The Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) method is a Magnetic Resonance technique used toquantify the cerebral perfusion. It has the big advantage to be non-invasive so doesn’tneed the injection of any contrast agent. But due to a relatively low Signal-to-NoiseRatio (SNR) of the signal acquired (only approximately 1% of the image intensity), ithas been hampered to be widely used in a clinical setting so far.The primary objective of this project is to make the method more robust by improvingthe quality of the images, the SNR, and by reducing the acquisition time. DifferentASL protocols with different sets of parameters have been investigated. The modificationsperformed on the protocol have been investigated by analyzing images acquired onhealthy volunteers. An optimized protocol leading to a good trade-off between the differentaspects of the method, has been suggested. It is characterized by a 3:43:44:0mm3with a two-segment acquisition.A more advanced ASL method implies the acquisition of images at different inversiontimes (TI), which is called the mutli-TI method. The influence of the range of TI used inthe method has been explored. An optimized TI range (from 410ms to 3860ms, sampledevery 150ms) has been suggested to make the ASL method as performant as possible.A numerical model and a fitting algorithm have been used to extract the informationon the perfusion from the images acquired. Different models have been investigated aswell as their influence on the reliability of the results.Finally, a criterion has been implemented to evaluate the reliability of the results sothat the clinician or the user of the method can figure out how much he can count onthe results provided by the method.

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Vårt syfte med denna kvalitativa undersökning är att undersöka två olika metoder, Kiwimetoden och Att skriva sig till läsning (ASL). Vi valde även att undersöka hur lärare kan arbeta med digitala verktyg inom metoderna. För att genomföra detta fick vi hjälp av två skolor, där en skola arbetar med ASL och en arbetar med Kiwimetoden. Dessa skolor har vi valt att kalla för ASL-skolan och Kiwiskolan. På de båda skolorna genomförde vi två observationer i klassrum där lärare arbetade med metoden, samt en intervju med en lärargrupp.Resultatet utifrån vår undersökning visar att det finns flera faktorer som har betydelse vid elevers läs- och skrivinlärning. De båda metoderna är välstrukturerade med en tydlig arbetsgång som eleverna lär sig under arbetets gång, vilket vi anser kan stärka elevernas läs- och skrivinlärning i längden. Den fysiska miljön i klassrummet påverkar om eleverna agerar i samspel med andra och lär av varandra. Vi fick se två olika alternativ på detta, ett klassrum som inte inbjöd till samtal och ett som bjöd in till dialog elever emellan. Vi kom även fram till att innehållet i det lärare och elever arbetar med har stor betydelse för hur eleverna tar sig an uppgiften. Finns det en fascination för ämnet hos eleverna görs uppgiften med ett bättre resultat och eleverna har en tydlig lust att lära. Resultatet visar även att yttre händelser som till exempel olika beslut, krismöten, teknikens tillgänglighet och ekonomi kan påverka undervisningen.Genom denna undersökning fick vi fram att båda metoderna har för- och nackdelar. I ASL används datorer och andra digitala verktyg kontinuerligt. Inom Kiwimetoden används inte digitala verktyg men det finns möjlighet att utveckla arbetssättet om lärare vill använda till exempel datorer eller datorplatta i undervisningen. Oavsett vad lärare arbetar med krävs det att en har kompetens inom ämnet för att veta hur en gör och framförallt varför en gör det en gör.

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The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine what possibilities and obstacles teachers may experience when working with the ASL-method from a perspective that concerns students’ literacy development. The reason why we have chosen to study the ASL-method is that this method has spread like wildfire in Swedish schools to streamline literacy development among students. We have gathered our empirical data through semi-structured interviews with five teachers who actively work with the ASL-method. The results show that the method contributes to individualized and enjoyable learning since students can work from their own knowledge and language levels. This study also shows that the ASL-method contributes to more opportunities than obstacles, but there are some factors to consider when implementing this method in the classroom such as the teachers competence, personal qualifications and what demands it may put on teachers and students. Altogether, this study gives a balanced presentation of the ASL-method to teachers who are considering implementing this method in their teaching.

This dissertation represents the first systematic study of the sign language of deaf children with autism. The signing of such children is of particular interest because of the unique ways that some of the known impairments of autism are likely to interact with sign language. In particular, the visual-spatial modality of sign requires signers to understand the visual perspectives of others, a skill which may require theory of mind, which is thought to be delayed in autism (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985). It is hypothesized that an impairment in visual perspective-taking could lead to phonological errors in American Sign Language (ASL), specifically in the parameters of palm orientation, movement, and location. Twenty-five deaf children and adolescents with autism (10 deaf-of-deaf and 15 deaf-of-hearing) between the ages of 4;7 and 20;3 as well as a control group of 13 typically-developing deaf-of-deaf children between the ages of 2;7 and 6;9 were observed in a series of studies, including naturalistic observation, lexical elicitation, fingerspelling, imitation of nonsense gestures, two visual perspective-taking tasks, and a novel sign learning task. The imitation task was also performed on a control group of 24 hearing, non-signing college students. Finally, four deaf mothers of deaf autistic children were interviewed about their children’s signing. Results showed that young deaf-of-deaf autistic children under the age of 10 are prone to making phonological errors involving the palm orientation parameter, substituting an inward palm for an outward palm and vice versa. There is very little evidence that such errors occur in the typical acquisition of ASL or any other sign language. These results indicate that deaf children with autism are impaired from an early age in a cognitive mechanism involved in the acquisition of sign language phonology, though it remains unclear which mechanism(s) might be responsible. This research demonstrates the importance of sign language research for a more complete understanding of autism, as well as the need for research into atypical populations for a better understanding of sign language linguistics. / text

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