Literature shows that nutritional deficiency and feeding behaviors in neurodevelopmentally disabled children is secondary to an underdeveloped gastrointestinal tract. Fifty (50) parents with children with autism responded to a Nutritional Perception Assessment that they believe their children are at adequate nutritional status. They reported confidence in their nutritional knowledge, yet admitted to concern about the nutritional status of their children. The survey revealed that parents are not seeing a registered dietitian for their nutritional advice, leading to the question of soundness in nutritional information received. A marginal correlation was found between belief in adequate nutritional status of children and the use of credible sources for nutritional information, p=0.0429. Data from twenty-five 24-hour recalls was entered into the MyPyramid Food Tracker to determine nutritional status, which was compared to Daily Recommended Intakes (DRIs), showing adequate nutrient consumption.

Individuals that are diagnosed with a neurodiverse condition (including, among other things, ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and Tourette syndrome) are not feeling included in organizations in today’s society. The feeling of not being included stems from experiencing discrimination, from bullying and harassment, and not given the same opportunities regarding succeeding at work. The discrimination experienced by neurodiverse individuals in work environments is partly a result of the managers' limited knowledge about the various neurodiverse conditions and how to include them in organizations. In Sweden between 10-15% have a neurodiverse condition, 3% of adults have ADHD, 1-2% have autism, 0,5% have Tourette’s syndrome and 5-8% have dyslexia which indicates that the problem with including neurodiverse individuals is affecting a portion of the population as well as the organizations themselves. This study’s purpose is to examine what managers’ ideas are about how to promote inclusion for neurodivergent employees in Swedish organizations. To conduct this research a literature review was carried out to gather knowledge about neurodiversity and the conditions the term entails, inclusion and the problems of employment for individuals with neurodiversity and it guided the research to a gap in previously written studies. An interview guide was created to use during the semi-structured interviews, a total of five interviews were performed both through online video chats and in person to gather relevant, in-depth information to answer the research question. The results indicated that managers are on the right track in progressing towards promoting inclusion of neurodivergent individuals during the stages of attracting, orientation and familiarization, and in training. However, the interviews also indicated that managers could devote more efforts in adapting towards neurodivergent individuals in the stages of recruitment process, performance tracking, progression plans, and in evaluating processes. Interestingly, as seen in the findings regarding the stages of creating awareness and keeping employees, the managers understand the importance of educating themselves and other employees regarding neurodiversity within their organization. Although, the overall findings indicates that their knowledge regarding neurodiversity is insufficient, even though they are advocating for the significance of including neurodivergent individuals in organizations. A possible reason for the lacking adjustment in inclusion practices towards neurodivergent individuals is that organizations need further resources in terms of human resources as well as the economic aspects of it. Finally, the study shows that the majority of the managers had not reflected anything regarding potentially negative outcomes from the signals that inclusion practices can produce and be perceived by other employees within the organization, which can be crucial in understanding how to successfully implement inclusion practices for neurodivergent individuals

The diploma thesis is focused on the concept of the psychomotor development in context of remaining primary reflexes in children. The author draws on the knowledge of developmental psychology and neurophysiology that some of developmentally earlier stages must under optimal circumstances and maturation of a child disappear and be replaced by ontogenetically newer forms. Research confirms continuity of persistent primary reflexes, psychomotor development and learning and behavioral problems. The thesis aims to investigate whether inhibition of primary reflexes using Neuro-developmental therapy improves the condition of children with delayed psychomotor development, including their school grades. The author in the introductory chapters focusses on normal psychomotor development of children, in particular gross motor skills, fine motor skills, sensory skills, including proprioception and kinesthesia and their importance for learning ability in school age. The next part of the thesis is focused on particular primary reflexes and their impact on psychomotor development. The author pays special attention to the climbing stage in infancy which she considers as an important milestone in the optimal psychomotor development. Case studies shows, that skipping any developmental stage can be considered as a...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:55:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciana Martins Soares.pdf: 6149797 bytes, checksum: 7b62e95f2fb71974c5c913ff0947646d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-01-30 / The aim of this work was to evaluate the application of a protocol of ambulatorial intervention, based in the Bobath neuro-developmental concept, associate or not it domiciliary intervention and/or use of positive reinforcement in twelve children with cerebral palsy level I, III and IV of the GMFCS (System of classification of the gross motor function). They had been used, the GMFM (Measure of gross motor function) and the postural evaluation, for evaluation of the children. The study it occurred in a period of six weeks. The final result showed that had positive answer the application of the protocol of ambulatorial intervention it independently of the type of association. The association of the protocol with the domiciliary intervention showed was better. Already the results of the association of the positive reinforcement to the interventions had not been conclusive. / O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a aplicação de um protocolo de intervenção ambulatorial, baseado no conceito neuroevolutivo Bobath, associado ou não a intervenção domiciliar e/ou uso de reforço positivo em doze crianças com paralisia cerebral nível I, III e IV do GMFCS (Sistema de classificação da função motora grossa). Foram utilizados, o GMFM (Medida de função motora grossa) e a avaliação postural, para avaliação das crianças. O estudo ocorreu num período de seis semanas. O resultado final mostrou que houve uma resposta positiva na aplicação do protocolo de intervenção ambulatorial independentemente do tipo de associação. A associação do protocolo com a intervenção domiciliar mostrou o melhor resultado. Já os resultados da associação do reforço positivo às intervenções não foram conclusivos.

The aim of the dissertation entitled Neuro-Developmental Stimulation in special education teachers work is to explain a lesser-known phenomenon (persistent primary reflexes and sensory-sensitive integration disorders in children) to determine the prevalence of persistent primary reflexes in pupils from 5 to 8 years and verify effectiveness of the method Neuro- Developmental Stimulation as a possible intervention program for special educators. The theoretical basis is current knowledge about psychomotorics, primary reflexes, sensory perception and sensory-sensitive integration. The main part of the work is research into the prevalence of persistent primary reflexes. The research group consists 345 pupils from 5 to 8 years of age attending regular kindergartens and primary schools and 26 pupils aged 8 to 11 years attending a primary school established pursuant to Section 16, Paragraph 9 of the Czech Education law. Intervention by the Neuro-Developmental Stimulation method is verified in a case study. The next part of the research maps the experience of special pedagogue teachers and speech therapists with the method Neuro-Developmental Stimulation as an intervention program. The research has a quantitative approach. For data collection, questionnaires were distributed among all special pedagogues and...