51 research outputs found
BEYOND THE DISEASE: "...AM I MY BROTHER\u27S KEEPER?"
Today, the concepts of health and illness require a global vision of man; the suffering of the person places the entire environment
in great difficulty: health professionals, family, society. It is important not to simplify the response to a purely health-focused view of
the disorder, because fragile people possess a deep need to feel welcomed, listened to, understood and accepted.
Service provision that is respectful of the dignity of the person is an important challenge both for those who are responsible for
providing services to individuals and their families as well as for the entire community. Therefore in providing care the human
qualities of the health professional and not only his technical skills come into play: blending together science and humanitarian
ethos. The provision of care therefore "forces" us to broaden our horizons and requires us to face the challenge of responsibility
towards the Other, the human condition of being-for. However, ethical capacity cannot be born solely out of sharing standards or
adhering to regulations and respecting prohibitions: it stems from high and unconditional moral values and meanings. The ME-YOU
relationship represents the primary ethical factor of the human being: my responsibility towards the Other is unconditional.
In the book of Genesis when the Lord asks Cain: "... where is Abel, your brother?" He responds with another question: "Am I my
brother\u27s keeper?" In this biblical passage Cain kills Abel: the rejection of brotherhood and the care of the other only leads to the
death of the Other.
"Where is your brother?" This question is crucial in today’s day and age and must be taken seriously: it is the decisive question
that forces us to decide how to place ourselves in relationship with the other and with the world: do we choose proximity or distance,
connection or indifference
URINARY AND BOWEL DISFUNCTION IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A PROSPECTIVE, OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
Background: Vesico- sphincter and bowel dysfunction have been frequently detected in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
patients, but to date no consistent information exist on adults affected by the disease. We evaluated the prevalence and types of
bladder and bowel disfunction (BBD) in young and adult patients affected by ASD.
Subjects and methods: Twenty- seven adults and 20 children/teens with ASD and a matched group of typically developing
subjects were enrolled. Daily pads use and episodes of urinary incontinence (UI) were recorded in a 3- day voiding diary. Patients
underwent also the measurement of post-void urinary residual volume and 3- day bowel diary. In addition, type and duration of the
pharmacological agents assumed by the patients were accurately recorded.
Results: Any type of UI was observed in 85.1% of adults and in 90% of children/teens. In adults, nocturnal enuresis (NE, 62.9%)
and diurnal intermittent UI (37%) were the most frequently observed bladder dysfunction while in children/ teens were NE (75%)
and diurnal continuous UI (40%). In all patients was demonstrated a significant relationship between urinary symptoms and
pharmacological agents, particularly NE and clotiapine (p<0.004) and periciazine (p<0.008).
Conclusions: Young and adult patients with ASD present with a high prevalence of BBD and concomitant antipsychotic
medications could to play a contribution in induction and/or maintaining of BBD
EFFECTIVENESS OF SEROTONERGIC DRUGS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN PATIENTS WITH NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
Neurodevelopmental disorders often result in disabilities associated with auto- and / or hetero-aggressive behaviors, that can be defined as "problem behaviors" (Lacy 2007). Therapeutic interventions are mainly directed towards the use of neuroleptic drugs or benzodiazepines, to ensure a rapid and significant sedation in most of cases. These pharmacological devices exposes the patient to clinical risks and/or long-term management difficulties. The main problem of the chronic use of benzodiazepines is the development of tolerance and dependence; furthermore benzodiazepine withdrawal or their abrupt reduction may lead to rebound effect. Regarding the long-term effects of neuroleptics, it is necessary to focus on extrapyramidal effects, motor restlessness and akathisia, anticholinergic effects, as well as endocrine and metabolic alterations. Several studies have shown that the reduction of serotonergic receptor activity is associated with the appearance of aggressive behavior (Farnam et al. 2017), especially impulsive behaviors (Manchia et al. 2017, Takahashi et al. 2012). The dynamics that subtend these data are still not fully clarified, however there are evidences that the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) is helpful in the treatment of aggressive behavior in mental disabilities (Sterke et al. 2012, Janowsky et al. 2015). In this study we observe the behavioral response to sertraline, for minors, and to vortioxetine, for adults, considering that the literature shows significant evidence of modulation of synaptic neuroplasticity (Waller et al. 2017). To support the observation we used behavioural scales to collect the data, before the administration of the drug, during the course of treatment, at 3 months from the start of the
administration. We detected the improve of behavioral disorders with the less use neuroleptic drugs and benzodiazepines
MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS
Several studies highlight that many students feel negative feelings about mathematical learning and that the mathematics anxiety
seems to play a central role in mathematical performance. More specifically students with higher level of maths anxiety are less
efficient in mathematical tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between specific mathematics anxiety as
assessed by AMAS, trait and state anxiety as assessed by STAI-Y, and mathematical skills assessed through the ABCA tests in a
sample of 83 adolescent students (78.3% males) without diagnosis of dyscalculia and cognitive disorder attending their first year of
secondary school. Results showed that 38% of the students referred high level of maths anxiety. Independent T-test revealed that
female students referred a higher level of maths anxiety as well as of trait and state anxiety than male ones, while there were no
differences in the mathematics performance. The simultaneous multivariate linear regression analysis showed that maths anxiety was
influenced by trait anxiety and in its turn has an impact on the high level mathematics performances (i.e. arithmetic facts).
Understanding the relationships between maths anxiety and maths learning and performance may have relevant implications in
clinical, educational and didactic practice
NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR ART THERAPY INTERVENTIONS TAILORED TO SEVERE DISABILITIES
Individuals with multiple disabilities can have a wide range of characteristics depending on the combination and severity of the
disabilities, such as intellectual disability, mobility issues, sensorial impairment, language issues and brain injury. New technologies
can help therapists find an alternative way to engage and interact with clients by opening a communication window and starting to
build the therapeutic relationship.
The need to use more customized technological tools led us to develop the Painteraction system, an intuitive tool based on
Augmented Reality that allows clients to be immersed in their own images. Just by moving their bodies individuals are able to make
drawings and receive visual feedback, both from themselves and their therapists, as it appears on the screen.
The pilot testing of Painteraction was performed on 21 inpatients at Istituto Serafico (Assisi, Italy) with severe/multiple
disabilities in order to explore and assess reaction and responsiveness in a semi-structured art therapy setting. The sample was
formed by 14 males and 7 females (N=21) between the ages of 7 and 35. All participants attended three twenty-minute individual art
therapy sessions which were approximately one week apart.
Through direct and indirect (video recordings) observation of the sessions, it appeared that the specific Augmented Reality tool
introduced in the art therapy setting was easily accepted by most of the clients involved and generally allowed the development of an
interpersonal therapist-client relationship.
The present study therefore gave us the opportunity to test new digital tools in the challenging setting of severe/multiple
disabilities and observe the huge potential of new media to empower clients to express themselves and their creativity, and ultimately
overcome mental and physical barriers.
We propose that Augmented Reality tools are particularly well-suited to art therapy and create an equally suitable therapeutic
environment to address specific client needs
MOZART\u27S MUSIC AND MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY: A POTENTIAL EEG INDEX OF THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS
Multidrug-resistant epilepsy is a pathological condition that affects approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy, especially
those with associated intellectual disabilities. Several non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to improve quality of life of these patients. In particular, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448, has been shown to decrease interictal electroencephalography (EEG) discharges and recurrence of clinical seizures in these patients. In a previous study we observed that in institutionalized subjects with severe/profound intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy, a systematic music listening protocol reduced the frequency of seizures in about 50% of cases. This study aims to assess electroencephalography as a quantitative (qEEG) predictive biomarker of effectiveness of listening to music on the frequency of epileptic discharges and on background rhythm frequency (BRF)
MOZART\u27S MUSIC AND MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY: A POTENTIAL EEG INDEX OF THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS
Multidrug-resistant epilepsy is a pathological condition that affects approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy, especially
those with associated intellectual disabilities. Several non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to improve quality of life of these patients. In particular, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448, has been shown to decrease interictal electroencephalography (EEG) discharges and recurrence of clinical seizures in these patients. In a previous study we observed that in institutionalized subjects with severe/profound intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy, a systematic music listening protocol reduced the frequency of seizures in about 50% of cases. This study aims to assess electroencephalography as a quantitative (qEEG) predictive biomarker of effectiveness of listening to music on the frequency of epileptic discharges and on background rhythm frequency (BRF)
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