Effectiveness of an executive function training in italian preschool educational services and far transfer effects to pre-academic skills

In this study we examine the effectiveness and far transfer effects of a training that was found to be effective in promoting Executive Function (EF) in a sample of 5-year-old children (Traverso et al., 2015). By contrast with Traverso et al. (2015), the intervention was administered by regular teachers to verify its ecological validity. Far transfer was assessed by evaluating the training effects on pre-academic skills. 126 children attending the last year of Italian preschool educational services took part in the study (mainly 5-year-old children). Pre-and post-test assessments were conducted using a large EF and pre-academic skill task battery. The results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in an interference suppression composite score. Moreover, significant far transfer effects to pre-academic skills in literacy domain were found. In addition, we found that the improvement in the pre academic skills (in both literacy and math domains) was mediated by the improvement in the interference suppression score. The results suggest the possibility that this intervention, which may be easily implemented in the context of educational services, can promote EF during the preschool period before entry to primary school

Executive functions in children with specific learning disorders: Shedding light on a complex profile through teleassessment

Executive Functions (EFs) are high-order cognitive processes relevant to learning and adaptation and frequently impaired in children with specific learning disorders (SLDs). This study aimed to investigate EFs in children with SLD and explore the role of specific EF-related subprocesses, such as stimuli processing and processing speed. Fifty-seven SLD and 114 typically developing (TD) children, matched for gender and age, completed four tasks measuring response inhibition, interference control, shifting, and updating on a web-based teleassessment platform. The results show that SLD children performed lower in all EF tasks than TD children, regardless of stimulus type and condition. Mediation analyses suggested that differences between the SLD and TD groups are mediated by EF-related subprocesses, offering an interpretative model of EF deficits in children with SLD

Biling\ufcismo e inmigraci\uf3n: actitudes ling\ufc\uedsticas y dificultades de aprendizaje en alumnos hispanohablantes

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto analizar las tipolog\uedas de errores en lectura, escritura y expresi\uf3n escrita en 110 alumnos monoling\ufces italianos y biling\ufces (italiano/espa\uf1ol) con el fin de discriminar las dificultades espec\uedficas en la adquisici\uf3n de las competencias de lecto-escritura y la manera en que dichas dificultades se entrelazan con las actitudes ling\ufc\uedsticas. Para la recogida de datos ha sido suministrado un cuestionario y una bater\ueda de pruebas estandarizadas en seis cursos de cuarto y quinto grado de una escuela primaria, ubicada en una zona de la ciudad de G\ue9nova en la que reside un n\ufamero elevado de habitantes de origen latinoamericano