The neuropathology of developmental dysphasia: Behavioral,morphological, and physiological evidence for a pervasive temporal processing disorder

Over the past twenty years, Tallal and colleagues have directed their research toward defining the neuropathological mechanisms responsible for developmental dysphasia. We have hypothesized that higher level auditory processing dysfunction, which has previously been associated with developmental dysphasia, may result from more basic temporal processing deficits which interfere with the resolution of rapidly presented, brief duration stimuli. This temporal processing deficit interferes with adequate perception of specific verbal stimuli which require resolution of brief duration formant transitions, resulting in disordered language development. The temporal processing deficit occurs across multiple sensory modalities, and also affects rapid and sequential motor production skills. Despite relatively normal clinical neuroradiological examinations, in vivo morphological analysis, utilizing magnetic resonance imaging techniques for quantitative volumetric measurements of specific brain structures, has identified abnormalities in superior parietal, prefrontal, and temporal cortices, as well as diencephalic and caudate nuclei. Abnormalities in structures which are involved in multimodal processing and sensory motor integration is consistent with the behavioral profile of developmental dysphasia. Two alternative hypotheses regarding the neurophysiological basis of the multimodal temporal processing disorder include: dysfunction in specific cellular systems which subserve rapid, transient processing; and abnormal gating of sensory relay by intralaminar and reticular thalamic nuclei.     

BURNOUT IN SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHERS AT KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL: INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF PERSONAL RESOURCES AND WORK WELLBEING

The purpose of the current study was to examine, within an integrative predictive model, the relative contributions of sociodemographic variables, personal resources, and work wellbeing to teacher burnout. The research was conducted with special education teachers at Italian preschools—a context in which few previous studies have been carried out—and primary schools. A cross‐sectional survey‐based study with a sample of 194 kindergarten and primary school teachers was conducted. The results indicated that teachers’ happiness at school and job satisfaction incrementally predicted variance in personal, work‐related, and student‐related burnout, even after controlling for the effects of sociodemographic factors and personal resources. Furthermore, the final integrative predictive model was similar for both kindergarten and primary teachers.     

Patterns of Teacher‐Student Interaction in Inclusive Elementary Classrooms and Correlates with Student Self-Concept

The efficacy of placing students with special needs in inclusive classrooms may depend in part on how instructional factors contribute to student outcomes. Differences in frequencies and levels of cognitive engagement of interactions among nine teachers in inclusive elementary classrooms were related to three other variables: teachers' ratings on the Pathognomonic-Interventionist (PATH/INT) Scale, students' designation either as exceptional or at-risk (EX/AR) or as typically achieving (TA), and students' scores on the Piers Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Teachers with PATH beliefs, who attribute learning difficulties to permanent characteristics of the student that are beyond the teacher's mandate, interacted infrequently with their EX/AR students at low levels of cognitive engagement. Teachers with INT beliefs, who see themselves as responsible for the achievement of all their students irrespective of their disabilities, interacted with all students more frequently, and at higher levels of cognitive engagement. In contrast to the PATH teachers, their EX/AR students received more instructional interactions than their TA students. As expected, the EX/AR students in all classrooms had lower Piers Harris Self-Concept Total Scale scores than typically achieving students. However, both TA and EX/AR students had lower Self-Concept Total Scale scores in the classrooms of teachers with PATH beliefs, compared to students in the classrooms of INT teachers. The relationship is discussed between teachers' beliefs, their different patterns of instructional interactions with students with and without disabilities in inclusive classrooms, and the possible impact of instructional interventions on students' self-concept.     

Are reading and behavior problems risk factors for each other?

Two questions were investigated. First, are children with reading problems in first grade more likely to experience behavior problems in third grade? Second, are children with behavior problems in first grade more likely to experience reading problems in third grade? The authors explored both questions by using multilevel logistic regression modeling to analyze data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K). After statistically controlling for a wide range of potential confounds, they found that children with reading problems in first grade were significantly more likely to display poor task engagement, poor self-control, externalizing behavior problems, and internalizing behavior problems in third grade. They also found that children displaying poor task engagement in first grade were more likely to experience reading problems in third grade. Collectively, these findings suggest that the most effective types of interventions are likely to be those that target problems with reading and task-focused behaviors simultaneously.     

Standards of practice to standards of evidence: developing assessment capable teachers

Abstract

Teacher education is a hotly debated policy area in higher education and schooling portfolios, with increasing emphasis on standards and accountability. It is in this environment that The Standards Project (2013–2015) presented in this article began. It has at its core a three-part commitment: first, to undertake a comprehensive audit and analysis of all teacher education programmes in the state of Queensland, Australia, to establish the approaches and practices Universities relied on to preparing beginning teachers as assessment capable; second, to take account of multiple perspectives and approaches in initial teacher education to integrating data into how beginning teachers are prepared to source and use evidence for improving learning and teaching; and further, to develop new principles, policy and practices for reviewing and moderating teacher education programmes against professional standards. The paper proposes a move beyond the discourse of professional standards of practice towards a complementary discourse of standards of evidence. In our collaboration we drew on two fields, namely the writing on teacher education including reviews, and the field of assessment, both considered within broader sociocultural theory applied to assessment.     

Influence of word meaning on the acquisition of a reading vocabulary in second-grade children

The acquisition of a reading vocabulary for abstract and concrete words was examined in 62 second-grade children. Words had been learned as part of a basal reader program or as part of outside reading. Word recognition speed and reading accuracy were examined for abstract and concrete words using lexical decision and word naming tasks. The size of the concreteness effect was similar for both processing tasks. In neither task did concreteness influence reaction times, but abstract words were read with less accuracy than concrete words in both tasks. Further, these concreteness effects in reading accuracy were larger for words that were part of a basal reading program than for words acquired during free reading. We conclude that word meaning influences the entry of words at a time when children are developing a sizeable reading vocabulary.     

Neural Correlates of Face Familiarity in Institutionally Reared Children With Distinctive,Atypical Social Behavior

Although the impact of early adverse experience on neural processing of face familiarity has been studied, research has not taken into account disordered child behavior. This work compared the neural processing of familiar versus strangers' faces in 47 institutionalized children with a mean age of 54 months to determine the effects of (a) the presence versus absence of atypical social behavior and (b) inhibited versus indiscriminant atypical behavior. Results revealed a pattern of cortical hypoactivation in institutionalized children manifesting atypical social behavior and that inhibited children displayed larger neural response to a caregiver's face than to the stranger's, while indiscriminant children did not discriminate between stimuli. These findings suggest that neural correlates of face familiarity are associated with social functioning in institutionalized children.