Written language skills in children with specific language impairment

Background. Young children are often required to carry out writing tasks in an educational context. However, little is known about the patterns of writing skills that children with Specific Language Impairment (CwSLI) have relative to their typically developing peers

Application of Numeric Routine for Simulating Transients in Power Line Communication (PLC) Systems

Applying numerical routines based on trapezoidal rule of integration (Heun’s method for numerical integration), simple models of transmission lines are used to analyze and simulate the propagation of communication signals in PLC-type systems (power line communication systems). Such systems are shared by the same systems for the transfer of electrical power and signal transmission. For the mentioned routines, the main objectives are: simulate the propagation of electromagnetic transients in these systems and analyze the interference of such phenomena in the transmitted signal. Such simulations are performed with classical structures that represent infinitesimal units of transmission lines. Modifications in the structure of such units are analyzed to improve the results obtained by the mentioned simulations

Professional practices and opinions about services available to bilingual children with developmental disabilities:an international study

This study aimed to gather information from school- and clinic-based professionals about their practices and opinions pertaining to the provision of bilingual supports to students with developmental disabilities. Using an online survey, data were collected in six socio-culturally and linguistically diverse locations across four countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In total, 361 surveys were included in the analysis from respondents who were primarily teachers and speech-language pathologists working in schools, daycares/preschools, or community-based clinics. The overall picture that emerged from the data reflected a disconnection between practice and opinion. In general, respondents believed that children with both mild and severe disabilities are capable of learning a second language, although their opinions were more neutral for the latter group. However, children with both mild and severe disabilities who spoke only a minority language at home had less access to services for second language learners than did their typically developing peers, although respondents agreed that such services should be more available. Regardless of clinical group, children who lived in homes where a minority language was spoken were often exposed to, assessed in, and treated in the majority language only; again, respondents generally disagreed with these practices. Finally, second language classes were less available to children in the two disability groups compared to typically developing bilingual children, with general agreement that the opportunity to acquire a second language should be more available, especially to those with mild disabilities. Although the results indicate that there is a considerable gap between current practices and professional opinions, professionals appear to be more supportive of bilingual educational opportunities for these populations than was suggested by previous research

A multi-site review of policies affecting opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to become bilingual

This review of special education and language-in-education policies at six sites in four countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and Netherlands) aimed to determine the opportunities for bilingualism provided at school for children with developmental disabilities (DD). While research has demonstrated that children with DD are capable of learning more than one language (see Kay Raining Bird, Genesee, & Verhoeven, this issue), it was not clear whether recent policies reflect these findings. The review, conducted using the same protocol across sites, showed that special education policies rarely addressed second language learning explicitly. However, at all sites, the policies favoured inclusion and educational planning based on individual needs, and thus implied that students with DD would have opportunities for second language learning. The language-in-education policies occasionally specified the support individuals with special needs would receive. At some sites, policies and educational options provided little support for minority languages, a factor that could contribute to subtractive bilingualism. At others, we found stronger support for minority languages and optional majority languages: conditions that could be more conducive to additive bilingualism

Is verbal reference impaired in autism spectrum disorder? A systematic review

Background and aims: Pragmatic language is a key difficulty in autism spectrum disorder. One such pragmatic skill is verbal reference, which allows the current entity of shared interest between speakers to be identified and thus enables fluid conversation. The aim of this review was to determine the extent to which studies have found that verbal reference is impaired in autism spectrum disorder. We organise the review in terms of the methodology used and the modality (production versus comprehension) in which proficiency with verbal reference was assessed. Evidence for the potential cognitive underpinnings of these skills is also reviewed. Main contribution and methods: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of verbal reference in autism spectrum disorder. PsychINFO and Web of Science were systematically screened using the combination of search terms outlined in this paper. Twenty-four studies met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-two of these examined production, whereby the methodology ranged from elicited conversation through to elicited narrative, the ‘director’ task and other referential communication paradigms. Three studies examined reference interpretation. (One study investigated both production and appropriacy judgement). Four studies examined the relationship between appropriate usage of verbal reference and formal language (lexico-syntactic ability). Two studies investigated whether reference production related to Theory of Mind or Executive Functioning. Conclusion and implications: Across a range of elicited production tasks, the predominant finding was that children and adults with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate a deficit in the production of appropriate verbal reference in comparison not only to typically developing groups, but also to groups with Developmental Language Disorder or Down syndrome. In contrast, the studies of reference interpretation which compared performance to typical control groups all found no between-group differences in this regard. To understand this cross-modality discrepancy, we need studies withthe same sample of individuals, whereby the task requirements for comprehension and production are as closely matched as possible. The field also requires the development of experimental manipulations which allow us to pinpoint precisely if and how each comprehension and/or production task requires mentalising and/or various components of executive functioning. Only through such detailed and controlled experimental work would it be possible to determine the precise location of impairments in verbal reference in autism spectrum disorder. A better understanding of this would contribute to the development of interventions

Classificazione della malattia di Parkinson da immagini cerebrali SPECT attraverso reti neurali convoluzionali

ITA La malattia di Parkinson è la seconda malattia neurodegenerativa più comune e il più frequente dei disordini del movimento. Si stima che tale malattia colpisca 4 milioni di persone in tutto il mondo: si osserva raramente nei pazienti di età inferiore ai 40 anni e l’incidenza aumenta con l’età. Tale malattia è meno frequente nel sesso femminile rispetto al maschile (40% femmine, 60% maschi) e in quest’ultimi l’esordio in media avviene due anni prima rispetto le donne. La diagnosi della malattia è di tipo clinico per cui, per stabilire criteri più oggettivi, accanto a tale valutazione acquista particolare rilevanza l’imaging diagnostico. Come supporto per il sospetto clinico del neurologo si ricorre ad esami eseguiti con PET (Tomografia a emissione di positroni), fMRI (Risonanza Magnetica Funzionale) e SPECT (Tomografia a emissione di fotone singolo). In particolare, la SPECT con FP-CIT è indicata in tutte quelle situazioni in cui, per il neurologo, è importante sapere se c’è perdita delle terminazioni dopaminergiche nello striato e assume un ruolo determinante nella diagnosi di Parkinsonismo per tutti quei pazienti, valutati in fase precoce, il cui quadro clinico non è ancora delineato visto il lento e graduale esordio dei sintomi. Tali sintomi si manifestano quando la ‘substanzia nigra’ ha perso circa il 60% dei neuroni dopaminergici e la dopamina residua è l’80% rispetto ai valori normali. Ad oggi non esiste una cura per la malattia di Parkinson, tuttavia, esistono alcuni trattamenti che possono alleviarne i sintomi e migliorare la qualità della vita del paziente. Mentre la malattia di Parkinson presenta un quadro clinico ben definito caratterizzato da sintomi motori come tremori, rigidità e bradicinesia e, non motori come declino cognitivo, disautonomia e disturbi del sonno, i Parkinsonismi, invece, includono un insieme più ampio di condizioni che possono manifestare sintomi simili ma con cause differenti. A tal proposito è importante una diagnosi corretta fin dai primi esordi della malattia in modo da applicare un approccio terapeutico adeguato. L’obiettivo della tesi è quindi implementare un modello di rete neurale convoluzionale (CNN) per la classificazione tra la malattia di Parkinson e i vari Parkinsonismi basandosi su volumi DICOM derivati da esami SPECT FP-CIT. La rete proposta rappresenta un modello di apprendimento supervisionato il cui dataset è costituito dai volumi di partenza e le relative label, ovvero il tipo di patologia. Sono state definite due varianti di modello, una per la classificazione Binaria tra pazienti con SPECT Positiva e SPECT Negativa e l’altra per la classificazione Multiclasse tra pazienti con malattia di Parkinson, Tremore Essenziale e non patologici. Questo approccio mira a fornire un mezzo diagnostico più efficiente e preciso, che potrebbe essere risolutivo soprattutto in situazioni in cui la diagnosi clinica è incerta o ambigua, contribuendo così ad una diagnosi più tempestiva e ad un trattamento mirato. ENG Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and the most frequent among movement disorders. It’s estimated that this disease affects 4 million people worldwide: it is rarely observed in patients under the age of 40, and its incidence increases with age. The disease is less common in females compared to males (40% females, 60% males), and in males, onset typically occurs two years earlier than in females. The diagnosis of the disease is clinical, but to establish more objective criteria, diagnostic imaging becomes particularly relevant alongside this evaluation. To support the neurologist's clinical suspicion, examinations performed with PET (Positron Emission Tomography), fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) are used. In particular, SPECT with FP-CIT is indicated in all those situations where it is important for the neurologist to know whether there is a loss of dopaminergic terminations in the striatum, and it plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of Parkinsonism for those patients evaluated in the early phase whose clinical picture is not yet delineated due to the slow and gradual onset of symptoms. These symptoms manifest when the 'substantia nigra' has lost about 60% of dopaminergic neurons, and the residual dopamine is 80% compared to normal values. To date, there is no cure for Parkinson's disease; however, there are some treatments that can alleviate symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life. While Parkinson’s disease present a well-defined clinical picture characterized by motor symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia, as well as non-motor symptoms such as cognitive decline, autonomic dysfunction, and sleep disturbances, Parkinsonisms, on the other hand, include a broader range of conditions that may manifest similar symptoms but with different causes. In this regard, a correct diagnosis from the early stages of the disease is important in order to apply an appropriate therapeutic approach. The objective of the thesis is therefore to implement a convolutional neural network (CNN) model for the classification between Parkinson's disease and various Parkinsonisms based on DICOM volumes derived from FP-CIT SPECT examinations. The proposed network represents a supervised learning model whose dataset consists of input volumes and their respective labels, i.e., the type of pathology. Two model variants have been defined, one for Binary classification between patients with Positive and Negative SPECT and the other for Multiclass classification between patients with Parkinson's disease, Essential Tremor, and non-pathological cases. This approach aims to provide a more efficient and precise diagnostic tool, which could be decisive especially in situations where the clinical diagnosis is uncertain or ambiguous, thus contributing to a more timely diagnosis and targeted treatment

Analyse de l'utilisation des marques de cohésion dans le discours narratif chez un groupe d'adolescents dysphasiques

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal