Comparison of Executive Functions in School Children Aged 7 to 12 Years in a State of Malnutrition Due to Thinness, Risk of Thinness and a Control Group of an Educational Institution of the Locality of Ciudad Bolívar- Bogotá, D.C.
Pages 103-112
D.M. Rivera-Oliveros, L.M. Rico-Navarro and M.R. Acosta-Barreto

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2013.01.02.3

Published: 30 December 2013

Abstract: The aim of this research was to compare the neuropsychological performance of executive functions of school children in a state of malnutrition caused by thinness and risk of thinness and a control group of a District educational institution of the locality of Ciudad Bolívar in Bogotá, Colombia. The research used a descriptive cross-sectional comparative design, where children aged between 7 and 12 years were selected based on the diagnosis of malnutrition. The executive functions assessed were fluency, working memory, problem solving, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, through the Neuropsychological Battery for Children [ENI, for its Spanish acronym] and the original version of Stroop and Wisconsin tests. Results showed statistically significant differences in executive functioning between the children with thinness, thinness risk and the control group. The students with thinness showed a low performance in verbal fluency, visual fluency, working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control compared with students in a state of malnutrition due to thinness risk and those with normal weight (control group). In conclusion, a strong association was found between the effect of child malnutrition and poor performance in executive tasks where there is evidence that executive functioning is more affected in children with malnutrition due to thinness (severe malnutrition) than in children with malnutrition due to thinness risk and in those of the control group.

Content Validity Analyses of Qualitative Feedback on the Revised Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS) Test 
Pages 177-186
Marisa Macy, Diane Bricker, Carmen Dionne, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, JoAnn Johnson, Kris Slentz, Misti Waddell, Melissa Behm and Heather Shrestha

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2015.03.04.3

Published: 07 January 2016

Abstract: Early childhood assessment practices, procedures, and tools can lay the foundation for an effective intervention program. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a content validity study conducted on a revision of Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for infants and children (AEPS®) Test, a widely used early childhood assessment/evaluation instrument. A panel of early childhood and early childhood special educator experts was assembled and asked to provide qualitative feedback on the content of the revised AEPS Test. Experts were asked to address five specific questions about item content, developmental sequences, and if assessment items represented quality teaching targets for young children. Qualitative results were used to modify items, developmental sequences, and area content.

Comprehensive Multi-Disciplinary Assessment Protocol for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Pages 68-82

Janet L. Dodd, Lauren K. Franke, Jeanette K. Grzesik and Jenna Stoskopf

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2014.02.01.9

Published: 28 May 2014 

Abstract: Legal mandates established under IDEA specify a student must be assessed in all areas of suspected disability. Never is this task more overwhelming than its application to the assessment of a student suspected of a diagnosis of autism. The assessment of an individual suspected of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is a complex task and is dependent on the integration of information gleaned from assessments conducted by an array of professionals, each with their own distinct area of expertise. The purpose of this article is to introduce the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Assessment Protocols-Autism Spectrum Disorder, referred to as the CMAPs, as a mechanism for organizing multidisciplinary team assessments. The CMAPs were developed in response to the challenges experienced by school-based assessment teams in developing appropriate and legally defensible assessment plans. The CMAPs provide teams a systematic, organizational, and comprehensive platform to organize the assessment of students across the spectrum of the disorder with the goal of making the task less overwhelming. Each assessment protocol considers the assessment needs of individuals with ASD using their communication skills as a preliminary starting point.

Contextual Integration of Causal Coherence in People with Down Syndrome: Evidence from Figurative Comprehension
Pages 55-62
Ching-Fen Hsu

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2016.04.01.7

Published: 14 March 2016

Abstract: Contextual integration is seldom explored in people with Down syndrome (DS). This study aimed to investigate this ability by comparing causal inferences made by people with DS who were presented with homonyms embedded within sentences and asked to choose which of three interpretations (figurative meaning, literal meaning, or unrelated meaning) was correct. Accuracy was the dependent variable. Each homonym was presented in a scenario familiar to the participants. The results revealed that the participants with DS were the least accurate in responding to figurative meanings and erred most compared to matched controls in chronological age and mental age. It was concluded that people with DS were developmentally delayed in causal inferences and weak central coherence is indeed a syndrome-general phenotype across populations with developmental disorders.