Development of a language and communication screening test and identification of protective and risk factors associated with communication and language disorders

With the present research, we aimed to identify the principal risk and protective factors associated with the occurrence of a developmental language disorder and to develop a specific and sensible screening instrument, easy and rapid to use. We can understand language disorders as a condition that involves poorly developed grammatical patterns, odd conversational patterns, misuse of words with respect with their meaning, difficulty expressing or following ideas and an inability to follow directions (Matson & Neal, 2010). On the other hand, communication disorders refer to a break in the communication chain (Morris, 2005). We know that delays in communication are the most prevalent symptoms in young children with developmental disabilities (Wetherby & Prizant 1996) and speech and language delay affects 5 to 8 percent of preschool children, often persists into the school years, and may be associated with lowered school performance and psychosocial problems (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2006). The recent investigation in this field tells us that the early identification and intervention of children with language disorders is a urgent situation, because of the related consequences of this kind of developmental disorder (reading disorders, emotional disorders, academic achievement). Developmental delays in infants and toddlers are significantly under identified, which means that the provision of early intervention is prohibited for many children and families in need of services (Wetherby et al, 2002). In a previous investigation, we concluded that there is a gap between the early concerns of parents and the intervention of 20 months (Peixoto, 2007). The research tells us that we can early identify language disorders trough prelinguistic Predictors of Language Outcomes, and they are: • Joint attention and intentional communication • Language understanding • Play • Phonological development. Early identification of most medical problems is advantageous in that it generally provides better opportunities for successful intervention, Yet, involves several considerations as economical, ethical and methodological However, a major problem in screening for communication and language disorder is that it implies a matter of degree. To implement a screening policy we have to decide on a proper “gold standard” instrument, as well as deciding on cut-off scores (Eriksson et al, 2010). Regarding this we have developed an epidemiological study, with a prospective cohort design, with 431 children between 12 and 36 months old (394 evaluated in kindergarten and 37 evaluated in child placement homes) Children were first assessed between February and July of 2011, and 33% of the children had a second evaluation between January and March of 2012. The children were first assessed with our screening instrument, and their parents completed a questionnaire with information about pregnancy, birth, ESE, development, temperament and occupation. Our screening instrument gathers information about the child's abilities from multiple sources; caregivers participate in the assessment process and measures milestones that provide important information about prelinguistic and early linguistic development. The second evaluation consisted in a gold standard language test. Every participant was informed of the aims and procedures of the study, and everyone agreed to participate. Because of this study, we believe that we will be able to recognize risk groups for developmental language disorders and then propose a screening policy for risk groups for the early identification of developmental language disorder

Select and accept

The aim of this paper is to present how to solve the problem of selecting a candidate up to his or her acceptance trough game theory. The originality this paper proposes is how this problem will be approached. It will be treated as a single game which is made up of two parts, going as far as to state that the payoffs in the first part of the game will be the mediators of the second part of the game. In order to represent the problem described above, a new form of game representation will be used – code form – consisting of a table which contains all of the information, without any suppression or “adulteration” with regards to the game

Mulheres em tempos de guerra: análise do comportamento e da moda feminina nos anos 20 e 50

As guerras massacram, devastam, assolam, entristecem as vidas, as famílias, as cidades. Uma sociedade em tempos de guerra sofre muitas e drásticas mudanças, desde seu modo de pensar até seu modo de vestir

Retinal vascular occlusion and neovascularization in acute toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis in a patient with AIDS: case report

To present a case of an HIV-infected patient, who presented with active chorioretinal inflammatory lesion suggestive of toxoplasmosis, that during the specific treatment developed a retinal vascular occlusion, and adjacent neovascularization. 35-year-old AIDS patient that, presented with toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis and after 4 weeks of the specific therapy (pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine) developed a vascular occlusion and retinal neovascularization that healed without the need for phototocoagulation or other adjunctive therapy. This case demonstrates that acute toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis that develops vascular complications may present a good result with the specific treatment without the need for adjunctive therapy.Apresentar e discutir o caso de paciente infectado pelo HIV, que desenvolveu quadro de obstrução vascular seguido de neovascularização retiniana e de papila, durante o tratamento específico para retinocoroidite por toxoplasmose e que evoluiu com resolução espontânea da neovascularização sem a necessidade de tratamento associado. Paciente com retinocoroidite por toxoplasmose, que após 4 semanas de tratamento específico (sulfadiazina e pirimetamina) desenvolveu quadro de obstrução vascular, seguido de neovascularização retiniana, apresentou involução espontânea, não havendo necessidade de fotocoagulação a laser, ou de outro tratamento adicional. As lesões retinianas ativas de toxoplasmose podem cursar com complicações vasculares, mesmo na vigência de tratamento específico, e geralmente apresentam bom prognóstico com regressão espontânea dos neovasos, sem necessidade de tratamentos adicionais.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Oftalmologia Setor de Uveítes e AIDSUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de Oftalmologia Setor de Uveítes e AIDSUNIFESP, Depto. de OftalmologiaSciEL

“To learn, or to be the best?”: Achievement goal profiles in pre-adolescents

This study aimed to examine the achievement goal orientation profiles of  5th and 7th grade students and the profile differences in academic achievement and anxiety. Participants were 1652 Portuguese students who responded to the Achievement Goals Scale and the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire. Based on a person-centered approach, a cluster analysis identified six groups of students with distinct motivational profiles: task oriented, ego oriented, success oriented, disengaged, self-defeating oriented and diffuse. Diffuse oriented students was the group with higher number of participants. Concerning the gender composition of clusters, differences arise in the groups of disengaged and self-defeating orientations, with boys predominating in the former and girls in the second group. Regarding age, the success oriented students group was overrepresented by younger students and older students were more likely to adopt disengaged orientations. Clusters also presented different composition when retention was taken into account, with students who have been retained being more represented in the disengaged and diffuse groups. Moreover results showed that goal orientation profiles had effects on academic achievement and anxiety. Success oriented students had the higher grades and profiles including predominantly ego orientations are more related to class and test anxiety