Bullying and intellectual disability from the perspective of students.

Bullying has been a recurrent phenomenon throughout the history of education. Among those most vulnerable are those with intellectual disabilities who tend to suffer greater levels of victimisation. The purpose of this research is to analyse the prevalence of bullying of students with intellectual disability in ordinary schools compared to special education schools. The project used a nonexperimental, descriptive and correlational methodology with a sample of 99 students who completed the validated European Bellying Intervention Project Questionnaire measurement tool. The results show that the majority of students who were victimised by bullies left their ordinary school during secondary education. Within ordinary schools, students with disabilities are more likely to experience bullying in the role of victim while in special education schools the most frequent role is that of observer.pre-print212 K

Oral language at school entry: dimensionality of speaking and listening skills

There has been a resurgence in concern about the levels of pupils’ oral language skills at school entry. To support and develop these skills effectively an understanding of the key components of oral language is required. We examined the oral language skills of monolingual children in Reception (MAge = 57.9 months; n = 126) and Year 1 (MAge = 69.07; n = 124) classes in England. Children were recruited from schools that were representative of London primary schools and were assessed on measures designed to tap phonology, core language skills (vocabulary and grammar) and discourse skills, both in the receptive and expressive modalities. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined the associations between oral language skills by component and modality for each age group. Oral language was best represented by four dimensions in Reception (receptive core language skills, receptive discourse, expressive core language skills, and expressive discourse). By contrast in Year 1, three dimensions were identified, irrespective of modality: phonology, core language skills and discourse. Our data speak to the importance of capturing these dimensions in assessments and teaching and monitoring their development at school entry. The results also highlighted the foundational role of discourse skills at the start of school

Analysis of the Functioning of Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Psychometric Study of the Family APGAR Scale.

Normalised family functioning is a predictor of individual well-being. The diagnosis of a family member with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can alter the ordinary dynamics of family systems, having a variable impact on family functioning. This research employed a non-probability convenience sampling method to gather a sample of 327 families with and without children diagnosed with ASD. This study has dual objectives: to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Family APGAR Scale and to compare family functioning in families with and without a child with ASD. The results reveal several favourable psychometric properties in the application of the APGAR scale within families of children with ASD. The use of the Family APGAR Scale in the selected sample confirms that the functioning of families with children with ASD can be categorized as mildly dysfunctional, attributed to the inherent challenges in caring for and raising a child with ASD. The presence of ASD within family systems presents a challenge to typical family functioning, with significant differences observed between families with and without children with ASD. This underscores the necessity of implementing effective intervention programs based on empirical evidence to improve the quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families.post-print381 K

Oral language at school entry: dimensionality of speaking and listening skills

There has been a resurgence in concern about the levels of pupils’ oral language skills at school entry. To support and develop these skills effectively an understanding of the key components of oral language is required. We examined the oral language skills of monolingual children in Reception (MAge = 57.9 months; n = 126) and Year 1 (MAge = 69.07; n = 124) classes in England. Children were recruited from schools that were representative of London primary schools and were assessed on measures designed to tap phonology, core language skills (vocabulary and grammar) and discourse skills, both in the receptive and expressive modalities. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined the associations between oral language skills by component and modality for each age group. Oral language was best represented by four dimensions in Reception (receptive core language skills, receptive discourse, expressive core language skills, and expressive discourse). By contrast in Year 1, three dimensions were identified, irrespective of modality: phonology, core language skills and discourse. Our data speak to the importance of capturing these dimensions in assessments and teaching and monitoring their development at school entry. The results also highlighted the foundational role of discourse skills at the start of school

Children's Plans for Writing: Characteristics and Impact on Writing Performance

Planning plays an important role in the production of written texts. Little is known about why children plan and the plans they create when they are not explicitly instructed. This study explores the plans that elementary school children in Years 1, 3, and 5 create before writing a text. We compared performance of children educated in Catalan and in English (the United Kingdom) and examined whether the plans were related to their language and literacy skills. Children of all ages produced plans before writing either by producing a draft or an organizer. The types of plan changed with age and were influenced by the educational context. Plans were not associated with either the text length or the text quality. Nor were language, literacy, and transcription skills associated with the plans. School instruction is important for producing plans but, at this stage, children’s self-generated plans do not impact on the texts produced

Review of assessment measures in the early years: Language and literacy, numeracy and social emotional development and mental health

We completed a systematic search of measures to assess language, literacy, numeracy, and socialemotional development for children up to the age of six. These included individual assessments of children’s competencies in these areas and assessments of the children’s home and early years environment. A review of the relevant competencies for these four core domains provides the basis for identifying appropriate assessments. Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests of children’s performance were included. At this point in their development, the majority of direct assessments of children’s competencies involve one-to-one assessments. Measures completed by proxy (by parents, care staff, or teachers) were also included and typically used for social-emotional aspects of development and assessments of the environment. All measures were evaluated for developmental appropriateness and psychometric features. One hundred and forty-six individual child assessments were identified, of which 13 had no published information and were excluded from further evaluation. For the remaining 133 assessments, a qualitative synthesis was completed where there were appropriate U.K. norms for the measure and where data was provided on reliability and validity (N = 47). We also included criterion-referenced assessments that included the key domains. In addition, we identified nine published tools reporting psychometric information for evaluating home and early learning environments. A wide range of language measures with established norms was identified. By contrast, for the domains of numeracy and literacy, fewer measures were available. However, for children in the target age range, criterion-referenced measures may be more appropriate for identifying early literacy and numeracy skills. Although there are many measures of social-emotional development available, the majority failed to meet the psychometric selection criteria. Four measures of social-emotional development captured a range of key elements of the domain. A set of questions to consider when choosing a measure to evaluate children’s abilities was developed from the review process

ERK-Mediated Mechanochemical Waves Direct Collective Cell Polarization

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. During collective cell migration, directional information is transmitted from a leading edge to the follower cells as a form of ERK activation waves. Hino et al. demonstrate that a mechanochemical feedback loop coupling cell deformation and ERK activation enables sustained propagation of the directional information over a tissue-scale expanse

Distinctive gastrointestinal motor dysfunction in patients with MNGIE

Intestinal manometry; Intestinal pseudo-obstruction; Small bowel motilityManometria intestinal; Pseudo-obstrucció intestinal; Motilitat de l'intestí primManometría intestinal; Pseudo-obstrucción intestinal; Motilidad del intestino delgadoBackground Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is a rare mitochondrial disease caused by mutations in TYMP, encoding thymidine phosphorylase. Clinically it is characterized by severe gastrointestinal dysmotility associated with cachexia and a demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy. Even though digestive manifestations are progressive and invariably lead to death, the features of gastrointestinal motor dysfunction have not been systematically evaluated. The objective of this study was to describe gastrointestinal motor dysfunction in MNGIE using state-of-the art techniques and to evaluate the relationship between motor abnormalities and symptoms. Methods Prospective study evaluating gastrointestinal motor function and digestive symptoms in all patients with MNGIE attended at a national referral center in Spain between January 2018 and July 2022. Key Results In this period, five patients diagnosed of MNGIE (age range 16–46 years, four men) were evaluated. Esophageal motility by high-resolution manometry was abnormal in four patients (two hypoperistalsis, two aperistalsis). Gastric emptying by scintigraphy was mildly delayed in four and indicative of gastroparesis in one. In all patients, small bowel high-resolution manometry exhibited a common, distinctive dysmotility pattern, characterized by repetitive bursts of spasmodic contractions, without traces of normal fasting and postprandial motility patterns. Interestingly, objective motor dysfunctions were detected in the absence of severe digestive symptoms. Conclusions and Inferences MNGIE patients exhibit a characteristic motor dysfunction, particularly of the small bowel, even in patients with mild digestive symptoms and in the absence of morphological signs of intestinal failure. Since symptoms are not predictive of objective findings, early investigation is indicated.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-financed by the European Union (FEDER/FSE) [PI17/01794]; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica, PID2021-122295OB-I00); Ciberehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. LA was supported by scholarship from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CM20/00182)