Non-verbal learning disability

Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in processing visuospatial information but with age-appropriate verbal skills. This cognitive profile has been hypothesized to be associated with atypical white matter, but at the present there is a lack of evidence for this hypothesis. Currently, the condition is not characterized within the main diagnostic systems, in part because no clear set of criteria for characterizing the disorder exists. This report is the first attempt to estimate NVLD prevalence, using two sets of diagnostic criteria, in a large sample of over 11,000 children who were selected without regards to problems of specific nature, either psychological, neurological, physical and/or social...

BACKGROUND: State-of-the-art stroke treatment significantly reduces lesion size and stroke severity, but it remains unclear whether these therapeutic advances have diminished the burden of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). AIMS: In a cohort of patients receiving modern state-of-the-art stroke care including endovascular therapy, we assessed the frequency of PSCI and the pattern of domain-specific cognitive deficits, identified risk factors for PSCI, and determined the impact of acute PSCI on stroke outcome...

This report details a service evaluation for a learning disability child and adolescent mental health service. The project aimed to explore nonpsychologist healthcare professionals' views of the accessibility and utility of cognitive assessment reports produced in the service. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight healthcare professionals. Thematic analysis identified three themes: value of reports, readability, and acknowledging multiple audiences, each with supplementary subthemes. The following were recommended: shorter reports; simpler language; examples and recommendations pertinent and applicable to individual clients (supported by the case holder if the assessor is unfamiliar with the client); visual information to support written text; assessor to provide verbal feedback in addition to the written report; main report should contain information most pertinent to families and professionals: the clients' level of functioning/abilities and recommended interventions, whilst the appendix should contain supplementary information such as scoring and performance on individual subtests...

BACKGROUND: Disability-related microaggressions are unique among microaggressions in the assumptions they reflect and the verbal and non-verbal forms they take. They impact patients and providers alike. Yet, medical and dental students are not routinely educated about disability-related microaggressions. A medical school student-faculty team harnessed Kern's six-step curriculum design process to co-produce a novel 90-min educational intervention centered on recognizing and responding to disability-related microaggressions...

PURPOSE: An observational study of children with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Approaches and Decisions in Acute Pediatric TBI [ADAPT] Trial) demonstrated the benefits of inpatient rehabilitation on functional outcomes for those with more severely impaired consciousness when medically stable. We conducted a secondary analysis to assess whether using an inpatient rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility after acute hospitalization was associated with better motor, neuropsychological, and behavioral outcomes compared to receiving only non-inpatient rehabilitation among children with severe TBI...

INTRODUCTION: Lorlatinib is a potent, brain penetrant, next-generation ALK/ROS1 TKI, with high response rates and durable responses, including the brain. However, a significant drawback is the manifestation of neurocognitive adverse events (NCAEs). Despite being generally low-grade in severity, these NCAEs can be physically and mentally disabling. Extensive neurocognitive testing in this group of patients is lacking; therefore we conducted this study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This observational prospective study was conducted across 3 Dutch university hospitals...

IMPORTANCE: Aggressive behavior is a prevalent and challenging issue in individuals with autism. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether changes in peripheral physiology recorded by a wearable biosensor and machine learning can be used to predict imminent aggressive behavior before it occurs in inpatient youths with autism. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This noninterventional prognostic study used data collected from March 2019 to March 2020 from 4 primary care psychiatric inpatient hospitals...

Rett syndrome (RTT) is considered a rare disease despite being the leading genetic disorder to cause severe intellectual disability in women. There is no cure for RTT, so the treatment is symptomatic and supporting, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Occupational therapy can help girls and their families to improve communication, being one of the main concerns when verbal language and intentional hand movement are impaired or lost. This paper presents a pilot study of cognitive training through the combined use of eye-tracking technology (ETT) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV)...

"Hanging out" with one's interlocutors generates ethnographic ways to creatively involve people in health care research. This special issue focusses on people who are difficult to engage in conventional research because they are not verbally fluent, such as people with dementia or learning disabilities, or who speak a language that the researcher does not understand. In this introduction I discuss how "Hanging out" shifts the goal-orientation of research practices toward relationships and settings. Hierarchies may be shifted to provide attractive possibilities for interlocutors to participate by doing things together with the researcher...

BACKGROUND: Speech and language skills are important for social interaction and learning. This study characterised the communication abilities of verbal individuals with SOX11 syndrome using a standardised parent/carer questionnaire, the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC-2). METHOD: Thirteen parent/carers of verbal individuals (aged 5-19 years) diagnosed with SOX11 syndrome completed the CCC-2. In order to contextualise findings, responses were compared to norms and to data from Noonan syndrome, a relatively well-known genetic diagnosis associated with communication impairment...

Both reading difficulties (RD) and mathematics difficulties (MD) are common neurodevelopmental disorders. The co-occurrence of RD and MD, known as comorbid RDMD, is estimated to range between 21% and 45% of children with learning disabilities. Deficits in working memory have been reported in both RD and MD groups, as well as among comorbid RDMD. However, previous comorbidity studies have only examined the role of some components of working memory, and they do not strictly match their groups on relevant reading and mathematics tasks...

Core stabilization training utilizes principles of motor learning to retrain control of the trunk muscles and lead to improvements in chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP). To compare the effects of biofeedback sensor and conventional physiotherapist (PT) feedback during core stabilization and activity training in patients with CNLBP. Thirty-eight patients with CNLBP were randomly assigned to Biofeedback (n = 19) or PT feedback (n = 19) groups. Patients continued 12 sessions of combined core stabilization and activity training...

INTRODUCTION: Narratives are enriched by taking the perspective of the protagonists, which can be expressed using reported speech. Nevertheless, the use of reported speech is unaddressed internationally among individuals with Down syndrome. METHOD: Narratives of 28 children and adolescents with Down syndrome were collected using a non-verbal picture book. Occurrence and forms of reported speech were analysed and compared to typically-developing children (TD; n = 33)...

OBJECTIVE: Research has identified notable features when considering a diagnosis of FASD. Gestational exposure to alcohol significantly increases the probability of FASD; with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) being the most frequent comorbidity. Both disorders share commonalities in their behavioral phenotype which may likely lead to have negative life outcomes including secondary disabilities when compared to their ADHD-only diagnosed counterparts. This case study provides a process for diagnostic clarification and treatment recommendations within a forensic setting...

OBJECTIVE: Chung-Jansen syndrome is caused by haploinsufficiency of pleckstrin homology domain interacting protein (PHIP). Patients identified with PHIP typically present with intellectual disability, learning disorder, atypical social behavior, facial dysmorphism and obesity. Common co-occurring clinical conditions include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and/or depression, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Neurocognitive functioning is notable for a leftward shift, presenting with a relative strength in language comprehension and weakness in nonverbal ability...

Purpose: To explore how health professionals provide information to informal carers during inpatient stroke rehabilitation and whether these practices align with adult learning principles. Methods: Informal carers and survivors of stroke who had completed inpatient rehabilitation, and health professionals working in inpatient stroke rehabilitation were interviewed. Directed qualitative content analysis was conducted using an adult learning model, to determine how closely reported practices aligned to adult learning principles...

Autism is associated with challenges in emotion recognition. Yet, little is known about how emotion recognition develops over time in autistic children. This four-wave longitudinal study followed the development of three emotion-recognition abilities regarding four basic emotions in children with and without autism aged 2.5 to 6 years over three years. Behavioral tasks were used to examine whether children could differentiate facial expressions (emotion differentiation), identify facial expressions with verbal labels (emotion identification), and attribute emotions to emotion-provoking situations (emotion attribution)...

BACKGROUND: Literacy is one of the most important skills a students can achieve, as it provides access to information and communication. Unfortunately, literacy skills are not easily acquired, especially for students with intellectual disabilities who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). There are many barriers to literacy acquisition, some due to low expectations from parents and teachers and lack of evidence-based reading programs and reading materials adapted for AAC...

This review is made up of two parts; the first part discussing intellectual disability (ID) in general, while the second part covers the pain associated with intellectual disability and the challenges and practical tips for the management of pain associated with (ID). Intellectual disability is characterized by deficits in general mental abilities, such as reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience. ID is a disorder with no definite cause but has multiple risk factors, including genetic, medical, and acquired...

Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in visuospatial processing but spared verbal competencies. Neurocognitive markers may provide confirmatory evidence for characterizing NVLD as a separate neurodevelopmental disorder. Visuospatial performance and high-density electroencephalography (EEG) were measured in 16 NLVD and in 16 typically developing (TD) children. Cortical source modeling was applied to assess resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in spatial attention networks (dorsal (DAN) and ventral attention networks (VAN)) implicated in visuospatial abilities...