Motor development has a positive correlation to academic performance in school children

Some studies have investigated the association between motor development and cognitive skills. The present study aims to correlate motor development  and academic performance in 79 students between 7 to 9 years old from a private school in São Paulo-Brazil. We used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition (MABC-2) to assess the motor development and the results of school report in Portuguese and Mathematics as a measure of academic performance. Pearson\u27s correlation analysis showed a positive association between motor development and cognitive skills, evidencing that students who had better academic performance, also obtained better scores in motor performance. The association between MABC-2 total score and Portuguese grade, for example, obtained a significant correlation of p <0.014. Further studies should be carried out to understand if motor development improve can modulate cognitive skills

Sensory and attentional components of reaction time: effects of the size, eccentricity and predictability of visual stimuli

A percepção visual depende do arcabouço sensorial e do processamento atencional. Este trabalho estudou o efeito, sobre o tempo de reação manual (TR), do tamanho, excentricidade e previsibilidade de estímulos visuais. No experimento 1 (n=8), um alvo foi apresentado aleatoriamente em uma de quatro excentricidades diferentes, possuindo três possíveis tamanhos. O experimento 2 (n=12) apresentava configuração similar, porém uma pista indicava o quadrante de maior probabilidade (70%) de apresentação do alvo. Os resultados mostraram um aumento do TR em função da excentricidade do alvo, além de uma diminuição do TR com o aumento do tamanho do alvo e indicação correta da pista. Uma análise das interações sugere uma superposição de mecanismos atencionais e puramente sensoriais compartilhando um estágio comum do processamento visual

Associations of intellectual ability, inhibitory control, impulsiveness, cognitive flexibility and functional impairment in adults with ADHD Symptoms

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with persistent levels of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. Recommendations for ADHD diagnosis involve: six or more symptoms (or five considering adults), early childhood onset, presence of symptoms in two or more contexts and presence of functional impairment. Cognitive deficits, that affect inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and impulsiveness, are present in ADHD and affect the course of the disorder. On the other hand, intellectual skill is a factor of protection to improve the development in people with ADHD.  This article explores how traits relate to functional impairments are relevant to ADHD description in terms of behavioral expression of the cognitive profile. Method: Forty-nine adults, between 20 and 68 years old, with symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity compatible with ADHD, with more than 4 years of schooling and absence of chronic illness, took part of this study. We collected data using screening instruments (ASRS-18, MMSE, and WASI) and main instruments (FDT, BIS-11, and EPF-ADHD). Results: The results have shown that higher intellectual indexes were associated with lower frequencies of academic impairment, while higher impulsivity levels, cognitive flexibility difficulties and inhibitory control, were associated with academic and social impairment. Conclusion: The results show that cognitive deficits were associated to impairment, in different life areas, of people with ADHD, and that some factors, as intellectual abilities, may prevent impairment in ADHD

Atitudes e práticas pedagógicas de inclusão para o aluno com autismo

O Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) é um transtorno do neurodesenvolvimento que compromete o aproveitamento escolar do aluno e o funcionamento adaptativo nos ambientes social e familiar. Os objetivos do estudo foram verificar os conhecimentos sobre TEA, atitudes e práticas pedagógicas junto a alunos com o transtorno. Esse estudo teve desenho transversal descritivo com a participação de 217 professores da educação básica de uma rede pública. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi um questionário que averiguou conhecimentos sobre TEA, atitudes e práticas pedagógicas dos professores em sala de aula. Foram conduzidas análises descritivas de frequência e percentual. Os resultados indicaram que 84,8% dos profissionais reconheceram corretamente a presença de fatores associados a déficits de interação social, comportamento e comunicação, mas 30% cometeram erros na compreensão dos fatores etiológicos. Considerando a opinião dos 102 (47%) professores participantes do estudo que haviam tido alunos com TEA em algum momento de sua atuação profissional, verificou-se em média que 70,56% deles concordavam com praticamente todas as ações educacionais e pedagógicas do Desenho Universal da Aprendizagem. Porém, a implementação dessas técnicas na prática não conseguia atingir o mesmo nível, já que essas ações eram utilizadas em média por 56,87% dos professores. O estudo possibilitou, a partir do relato dos professores, mapear integradamente aspectos essenciais que devem fazer parte de acomodações e/ou adaptações curriculares para alunos com TEA

Perceptions of Siblings of People with Trisomy 21 on Family Relationships

ABSTRACT: The birth of a child with a disability brings implications, changes in the environment and family dynamics. The family goes through a process of overcoming until the child acceptance with disability and the establishment of a suitable family environment that includes and meets his/her needs. Trisomy 21 (T21) is the most frequent genetic anomaly among those diagnosed. This study aimed to identify the perception of a sibling group of people with T21 regarding their family and social relationships. The sample consisted of 18 adolescents aged between 11 and 16 years, siblings of people with T21, and 17 guardians. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews conducted by video calls, with an average duration of 10 to 15 minutes. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed qualitatively based on the creation of thematic nuclei and categories. The results reinforce the importance of family relationships as a security factor and acceptance of the siblings’ needs

Behavioral Profile of Children and Adolescents with Prader-Willi Syndrome and Exogenous Obesity

The objective of present study was compared the behavioral profile of two different groups of children and adolescents with obesity. Ten subjects presented diagnoses of exogenous obesity and ten Prader-Willi syndrome. The Prader-Willi syndrome is a genetic disease which the main behavioral symptom is hyperphagia. The samples were paired by sex and age, with mean age of 12 years. In the evaluation of behavioral profile was utilized Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6–18). In the most cases children with exogenous obesity have obtained better results than the referred with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Into the comparison by mean of ANOVA univariate identified significant differences between the groups in the scales: school (p = 0.001), social problems (p = 0.012), thought problems (p = 0.001), attention problems (p = 0.048), rule-breaking behavior (p = 0.019); aggressive behavior (p = 0.003) and conduct problems (p = 0.001). The differences suggested the need of counseling psychological strategies in the Prader-Willi syndrome group