Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children

Efficacy of a Robot-Assisted Intervention in Improving Learning Performance of Elementary School Children with Specific Learning Disorders

(1) Background: There has been significant recent interest in the potential role of social robots (SRs) in special education. Specific Learning Disorders (SpLDs) have a high prevalence in the student population, and early intervention with personalized special educational programs is crucial for optimal academic achievement. (2) Methods: We designed an intense special education intervention for children in the third and fourth years of elementary school with a diagnosis of a SpLD. Following confirmation of eligibility and informed consent, the participants were prospectively and randomly allocated to two groups: (a) the SR group, for which the intervention was delivered by the humanoid robot NAO with the assistance of a special education teacher and (b) the control group, for which the intervention was delivered by the special educator. All participants underwent pre- and post-intervention evaluation for outcome measures. (3) Results: 40 children (NAO = 19, control = 21, similar baseline characteristics) were included. Pre- and post-intervention evaluation showed comparable improvements in both groups in cognition skills (decoding, phonological awareness and reading comprehension), while between-group changes favored the NAO group only for some phonological awareness exercises. In total, no significant changes were found in any of the groups regarding the emotional/behavioral secondary outcomes. (4) Conclusion: NAO was efficient as a tutor for a human-supported intervention when compared to the gold-standard intervention for elementary school students with SpLDs.

Understanding the Effects of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation in Numerical Cognition: A Systematic Review for Clinical Translation

Atypical development of numerical cognition (dyscalculia) may increase the onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms, especially when untreated, and it may have long-term detrimental social consequences. However, evidence-based treatments are still lacking. Despite plenty of studies investigating the effects of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) on numerical cognition, a systematized synthesis of results is still lacking. In the present systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021271139), we found that the majority of reports (20 out of 26) showed the effectiveness of tES in improving both number (80%) and arithmetic (76%) processing. In particular, anodal tDCS (regardless of lateralization) over parietal regions, bilateral tDCS (regardless of polarity/lateralization) over frontal regions, and tRNS (regardless of brain regions) strongly enhance number processing. While bilateral tDCS and tRNS over parietal and frontal regions and left anodal tDCS over frontal regions consistently improve arithmetic skills. In addition, tACS seems to be more effective than tDCS at ameliorating arithmetic learning. Despite the variability of methods and paucity of clinical studies, tES seems to be a promising brain-based treatment to enhance numerical cognition. Recommendations for clinical translation, future directions, and limitations are outlined.

Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Dysregulation Profile in Italian Early Adolescents

Emotional dysregulation is of great cause for concern because it is associated with severe outcomes. Currently, the identification of youths with signs of emotional and behavioral dysregulation is obtained through the assessment of a Dysregulation Profile (DP), including the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-DP (SDQ-DP). Despite its increasingly frequent use in research, studies exploring the SDQ-DP properties are still limited, and no study with Italian samples is currently available. The current study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the SDQ-DP parent-report and its association with difficulties in the school context in a sample of 332 Italian early adolescents. Results showed that the SDQ-DP parent-report is a single-factor measure with good internal consistency. Also, in both males and females, the SDQ-DP parent-report was associated with higher teacher-reported Internalizing (e.g., anxious symptoms) and Externalizing Problems (e.g., hyperactivity, conduct problems) and lower Prosocial Behavior. This study added further evidence about the utility of the SDQ-DP in the assessment, prevention, and treatment of emotional dysregulation.

Preschool Executive Functioning and Child Behavior: Association with Learning Prerequisites?

Preschool age is a golden period for the emergence of executive functions (EFs) that, in turn, predict learning and adaptive behavior throughout all life. The study was aimed to identify which EFs measures significantly explained the learning prerequisites and the mediation role of self-regulatory and executive behavior recorded in structured or free settings. One hundred and twenty-seven preschoolers were remotely assessed by standardized tests of response inhibition, working memory, control of interference, and cognitive flexibility. Teachers provided a global measure of learning prerequisites by an observational questionnaire. Self-regulatory behavior during the assessment was evaluated by a rating scale filled by the examiners. Executive function behavior in daily life was measured by a questionnaire filled by parents. Accuracy in tasks of response inhibition and working memory explained about 48% of the variability in learning prerequisites while response speed and accuracy in the control of interference and in cognitive flexibility were not significant. EFs also had indirect effects, mediated by the child’s self-regulatory behavior evaluated during the assessment but not in daily life. The results are interpreted with respect to the contribution of the main EF components to school readiness and the mediation of the child behavior as measured in structure contexts.

Self-Reported School Difficulties and the Use of the School Nurse Services by Adolescent Students

Adolescents are increasingly finding school difficult and physical, mental and social problems increase the risk of exclusion. School health services help to identify problems and prevent them from escalating and the school nurse should be consulted when children are struggling academically. This study explored associations between school difficulties and the use of school health nurse services by 73,680 comprehensive school students with median age of 15.3. The study was based on nationally representative data from the 2017 Finnish School Health Promotion study and analyzed by gender. Difficulties in schooling were common and ranged from 9.9–32.7%. Girls reported difficulties more frequently than boys. Having self-reported difficulties was associated with greater use of school health nurse services, with girls seeking help more often than boys with similar issues and more boys saying they had no need for services. In addition, more self-reported difficulties with schooling were associated with unmet need for school health nurse services. School difficulties were associated with greater use of the school health nurse service use when the data were controlled for background factors. This study highlights shortcomings in access to school health nurse services by children with self-reported school difficulties and that girls were more likely report problems and seek help.

Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Children With a Cleft Lip With or Without Palate or an Infantile Hemangioma

OBJECTIVE

Life can be challenging for children with a visible difference due to a medical condition, and they might be at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. This study examines emotional and behavioral problems in children with a cleft lip with or without palate (CL ± P) or an infantile hemangioma (IH) in relation to the visibility of the condition, the presence of additional condition-related problems, and parental affect.

SETTING

This cross-sectional study took place in an academic medical hospital in the Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 309 parents (mean age = 40.34, 44.00% male) of 182 children with CL ± P and 48 parents (mean age = 39.21, 37.50% male) of 33 children with an IH completed questionnaires. Children were 1.5 to 12 years old.

RESULTS

Parents reported fewer child emotional and behavioral problems compared to normative data. Problems reported were mainly related to learning difficulties and parent gender, while visibility of the condition had no significant influence. Parental negative affect was related to child internalizing problems. Parental positive affect was not related to any of the outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents reported fewer problems for their children compared to normative data. This is inconsistent with previous research, showing similar or worse scores for these children compared to peers. Our findings may be explained by a protective parenting style, a response shift in parents, or problems developing at a later point in life.

Attention Components and Spelling Accuracy: Which Connections Matter?

Attention and working memory are cross-domain functions that regulate both behavioural and learning processes. Few longitudinal studies have focused on the impact of these cognitive resources on spelling skills in the early phase of learning to write. This longitudinal study investigates the contributions of attention and working memory processes to spelling accuracy and handwriting speed in 112 primary school children (2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade; age range: 7.6-9.4 years) learning to write in the Italian transparent orthography. Standardised batteries were used to assess their attention and working memory skills, as well as their spelling. Homophone and non-homophone errors were measured, as they may involve different attentional and working memory processes. The results showed that, for 2nd grade children, selective attention shifting, planning, and inhibition predicted non-homophone errors, whereas sequential working memory predicted homophone errors and writing speed was explained by planning and selective attention. In 3rd grade, only homophone errors were predicted by planning and inhibition. No significant relationships were found in 4th grade, nor in the transition across grades. Dynamic and diversified roles of attentional and working memory processes in predicting different writing skills in early primary school years emerged, with a gradual decrease in the attention-writing relationship with age.