The purpose of this study was to determine significant differences in test scores between LLD and MBI Special Education students. The records of thirty-seven LLD and fifty-six MBI students between the ages of six through eleven were obtained from a small Texas school district. The results indicated no significant differences between groups on WISC Full Scale, Performance and Verbal scales or on WISC subtests scores. No significant differences were found on WRAT scores. Significant differences were found on the Bender-Gestalt Test for Children and the Visual Aural Digit Span Test at the nine- through eleven-year level. No differences were found at the six- through eight-year level.

Early cortical injury has been attributed to the consequential effects of various factors, such as alcohol, drug addiction, smoking, and inadequate nutrient intakes during periods of pregnancy and lactation, or delivery of infants by forceps, and premature deliveries. These are only a few examples of circumstances, or "injury", that may result in disorders ranging from mild learning difficulties to aggressive behaviour. Injury to the cortex during the early years of development has been know to result in poor behavioural outcome into adulthood. Presently, the most common form of treatment includes a pharmacological agent, which may be accompanied with behavioral modification therapies supported by families. As an alternative form of therapy towards the treatment of early cortical injury, choline and a vitamin and mineral supplement (EM Power+) were used to determine the possibilities of nutrition intervention in an animal model. The injuries were incurred by aspiration lesion at days three, (Exp.1) and four, (Exp.2) and lesions were localized to the midline medial frontal cortex in some rats, while a different group of rats received lesions in the posterior parietal cortex. The pre-and postnatal choline treated animals showed favorable results for the medial frontal lesions, and the postnatal vitamin supplement treated animals showed favorable results for treatment in both medial frontal and posterior parietal lesions. All animals were tested in adulthood indicating that nutrition intervention is very beneficial for alleviating some of the functional deficits commonly seen from early cortical injury. / xiv, 191 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

This study examines the effects of accuracy-only training and fluency training on retention of material learned. Two adolescent participants with traumatic brain injuries were taught to name 2 sets of lowercase Greek letters. Each of the 2 sets consisted of 7 letters. Practice and rate of reinforcement were controlled for in this study. Fluency trained letters showed higher retention (percent correct during retention checks) than the accuracy-only trained letters.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents in the US. Children and adolescents who sustain moderate and severe head injuries are much more likely to evidence significant deficits in neuropsychological functioning when compared with children with mild head injuries. Information about the recovery process and functional sequelae associated with moderate and severe head injuries remains limited, despite clear indications that children who experience such injuries typically exhibit notable deficits in intellectual functioning, particularly during the acute phase of recovery. Thus, the present study was conducted to augment research on intellectual functioning in children with moderate or severe head injuries. To accomplish this, the study first examined the proposed factor model of the WISC-III in children with moderate and severe TBI. Given high prevalence rates and similar trends in cognitive impairment, particularly within the frontal lobe structures (e.g., disrupted cognitive flexibility and divided attention), the study also examined this same factor model for a group of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and compared it with the model fit from the TBI group. In the second phase of the study, both the TBI and AHDH groups were evaluated to determine if distinct WISC-III index score cluster profiles could be identified. Lastly, the cluster groups for both the TBI and ADHD samples were validated using important demographic and clinical variables, as well as scores from independent neuropsychological measures of attention, executive functioning, and working memory. Parent reports of psychological and behavioral functioning were also used in an attempt to further distinguish the cluster groups. Study limitations and future research implications were also discussed.

This research study consisted of an examination of the role played by the educational psychologist in the emotional and social rehabilitation of the TBI adolescent. A survey of the literature reveals that traumatic brain injury during adolescence negatively impacts on their adaptation, development and functioning after the acute phase of the rehabilitation process. In order to study this phenomenon, a psycho-educational perspective was utilised. An in-depth qualitative study was undertaken by means of a case study design. The two cases being presented offers the reader insight into the cases pre-morbid functioning, the accident and its aftermath, the specific traumatic brain injuries, the emotional and social problems encountered by these adolescents as well as the psychotherapeutic interventions applied by the educational psychologist in the rehabilitation process of the cases under investigation. The conclusions reached from this investigation were that traumatic brain injury during the developmental phase of adolescence, negatively impacts on the emotional and social well being of these adolescents, and that the educational psychologist plays a valuable role in the emotional and social rehabilitation of these adolescents. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This research study consisted of an examination of the role played by the educational psychologist in the emotional and social rehabilitation of the TBI adolescent. A survey of the literature reveals that traumatic brain injury during adolescence negatively impacts on their adaptation, development and functioning after the acute phase of the rehabilitation process. In order to study this phenomenon, a psycho-educational perspective was utilised. An in-depth qualitative study was undertaken by means of a case study design. The two cases being presented offers the reader insight into the cases pre-morbid functioning, the accident and its aftermath, the specific traumatic brain injuries, the emotional and social problems encountered by these adolescents as well as the psychotherapeutic interventions applied by the educational psychologist in the rehabilitation process of the cases under investigation. The conclusions reached from this investigation were that traumatic brain injury during the developmental phase of adolescence, negatively impacts on the emotional and social well being of these adolescents, and that the educational psychologist plays a valuable role in the emotional and social rehabilitation of these adolescents. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The preterm delivery (<37 weeks gestation) rates are generally 5-9% in Europe, 12-13% in the US, and each year about 13 millions preterm infants are born worldwide (MacDorman and Mathews, 2009; Slattery and Morrison, 2002). The early exposure to the extra-uterine environment increases the risks of perinatal brain injury, involving more often the white matter. The white matter injury is characterized by a potential subsequent occurrence of cognitive problems, of developmental delay and of major motor deficits (e.g. cerebral palsy). <p>The most widely used imaging technique for studying neonatal brain is cranial ultrasound that can be performed at bedside and detects major brain abnormalities (hemorrhage, infarctions, cysts, dilatation of the lateral ventricles). However, it has a poor sensitivity for non-cystic or diffuse white matter abnormalities (WMA), the most common form of white matter injury in preterm infants. In comparison to ultrasound, MR (magnetic resonance) imaging has been reported to be superior in detecting WMA and is considered as an essential modality for imaging the neonatal brain. The standard sequences (e.g. T1-, T2-weighted imaging) are routinely performed for assessing not only brain anatomy, but also for evaluating brain lesions. Nevertheless, ¡§conventional MR imaging¡¨ has been criticized because it is limited in qualitative assessment and it does not provide information on the extent of specific white matter pathways injuries. <p>Currently, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables more detailed exploration of white matter microstructure. Furthermore, DTI is now the best in vivo technique capable of delineating white matter pathways and quantifying microstructural changes not visible on conventional MR imaging. Diffusion tensor tractography allows the reconstruction of the principal white matter fibers. Moreover, it also provides diffusion indices like fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), longitudinal diffusivity (£f//), transverse diffusivity (£f¢r) that help assess the changes in fiber tracts, even before myelination becomes histologically evident. <p>Structural MR imaging studies performed in neonates are scarce. A number of essential questions are still under debate, concerning the normal white matter structure, as well as premature brain injury. First, left language lateralization and right handedness are complex phenomena incompletely understood and the question rises whether structural lateralization already exist in healthy preterm neonates at term-equivalent age. Second, it is of interest to know whether gender-related structural differences exist in healthy preterm neonates. Finally, in the assessment of preterm brain injury, the relationship between WMA on conventional imaging and altered diffusion indices in fiber tracts is still unclear. Therefore, the aims of the thesis were to investigate the brain structure in a population of preterm neonates at term-equivalent age by DTI and probabilistic tractography.<p>The first part of this thesis (Study I and Study II) was devoted to the study of white matter structural characteristics in healthy preterm neonates. Previous studies have shown that structural asymmetries in language and motor related fibers are present in adults and in infants (Dubois et al. 2009; Westerhausen et al. 2007). Our hypothesis was that these structural asymmetries are already present in preterm neonates at term-equivalent age. In Study I, DTI and probabilistic tractography were performed and we found volume and microstructural asymmetries in the language related parieto-temporal superior longitudinal fasciculi (SLF), in the motor related corticospinal tract (CST) and in the motor part of the superior thalamic radiation (STR) as well. In Study II, we found that compared to boys, girls have larger relative tract volumes and an advanced maturation in language and motor related fiber tracts. <p>The second part of this thesis (Study III) investigated whether WMA on conventional MR imaging are related to abnormalities within the fiber tract microstructures. WMA were classified as normal, mild, moderate and severe according to Woodward¡¦s classification (Woodward et al. 2006). Woodward and colleagues studied a large population (167 infants) of preterm infants at term equivalent age with MRI. They demonstrated that WMA were important predictors of neurological outcomes by comparing their results with the neurological outcomes of those infants at corrected age of two. We found that compared to neonates with no abnormalities, infants with mild abnormalities have significantly higher ƒÜ¢r in the right CST, the left anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), the left sensory STR and bilateral motor STR. Those findings might be related to injuries of premyelinating oligodendrocytes resulting in subsequent failure of both development and ensheathment of axons. Considering that those fiber tracts connect important cortical zones, microstructural changes in those fiber tracts might be responsible for the later neurodevelopment deficits in motor and cognitive functions. <p>We concluded that structural asymmetries and gender differences in motor and language related fibers are present in healthy preterm neonates at term-equivalent age well before the development of speech and hand preference. Structural asymmetries and gender differences have to be considered in neonatal white matter assessment. Finally, altered DTI indices are associated with WMA on conventional MR imaging in preterm neonates. Our results suggest that disrupted premyelination is the major correlate with WMA rather than axonal pathology. Non-invasive DTI and tractography constitute an additional tool for the assessment of white matter injuries, as it could provide more adequate diagnostic information on brain microstructure in preterm neonates at term-equivalent age. / Doctorat en Sciences médicales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Text in Afrikaans / In this study an instrument is suggested for implementation by the Educational Psychologist to design a support programme, aimed at handling family members' stress where a child has sustained a brain injury. Attention was paid to the phenomenon "brain injured child" to ascertain demands and needs (physical, cognitive, psychological and emotional). Specific note was taken of the toll on each family member in their observance, experience, assistance and giving· meaning to the child. Reference was made to existing support programmes for such family members from the acute care phase to the final acceptance and readjustment of the family. With this study the need for a continuous support programme and the contents of such a programme was addressed. Using these guidelines the Educational Psychologist will be able to prepare the family for the stress possibilities in dealing with the brain injured child. / Met hierdie studie is 'n instrument daargestel vir die ontwerp van 'n hulpverleningsprogram vir gebruik deur die Opvoedkundige Sielkundige. Hierdie hulpprogram het as doel, die hantering van stres, deur die gesin van 'n kind, wat 'n breinbesering opgedoen het. In die studie is aandag gegee aan die tipiese gedrag wat oor die algemeen van 'n breinbeseerde kind verwag kan word. Daar is ook gepoog om te bepaal hoe elke lid van die gesin die breinbeseerde kind beleef, aan hom betekenis gee, en hom probeer help ten opsigte van die eise (fisiek en emosioneel) wat hy stel. Verder is daar gekyk na bestaande hulpverlening (gerig op die hantering van stres) aan die gesinslede van 'n breinbeseerde kind vanaf die akute versorgingsfase tot en met die aanpassing en herorganisering van die gesin. Met hierdie studie is 'n behoefte aan 'n kontinue hulpverleningsprogram en die inhoud van so 'n program by gesinslede aangespreek. Aan die hand van die riglyne sal die Opvoedkundige Sielkundige 'n gesin kan voorberei op die stres wat hulle ten opsigte van die hantering van 'n breinbeseerde kind te wagte kan wees. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

Text in Afrikaans / In this study an instrument is suggested for implementation by the Educational Psychologist to design a support programme, aimed at handling family members' stress where a child has sustained a brain injury. Attention was paid to the phenomenon "brain injured child" to ascertain demands and needs (physical, cognitive, psychological and emotional). Specific note was taken of the toll on each family member in their observance, experience, assistance and giving· meaning to the child. Reference was made to existing support programmes for such family members from the acute care phase to the final acceptance and readjustment of the family. With this study the need for a continuous support programme and the contents of such a programme was addressed. Using these guidelines the Educational Psychologist will be able to prepare the family for the stress possibilities in dealing with the brain injured child. / Met hierdie studie is 'n instrument daargestel vir die ontwerp van 'n hulpverleningsprogram vir gebruik deur die Opvoedkundige Sielkundige. Hierdie hulpprogram het as doel, die hantering van stres, deur die gesin van 'n kind, wat 'n breinbesering opgedoen het. In die studie is aandag gegee aan die tipiese gedrag wat oor die algemeen van 'n breinbeseerde kind verwag kan word. Daar is ook gepoog om te bepaal hoe elke lid van die gesin die breinbeseerde kind beleef, aan hom betekenis gee, en hom probeer help ten opsigte van die eise (fisiek en emosioneel) wat hy stel. Verder is daar gekyk na bestaande hulpverlening (gerig op die hantering van stres) aan die gesinslede van 'n breinbeseerde kind vanaf die akute versorgingsfase tot en met die aanpassing en herorganisering van die gesin. Met hierdie studie is 'n behoefte aan 'n kontinue hulpverleningsprogram en die inhoud van so 'n program by gesinslede aangespreek. Aan die hand van die riglyne sal die Opvoedkundige Sielkundige 'n gesin kan voorberei op die stres wat hulle ten opsigte van die hantering van 'n breinbeseerde kind te wagte kan wees. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

MPH / Department of Public Health / Cerebral palsy (CP) is the common cause of physical disability in children. The nature and severity of impairments vary, but the demands placed upon mothers are significant. It is one of the prolonged conditions which have become a serious health problem worldwide. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the challenges of mothers caring for cerebral palsy children at Thulamela Municipality, in the Vhembe District, South Africa. The objectives of this study were as follows: (1). To explore the challenges by mothers of cerebral palsy children in relation to physical, psychological and social care, (2) To explore their challenges in relation to available resources for proper referral of mothers caring for cerebral palsy children. The study used a qualitative approach using explorative and descriptive design in exploring the challenges of mothers caring for children with cerebral palsy. The study population comprised mothers of children with Cerebral Palsy living in the Vhembe District who attends the rehabilitation therapy services at Tshilidzini Hospital. A non-probability, purposive sampling technique was used to select the mothers. Five focus groups, each consisting of eight mothers were composed. Semi-structured group guide consisting of open-ended questions were used. Data was transcribed, verbatim and coded into themes and subthemes using context thematic analysis method. Themes that emerged include: a theoretical framework for the study, effects of caring on the family’s socio-economic life, challenges experienced by mothers caring for cerebral palsy children, challenges in relation to education and training and challenges experienced by mothers caring for cerebral palsy. The findings of the study might benefit the society about the challenges experienced by mothers when caring for their disabled children. The study might help government to develop and implement policies which will empower parents and the community as a whole / NRF