Young children's use of a visual aid: an experimental study of the effectiveness of training

We report an experiment concerning the use of a stand magnifier by young children with visual impairments (21 males, 12 females; mean age 4y 8mo [SD 11mo]). Children had a normative developmental level and a visual acuity of 0.4 or less (≤20/50 in Snellen's notation). To measure magnifier use objectively, we developed a task that closely resembled the dynamics of its real-life (pre-reading) use. Children had to follow trails visually, from a start location to an unseen end location. This could only be done successfully and reliably by proper use of the magnifier. In addition to this, we analyzed the effect of specific training with the magnifier by using a repeated-measures (before and after training) matched-groups (with respect to age and near-visual acuity) design. Results established both the task's efficacy as an instrument for measuring magnifier use in young children and the effectiveness of the training. Improvement in task performance after training was found in both groups, except for the youngest children (<3y 6mo). On average, 1.8 times as many paths were followed in both groups after training ( p =0.001). The without-magnifier training group became 2.5 times as good at finding the correct end location, whereas the with-magnifier training group became 4.3 times as good ( p =0.05).     

Differences in socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. We compared the social skills of Iranian visually impaired student-athletes (n = 51) and visually impaired student non-athletes (n = 56) with ages ranging from 13 to 19 years enrolled in academic year 2009-2010. Socialization was measured with the Social Maturity Scale (Weitzman, 1949). The results indicate that the two examined groups differ in regards to socialization and that the visually impaired student-athletes scored significantly higher than the visually impaired student non-athletes on the socialization test, proving the notion that participation in sports results in better improvements in socializations. If officials and parents encourage sports participation in visually impaired individuals, they will have a better opportunity of having more social skills in life.     

Behavioral assessment of Japanese children with epilepsy using SDQ (strengths and difficulties questionnaire)

The aim of this study was to elucidate the availability of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) as a screening tool for identifying behavioral problems in Japanese children with epilepsy. Methods: Eighty-three 4–16 year-old epileptic patients, followed at Tanabe-Kadobayashi Children’s Clinic, were studied. Children with severe mental or physical disability were excluded. The Japanese version of the SDQ was used, and scores were compared to the Japanese standard. Results: ‘Hyperactivity’ was the SDQ category with the most striking differences from normal: a significant numbers of children had scores above the clinically normal range and only a small proportion were within the normal range (p < 0.0001). The rates of epilepsy patients with scores above normal range were also significantly higher for ‘peer problems’ and ‘conduct problems’ (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.01). The rates of epilepsy patients with scores within the normal range was significantly lower for ‘emotional symptoms’ than in normal controls (p < 0.001). On the other hand, the ‘pro-social behavior’ score did not differ significantly from the Japanese standard. As for clinical factors, patients with symptomatic localization-related epilepsy and focal electroencephalographic abnormalities had significantly higher scores for some SDQ items. Age at epilepsy onset correlated negatively with scores for ‘total difficulties’ and ‘hyperactivity’, suggesting early onset to be a risk factor for poor SDQ scores. Conclusions: These findings confirm that higher rates of psychiatric comorbidity in Japanese children with epilepsy may be diagnosed using SDQ in Japanese children with epilepsy. These problems should be addressed in the early phase of epilepsy management in order to preserve health-related quality of life for affected patients.     

Reading skills in children with Down syndrome: a meta-analytic review

The authors examine the reading profile in children with Down syndrome by comparing the nonword decoding skills in children with Down syndrome and typically developing children matched for word recognition level. Journal articles published before 04.05.2010 were identified by using the keyword Down* cross-referenced to ‘reading’, ‘literacy’, ‘decoding’, and ‘reading comprehension’ were selected. A total of eight papers met the criteria for inclusion. Each study was reviewed and coded on both inclusion criteria and coding protocol before the analysis was performed. Children with Down syndrome had equivalent nonword decoding skills to typically developing children matched for word recognition level, but showed deficits on measures of two important underlying skills, vocabulary and phonological awareness. Differences in vocabulary, but not phonological awareness, were predictive of differences in nonword decoding skills. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Torticollis as a late complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery

The pathophysiological mechanisms related to aging of the material of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt and how mechanical stresses and mechanical traction applied to the VP shunt catheter contributed to the development of torticollis are discussed. We report a 14-year-old boy with torticollis developing as a late complication 12 years after placement of a left VP shunt for the treatment of aqueductal stenosis. The shunt tube and the surrounding fibrocalcified band were removed, and the patient’s torticollis resolved completely without recurrence. Biomechanical dysfunction of shunt material with resultant tethering at the most mobile part of the shunt tubing (neck) in a growing child can lead to the development of torticollis. To our knowledge this is the first report of this VP shunt complication.     

Test-performance after cognitive training in persons at risk mental state of schizophrenia and patients with schizophrenia

This exploratory study aims to examine the differential effects of a computer-based cognitive training in ‘prodromal’ patients (mean age 27.20 years, S.D. 5.31 years) compared with patients with full-blown schizophrenia (mean age 30.13 years, S.D. 7.77 years). Ten patients at risk for schizophrenia and 16 patients suffering from schizophrenia underwent a computerized cognitive training program (Cogpack). Cognitive functioning before and after a total of 10 training sessions was assessed by different tests controlling for memory, attention, and logical thinking. Prodromal patients turned out to be able to significantly improve their long-term memory functions and their attention after cognitive training with the Cogpack software package whereas in the group of patients with schizophrenia no improvement occurred (e.g. continuous performance test, identical pairs-subtest ‘shapes’: improvement from 0.73 to 0.88 in persons at risk of schizophrenia vs. no improvement in patients with schizophrenia (0.55 to 0.53). Cognitive training using Cogpack is helpful for the improvement of cognitive functioning in persons at risk of schizophrenia. Thus, the application of cognitive training should be provided as early as possible in the prodromal phases of schizophrenia in order to use the full rehabilitative potential of the patients. These results should be confirmed by further investigations including larger sample sizes.     

Emergence and progression of ‘non-semantic’ deficits in semantic dementia

Although semantic dementia (SD) is defined as a selective disruption of conceptual knowledge, a number of group studies have now demonstrated that SD patients also show impaired performance on tasks not usually considered to have a high semantic load (e.g., reading words aloud and lexical or object decision). The aim of the current study was to document the relative deterioration, over time, of a number of semantic and so-called ‘non-semantic’ tasks in LF, a single case of SD for whom - by virtue of his work as a published cartoonist - we also have extensive data regarding his pre-morbid linguistic and drawing skills.In five testing rounds over a period of five years we administered semantic tests of object naming and object definition (on both of which LF was progressively impaired, as expected for a diagnosis of SD), plus verbal and non-verbal ‘non-semantic’ tasks of reading aloud, spelling, object and lexical decision, and delayed copy drawing.Initially, his only striking ‘non-semantic’ deficit was in the domain of spelling - a pronounced surface dysgraphia in an individual with demonstrably superior pre-morbid spelling skill. Over time, and in line with his declining semantic system, LF's performance gradually deteriorated on all of the ‘non-semantic’ tasks. The most vulnerable items on most tasks were those with low frequency and an atypical form.This report adds to the growing body of evidence that a number of cognitive processes not usually considered to be ‘semantic’ in their demands rely on the integrity of semantic knowledge for successful execution. Furthermore, it provides the first indication that these non-semantic deficits might emerge in an order predictable from the typicality structure of the relevant domain.     

Parental assessment of pain coping in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Pain coping is thought to be the most significant behavioural contribution to the adjustment to pain. Little is known about how those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) cope with pain. We describe parental reported coping styles and how coping relates to individual factors. Seventy-seven caregivers of children and adults with IDD reported on coping styles using the Pediatric Pain Coping Inventory (PPCI), pain behaviour using the Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist—Revised (NCCPC-R), illness-related interactions using the Illness Behaviour Encouragement Scale (IBES) and past pain experience using the Structured Pain Questionnaire. Scores were compared across mental ages and interactions between pain coping and the other factors were explored. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) by mental age group (‘≤4 years’, ‘5-11 years’ and ‘≥12 years’) revealed that those in the ‘5-11 years’ mental age group used more coping styles than those in the ‘≤4 years’ mental age group, and those in the ‘≥12 years’ group used more cognitively demanding coping styles than the other two groups (F_(10,130) = 2.68, p = .005). Seeking Social Support (r = .39, p = .001) and Catastrophizing/Helplessness (r = .33, p < .01) coping styles were significantly related to a greater display of pain behaviour. Those with younger mental ages, who Seek Social Support or Catastrophize, also displayed more pain behaviour, which may be an attempt to seek external resources when pain is beyond their ability to deal with independently.     

Pain assessment in people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities; a pilot study into the use of the Pain Behaviour Checklist in everyday practice

Because of their physical and general health problems, people with a combination of profound intellectual and severe or profound motor disabilities (PIMD) are at risk of pain-related medical conditions. They are fully dependent on support professionals for the detection and accurate interpretation of nonverbal pain behaviour. These professionals can use a recently developed instrument, the Pain Behaviour Checklist (PBC), to assess pain in post-operative situations for children with PIMD. It is not yet known whether this instrument can also be used to identify pain in both children and adults in daily care situations. The aim of this pilot study was therefore threefold: to establish (1) whether the PBC can be used to identify pain in day-to-day situations in people with PIMD, (2) which behaviours are most frequently identified as indices of pain behaviour, and (3) whether there is a difference in pain-related behaviour between children and adults. In total, 32 people with PIMD participated in the study (16 children with a mean age of 10.4 years and 16 adults with a mean age of 46.7 years). Each participant was videotaped twice during a planned care moment in which we assumed that pain was prevalent. During each observation, pain was scored by the direct support professional using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and by two trained independent observers using the PBC. The reliability (both intrarater and interrater) of the PBC was analysed by calculating Spearman's rho. Validity was analysed by correlating the PBC with the VAS scores; Phi was calculated for both children and adults. Finally, positive scores on each separate item of the PBC were analysed in adults and children in order to discover possible differences between pain behaviour in each group. The interrater reliability of the PBC is .63 (p < .05) and the intrarater reliability was .88 (p < .05). Phi, as a measure of the agreement on pain/no pain between the VAS and the PBC, is .75 (p < .05) in children and .28 (p < .05) in adults. Adults were more likely to exhibit the pain-related behaviours of ‘tense face’, ‘deeper naso-labial furrow’ and ‘moaning and groaning’, whereas children made more ‘penetrating sounds of restlessness’. Based on this pilot study, we conclude that the PCB's reliability when used in daily practice with people with PIMD is satisfactory. However, although the validity is good for children, it appears insufficient for adults. It seems that children display different pain-related behaviours than adults. More research is needed into the proper assessment of pain in people with PIMD, especially adults, by health care professionals in daily practice. We also need a better understanding of the extent to which the knowledge and experience of care professionals play a role in detecting (chronic) pain behaviour in both children and adults and of how people with PIMD cope with pain.     

Pointing to two imaginary targets at the same time: Bimanual allocentric and egocentric localization in visual form agnosic D.F.

We have previously shown the visual form agnosic patient D.F. has spared sensorimotor utilization of visual information relative to her poor perceptual processing of the same stimulus attributes. Her visuomotor skills are, however, only normal when egocentric visual coding can be used in the task. In other words, her egocentric sensorimotor processing is intact while her ‘allocentric’ coding of spatial position is impaired. The current investigation extends these previous observations by comparing D.F.’s performance in bimanual pointing to pairs of stimuli directly (the egocentric task) versus pointing to the homologous positions on an adjacent workspace (pantomimed reaching, the allocentric task). The results showed greatly superior pointing accuracy in direct pointing compared to pantomimed pointing. The mechanisms supporting her limited but remaining sensitivity to spatial relationships during pantomimed pointing remain unknown. These residual skills may reflect partially spared categorical coding and/or internal sensorimotor self-cueing.     

The influence of manifest strabismus and stereoscopic vision on non-verbal abilities of visually impaired children

This research was conducted in order to examine the influence of manifest strabismus and stereoscopic vision on non-verbal abilities of visually impaired children aged between 7 and 15. The sample included 55 visually impaired children from the 1st to the 6th grade of elementary schools for visually impaired children in Belgrade. RANDOT stereotest and polaroid glasses were used for the examination of stereoscopic vision, while Cover test and Hirschberg's pupils reflex test were used for the evaluation of strabismus. In the area of non-verbal abilities was evaluated visual discrimination, visuomotor integration, constructive praxia, visual memory, strategy formation, non-verbal reasoning and the representational dimension of drawings. Subtests of ACADIA test of developmental abilities were used for the evaluation of non-verbal abilities (Atkinson et al., 1972). Statistically significant relations between strabismus and constructive praxia (p = 0.009), visual memory (p = 0.037), strategy formation (0.040) and the quality of drawings were determined by the results analysis. According to our findings, children with divergent strabismus achieve the best results. Children with stereoscopic vision generally achieve better results in all the examined areas of non-verbal abilities, and statistically significant relations were determined in the areas of visuomotor coordination (0.002), constructive praxia (0.026) and non-verbal reasoning (0.015), which are directly connected to visuospatial abilities. Children with convergent strabismus achieve significantly lower results in the areas of constructive praxia, visual memory, strategy formation and representational dimension of drawings, and children with the lack of stereoscopic vision - in the areas of visuomotor integration, constructive praxia and non-verbal reasoning.     

The impact of rope jumping exercise on physical fitness of visually impaired students

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of rope jumping exercise on the health-related physical fitness of visually impaired students. The participants’ physical fitness was examined before and after the training. The exercise intensity of the experimental group was controlled with Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) (values ranging from 11 to 15), while the control group did not participate in the exercise. A dependent samples t-test indicated significant differences in both groups between pre- and post-training. Through ANCOVA analysis, there was a significant difference (p < .05) in the flexibility and aerobic capacity for the experimental group and a significant improvement on their physical fitness (p < .05).     

A prediction rule for diagnosing hypomania

Background

Missing the diagnosis of past hypomania, and thus of bipolar II disorder, is common. Study aim was to find a ‘prediction rule’ for facilitating the diagnosis of past hypomania.

Methods

In an outpatient psychiatry private practice (non-tertiary care), a consecutive sample of 275 bipolar II disorder (BP-II) remitted patients, and consecutive, independent, sample of 138 major depressive disorder (MDD) remitted patients, had been interviewed for different study goals during follow-up visits by a senior bipolar-trained psychiatrist. Using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, modified and validated by Benazzi and Akiskal [Benazzi F (2007). Lancet 369: 935–945] to improve the probing for past hypomania, patients had been questioned about the most common symptoms and duration of recent threshold and subthreshold hypomanic episodes. The sample was retrospective in nature. A prediction rule was tested. This is a score resulting from the sum of the weighted scores of each hypomanic symptom which was an independent predictor of hypomania. Its cutoff score for discriminating hypomania was based on the highest figure of correctly classified hypomanias and on the most balanced combination of sensitivity and specificity. A second, independent sample of 138 BP-II and 71 MDD remitted outpatients was tested to replicate the findings.

Results

By univariate logistic regression, hypomanic symptoms distinguishing BP-II and MDD included ‘increase in goal-directed activity’ (overactivity) (OR = 28.3), ‘elevated mood’ (OR = 14.9), ‘increased talkativeness’ (OR = 9.2), ‘inflated self-esteem’, ‘decreased need for sleep’, ‘excessive risky activities’, and ‘irritable mood’. By multivariable logistic regression, the independent predictors of hypomania resulted ‘increase in goal-directed activity’ (OR = 14.9, weighted score = 15), ‘elevated mood’ (OR = 7.5, weighted score = 7), ‘increased talkativeness’ (OR = 3.6, weighted score = 4); ‘irritable mood’, ‘inflated self-esteem’, ‘decreased need for sleep’, and ‘excessive risky activities’ had ORs between 2.04 and 2.39, with a weighted score = 2. The prediction rule showed that the cutpoint score ≥ 21 had the highest figure of correctly classified hypomanias (88%, ROC area = 0.94), showing the most balanced combination of sensitivity (87%) and specificity (89%). This prediction rule, tested on the second sample, found that the same cutoff score  ≥ 21 correctly classified the highest figure of hypomanias (94%, ROC area = 0.97), showing the most balanced combination of sensitivity (93%) and specificity (95%). To cross this cutoff score, overactivity was always required (as the sum of the scores of elevated mood and of the other symptoms did not reach this cutoff). However, scores 10 to 20 correctly classified only slightly lower figures of hypomanias.

Conclusions

A prediction rule for hypomania was tested. The scores of overactivity plus at least some hypomanic symptom (among elevated mood, irritability, inflated self-esteem, less sleep, talkativeness, excessive risky activities) correctly classified 88% of hypomanias. Instead, elevated mood without overactivity, plus even all the other symptoms, did not reach the best figure of correctly classified. However, lower cutoff scores, up to 10, classified slightly lower figures of hypomanias, but with less balanced combinations of sensitivity and specificity. These findings may have diagnostic utility, because BP-II versus MDD is likely to be a more severe disorder. This prediction rule, if replicated and fine-tuned in different settings, may help clinicians better probing past hypomania, thus reducing the common misdiagnosis of BP-II as MDD.     

Development and validation of a fine-motor assessment tool for use with young children in a Chinese population

Objectives

Most of the fine-motor assessment tools used in Hong Kong have been designed in Western countries, so there is a need to develop a standardized assessment which is relevant to the culture and daily living tasks of the local (that is, Chinese) population. This study aimed to (1) develop a fine-motor assessment tool (the Hong Kong Preschool Fine-Motor Developmental Assessment [HK-PFMDA]) for use with young children in a Chinese population and (2) examine the HK-PFMDA's psychometric properties.

Method

The HK-PFMDA was developed by a group of occupational therapists specializing in the area of developmental disabilities in Hong Kong. A panel of 21 experts reviewed the content validity of the instrument. Rasch item analysis was used to examine the model fit of items against the rating scale model, and to explore the dimensionality of the test. Intra- and interrater reliability, convergent validity, and criterion-related validity were examined. The participants included 783 children without disabilities, 45 with autistic spectrum disorder, and 35 with developmental delay.

Results

The Rasch analysis suggested that the 87-item HK-PFMDA had a unidimensional structure, as the items explained most (91.6%) of the variance. The HK-PFMDA demonstrated excellent intra- (ICC = .99) and interrater reliability (ICC = .99), and internal consistency (α ranging from .83 to .92). In terms of validity, the HK-PFMDA had significant positive correlations with both age and the convergent measures of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS-2).

Conclusion

A set of normative data for local children aged from birth to 6 years was established. The HK-PFMDA has shown excellent psychometric properties and is suitable for clinical application by occupational therapists in the assessment of fine-motor skills development of young children in Chinese populations.     

Verbal fluency in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome

The semantic and phonemic fluency performance of adults with high functioning autism (HFA), Asperger syndrome and a neurotypical control group were compared. All participants were matched for age and verbal ability. Results showed that the participants with HFA were significantly impaired in their performance of both semantic fluency tasks and the phonemic fluency task using the letter M. The Asperger group was only impaired in their performance of the semantic fluency task ‘professions’. The social components of the ‘professions’ task may have influenced the performance of the two disorder groups for this subtest negatively. The fluency deficits could not be attributed to a lack of the use of strategies or to difficulties in switching between strategies. The impairment in two of the three verbal fluency subtests in the HFA group can be attributed to the relatively low processing speed found in this group.     

A new step towards understanding Embedded Figures Test performance in the autism spectrum: The radial frequency search task

The Embedded Figure Test (EFT) requires locating a simple shape embedded within a background of overlapping target-irrelevant scene elements. Observers with autism, or those with high levels of autistic-like traits, typically outperform matched comparison groups on the EFT. This research investigated the critical visual properties which give rise to this improved performance. The EFT is a search task and so here a radial frequency (RF) search task was created to directly explore efficacy of visual search and also the influence of element overlap on performance. In all conditions, the task was to detect whether the target RF3 (a triangular shape chosen for its visual properties) was present among a number of distracter RF4 (a square shape) patterns. The conditions employed were: ‘singles’, where all the patterns were spatially discrete, ‘pairs’, where two overlapping elements formed each cluster, and ‘quads’, comprising four overlapping elements per cluster. Compared to students scoring low on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; n = 27), those scoring high on the AQ (n = 23) were faster on the EFT and also significantly less influenced by increasing set size of the stimulus array in all RF search task conditions. However, the group difference in RF search performance was unaffected by the amount of stimulus overlap. Thus a simple search task is sufficient to detect a performance advantage associated with higher levels of autistic traits and has the advantages of a solid footing in visual theory and being readily repeatable for the purpose of assessing performance variability and change with interventions.     

Recognition of emotional facial expressions and broad autism phenotype in parents of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder

Objective

Research findings debate about features of broad autism phenotype. In this study, we tested whether parents of children with autism have problems recognizing emotional facial expression and the contribution of such an impairment to the broad phenotype of autism.

Method

Seventy-two parents of children with autistic spectrum disorder and 38 parents of control group participated in the study. Broad autism features was measured with Autism Quotient (AQ). Recognition of Emotional Face Expression Test was assessed with the Emotion Recognition Test, consisting a set of photographs from Ekman & Friesen’s.

Results

In a two-tailed analysis of variance of AQ, there was a significant difference for social skills (F(1, 106) = 6.095; p < .05). Analyses of variance revealed significant difference in the recognition of happy, surprised and neutral expressions (F(1, 106) = 4.068, p = .046; F(1, 106) = 4.068, p = .046; F(1, 106) = 6.064, p = .016).

Conclusion

According to our findings, social impairment could be considered a characteristic feature of BAP. ASD parents had difficulty recognizing neutral expressions, suggesting that ASD parents may have impaired recognition of ambiguous expressions as do autistic children.     

Effects of advanced aging on the neural correlates of successful recognition memory

Functional neuroimaging studies have reported that the neural correlates of retrieval success (old > new effects) are larger and more widespread in older than in young adults. In the present study we investigated whether this pattern of age-related ‘over-recruitment’ continues into advanced age. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), retrieval-related activity from two groups (N = 18 per group) of older adults aged 84-96 years (‘old-old’) and 64-77 years (‘young-old’) was contrasted. Subjects studied a series of pictures, half of which were presented once, and half twice. At test, subjects indicated whether each presented picture was old or new. Recognition performance of the old-old subjects for twice-studied items was equivalent to that of the young-old subjects for once-studied items. Old > new effects common to the two groups were identified in several cortical regions, including medial and lateral parietal and prefrontal cortex. There were no regions where these effects were of greater magnitude in the old-old group, and thus no evidence of over-recruitment in this group relative to the young-old individuals. In one region of medial parietal cortex, effects were greater (and only significant) in the young-old group. The failure to find evidence of over-recruitment in the old-old subjects relative to the young-old group, despite their markedly poorer cognitive performance, suggests that age-related over-recruitment effects plateau in advanced age. The findings for the medial parietal cortex underscore the sensitivity of this cortical region to increasing age.     

Facial identity recognition in children with autism spectrum disorders revealed by P300 analysis: A preliminary study

Background: To reveal the neural substrate of communication difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), we investigated the P300 component of event-related potentials (ERPs) as represented by the average of electroencephalography findings time-locked to events and behavior. Because the P300 amplitude influences attentional resource allocation during discrimination, the component elicited during perception of known and unknown faces should indicate familiarity processing. Methods and results: Nine typically developing children (TD) and nine children with ASDs participated in this study (Experiment 1). The P300 amplitude in TD children was significantly larger during familiar face perception than during unfamiliar face perception (p < 0.01). However, there was no evidence of familiarity effect in children with ASDs. In three children with ASDs, we also assessed the P300 amplitude during perception of a therapist’s face one month before (baseline), a few days before and after social skills training (SST) sessions (Experiment 2). To evaluate the effect of familiarity on facial identity processing, we analyzed the therapist/unknown ratio of P300 amplitudes related to the face discrimination task as an index. The ratio was larger after SST sessions than before, but there was no difference in the ratio between baseline and before SST assessments. Conclusion: The P300 might be influenced by attentional resource allocation depending on the stage of learning face identification in children with ASDs. We speculate that this approach to evaluating brain responses during facial identity recognition could be used as a tool to clarify children’s communication difficulties.     

The relationship between gross motor skills and academic achievement in children with learning disabilities

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading, spelling, and mathematics were examined in children with learning disabilities. As expected, the children with learning disabilities scored poorer on both the locomotor and object-control subtests than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, in children with learning disabilities a specific relationship was observed between reading and locomotor skills and a trend was found for a relationship between mathematics and object-control skills: the larger children's learning lag, the poorer their motor skill scores. This study stresses the importance of specific interventions facilitating both motor and academic abilities.