale of Attitudes towards People with Disabilities (EAPD) by Arias et al., (2016). The software used is IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0. The findings show that training and contact with people with disabilities can reduce the uncertainties and insecurities of future teachers, enhancing inclusive education and improving teachers' professional competences

Sinergia colaborativa en aulas inclusivas : una experiencia de grupos interactivos con alumnado con discapacidad intelectual

El presente artículo tiene por objetivo describir y analizar el proyecto Aulas Inclusivas, una experiencia de colaboración sinérgica entre el profesorado que imparte docencia a alumnado con discapacidad intelectual y el personal voluntario que participa en las asociaciones de la Federación Síndrome de Down en Castilla-La Mancha. El proyecto se fundamenta en las comunidades de aprendizaje vehiculado mediante grupos interactivos en siete centros educativos ordinarios, tanto públicos como concertados, distribuidos por las provincias del territorio castellano manchego. Con una metodología cualitativa, se han utilizado dos tipos de técnicas para la extracción de datos: una rúbrica con 15 indicadores de medida a través de la observación participante y una serie de entrevistas grupales a 52 personas participantes en el proyecto. Los resultados muestran los beneficios generados por los grupos interactivos para todo el alumnado, especialmente para el alumnado con síndrome de Down, que han incrementado sus interacciones, han mejorado la gestión emocional y sus habilidades sociales, comunicativas y curriculares. Asimismo, la participación del voluntariado de las asociaciones dentro del aula ha fortalecido los vínculos con el profesorado, lo que ha mejorado la calidad de la enseñanza. The objective of this article is to describe and analyze the Inclusive Classrooms project, an experience of synergistic collaboration between teachers who teach students with intellectual disabilities and volunteers who participate in the associations of the Down Syndrome Federation in Castilla-La Mancha. The project is based on learning communities conveyed through interactive groups in seven ordinary schools, both public and concerted, in Castilla-La Mancha.The methodology is qualitative in nature and has used two types of techniques for data extraction. The first, a rubric with 15 measurementindicators through participant observation. The second technique has been a series of group interviews with 52 people participating in the project.The results show the benefits generated by interactive groups for all students, especially for those with Down syndrome. These students have increased their interactions and have improved their emotional management and their social, communication and curricular skills. Likewise, the participation of volunteers from Down associations within the classroom has strengthened ties with teachers, which has improved the quality of teaching

Pedagogía Terapéutica y uso de las TIC: un análisis de segmentación en Castilla-La Mancha

El actual contexto educativo necesita una intensa alfabetización digital de todo el profesorado, lo que ha requerido una modificación significativa en los perfiles docentes convencionales. En el caso del profesorado especialista en Pedagogía terapéutica que trabaja con alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales, la digitalización ha supuesto un desafío. Tales cambios han requerido dotarse de nuevas habilidades para transformar la información en conocimientos, guiar el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje en un entorno novedoso y generar un espacio de inclusión educativa. El objetivo de esta investigación es identificar cuáles son los perfiles de los profesionales especialistas en Pedagogía Terapéutica en el ámbito educativo de Castilla-La Mancha en el uso de las TIC, a partir de un análisis Clúster de clases latentes. El análisis ha permitido identificar cinco perfiles que son los siguientes: a) profesorado entusiasta con las TIC, b) profesorado apático ante las TIC, c) profesorado desinteresado por las TIC, d) profesorado PRO-TIC y, d) profesorado crítico con el uso de las TIC. Los resultados obtenidos suministran una valiosa información sobre las características demográficas, geográficas, valorativas y actitucionales del profesorado especialista en Pedagogía Terapéutica, contribuyendo a una mejora del diseño de actividades formativas como a una planificación formativa más eficiente que garantice un uso eficaz de las TIC en las aulas como instrumentos de inclusión del alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales

Diseño del proyecto Aulas Inclusivas. Desarrollo de grupos interactivos con alumnado con síndrome de Down

La colaboración y las sinergias de Aulas Inclusivas ha resultado exitosa y equilibrada entre las partes. El diseño planteado en Aulas Inclusivas replica una actuación de éxito de las denominadas Comunidades de Aprendizaje, concretamente, de los grupos interactivos que están avalados por evidencias científicas. Esto supone un beneficio para todo el alumnado y, especialmente, para aquellas personas con discapacidad intelectual. La experiencia ha posibilitado los aprendizajes en el alumnado con síndrome de Down, soslayando la necesidad de realizar adaptaciones curriculares significativas que, posteriormente, les impiden titular y que paradójicamente es lo que se intenta evitar

Gestational phthalate exposure and lung function during childhood: A prospective population-based study

The potential effect of gestational exposure to phthalates on the lung function levels during childhood is unclear. Therefore, we examined this association at different ages (from 4 to 11 years) and over the whole childhood. Specifically, we measured 9 phthalate metabolites (MEP, MiBP, MnBP, MCMHP, MBzP, MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, MEHP) in the urine of 641 gestating women from the INMA study (Spain) and the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and FEV1/FVC in their offspring at ages 4, 7, 9 and 11. We used linear regression and mixed linear regression with a random intercept for subject to assess the association between phthalates and lung function at each study visit and for the overall childhood, respectively. We also assessed the phthalate metabolites mixture effect on lung function using a Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression. We observed that the phthalate metabolites gestational levels were consistently associated with lower FVC and FEV1 at all ages, both when assessed individually and jointly as a mixture, although most associations were not statistically significant. Of note, a 10% increase in MiBP was related to lower FVC (-0.02 (-0.04, 0)) and FEV1 z-scores (-0.02 (-0.04,-0.01) at age 4. Similar significant reductions in FVC were observed at ages 4 and 7 associated with an increase in MEP and MnBP, respectively, and for FEV1 at age 4 associated with an increase in MBzP. WQS regression consistently identified MBzP as an important contributor to the phthalate mixture effect. We can conclude that the gestational exposure to phthalates was associated with children's lower FVC and FEV1, especially in early childhood, and in a statistically significant manner for MEP, MiBP, MBzP and MnBP. Given the ubiquity of phthalate exposure and its established endocrine disrupting effects in children, our findings support current regulations that limit phthalate exposure.The INMA study was funded by grants from the European Union (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1) , and from Spain: Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Ministry of Health (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436, PI081151, PI06/0867, PS09/00090, PI13/02187; FIS-FEDER: PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/02647, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI12/01890, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI14/00891, PI14/1687, PI17/01194, and PI17/00663; MV16/00015; predoctoral grant PFIS - FI14/00099, pre-doctoral grant PFIS FIS-FSE: 17/00260, FIS19/1338, MV16/00015, Miguel Servet-FEDER: CP11/0178, and Miguel Servet-FSE: MS13/00054, MSII16/00051, and MS16/00128) , CIBERESP; Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093 and 2009111069) ; the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/004 and DFG08/001) ; and the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT (1999SGR 00241) . ISGlobal is a member of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya. We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023" Program (CEX 2018-000806-S) , and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program

Retinal thickness predicts the risk of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To analyze longitudinal changes of retinal thickness and their predictive value as biomarkers of disease progression in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (iPD). Methods: Patients with Lewy body diseases (LBDs) were enrolled and prospectively evaluated at 3 years, including patients with iPD (n=42), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n=4), E46K-SNCA mutation carriers (n=4) and controls (n=17). All participants underwent Spectralis retinal optical coherence tomography and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score was obtained in patients. Macular ganglion-inner plexiform layer complex (GCIPL) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness reduction rates were estimated with linear mixed models. Risk ratios were calculated to evaluate the association between baseline GCIPL and pRNFL thickness and the risk of subsequent cognitive and motor worsening, using clinically meaningful cut-offs. Results: GCIPL thickness in the parafoveal region (1- to 3-mm ring) presented the largest reduction rate. The annualized atrophy rate was 0.63 µm in iPD patients and 0.23 µm in controls (p<0.0001). iPD patients with lower parafoveal GCIPL and pRNFL thickness at baseline presented an increased risk of cognitive decline at 3 years (RR 3.49, 95% CI 1.10 – 11.1, p=0.03 and RR 3.28, 95% CI 1.03 – 10.45, p=0.045, respectively). We did not identify significant associations between retinal thickness and motor deterioration. Interpretation: Our results provide evidence of the potential use of OCT-measured parafoveal GCIPL thickness to monitor neurodegeneration and to predict the risk of cognitive worsening over time in iPD