This cross-validation study investigated the extent that a Spanish narrative language dynamic assessment accurately identified students with and without language disorder across three separate samples of bilingual and monolingual Spanish-speaking students from Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. Students with language disorder and students with typically developing language were administered a narrative dynamic assessment in Spanish. A test-teach-retest format of dynamic assessment was followed and student modifiability, or learning ability, was rated directly following the teaching phase of the assessment. Results indicated that the most predictive dynamic assessment variables for the Guatemalan sample were posttest scores combined with two separate modifiability measures (i.e., total modifiability scores and modifiability final judgment scores). These same variables were applied in the cross-validation classification analyses of the Mexico and U.S. samples with good classification accuracy achieved. The results of this study indicate that a Spanish narrative dynamic assessment may be a culturally appropriate diagnostic tool in identifying Spanish-speaking students with language disorder.

Title: Evaluation of hypermobility in school-age children corresponding to a high level of evidence - literature research Objectives: This diploma thesis is focused on a summary of currently used methods corresponding to a high level of evidence for the diagnosis of joint hypermobility in school-age children. It aims to evaluate the most commonly used methods and procedures that a physiotherapist can use and find out what are the most common limits and problems we may encounter during the examination of joint hypermobility in paediatric patients. Methods: This work is processed in the form of a literature search. It is divided into two parts. The first part of the diploma thesis summarizes the issue of joint hypermobility in general and the specifics of joint hypermobility in the paediatric population. The physiotherapeutic methods, that are used to assess and diagnose joint hypermobility are also described in detail. The second part consists of tables with an overview of research results and the concludes with a discussion of the results concerning the evaluation of the use of individual diagnostic methods with respect to future research. Results: The number of available clinical trials, which would allow us to evaluate which one of the methods, corresponding to a high level of evidence, is the...

The main aim of this thesis is to find out a level of a basic motor performance and a physical ability of the children attending the fifth grade of primary school. Part of this thesis is a survey made on the basis of the Unifittest and somatic measurements. Gained results - that proved below-average level of the physical ability of primary school age children - were compared with results of the Unifittest made in 2002. From motor and somatic testing results the physical ability of children was compared on the basis of place of residence. In connection with the discovered below-average physical ability of children we recommend introduction of the third compulsory P.E. lesson at primary schools.

The psychometric properties of a parent-completed developmental questionnaire for children at 6 years of age were investigated. Currently, few developmental screening instruments for 6-year-old children have been validated, and most available instruments are designed to be completed by teachers or professionals, who may not witness an optimal sample of child behavior. Thus a screening tool with robust psychometric properties is needed that can be completed by parents or caregivers who see the child across settings and time. A total of 169 children participated in this research. Data collection included online and paper completion during well child visits, in clinics, at preschool programs, and in parents' homes. A random subsample was asked to participate in reliability and convergent validity studies. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to measure internal consistency reliability. Results indicated a Cronbach alpha of agreement with the Child Development Inventory was used. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis with categorical data confirmed the 6-Year Ages and Stages Questionnaire domains, e.g., communication, personal social, fine motor, gross motor, and problem solving. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed. / 10000-01-01

Many school-age children with language impairment (LI) have difficulties with aspects of social and emotional learning. This study was structured to evaluate one aspect of the effectiveness of a social communication intervention, the appropriate production of emotion words. Four school-aged children with LI participated in 20 sessions of story-based intervention targeting understanding and usage of emotion-based words. Emotions targeted included the emotion word categories of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. Because the knowledge of the emotion word categories varied from child to child, each child had different target words. The percentage of correct production of targeted emotion word categories was tracked, recorded and presented in figure format. The percentage of correct productions provided an estimation of the participants' usage and understanding of emotion-based words from session to session. Percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) for each participant (subdivided by emotion) was calculated where appropriate as one measure of the effectiveness of the intervention. Although somewhat variable, the data showed that the children did make progress in their use of some of the emotion word categories that they did not understand at baseline. The results of the study present some promising preliminary findings.

Numerous studies have shown that children identified with Language Impairment (LI) have marked difficulty with producing story narratives compared to their typically developing peers. One particular area of weakness seen in the narratives of children with LI is their ability to incorporate internal states, specifically internal response, internal plan, and emotion words. The current study examines five children with LI and their descriptions of mental and emotional states of characters in story narratives under spontaneous and prompted conditions. Participants produced story retells based on a series of wordless picture books taken from the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument. Story retells were elicited twice for each story, once with and once without verbal prompts. As expected, children produced more internal state story elements in response to prompts. As children produced more of these elements, however, their accuracy decreased, and the states they reported did not always reflect the story content. The children with LI showed limited understanding and ability to interpret the reactions, motivations, and emotions that characters experienced. However, verbal prompts did reveal children's current abilities and understanding of internal states.

Many children identified with Language Impairment (LI) demonstrate difficulty comprehending and producing narratives. Their narratives are often structurally less complex and of overall poorer quality than those produced by their typically developing peers. These difficulties may negatively impact the academic and social success of children with LI. This thesis evaluates the performance of five school-aged children with LI on a story retell probe embedded within an intervention designed to address their social and emotional language abilities. During the 10-week intervention, participants completed a series of story retell probes using wordless picture books. The story stimuli were taken from the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument, which included six stories (divided into two story sets), elicited twice (12 total story retells). The production of story grammar (SG) categories was analyzed for each story retell. The results for each participant and SG category varied greatly, but all participants had difficulty producing the more complex SG elements. Although each participant demonstrated some improvement from the first retell to the second on at least one story, overall performance remained fairly stable over the 10-week period. Future research is needed to determine effective ways to support more complex story narratives in children with LI.

Many school-age children with a diagnosis of Language Impairment (LI) also have social communication difficulties. Some of these difficulties are related to deficits in emotion understanding. This thesis evaluates the effects of a social communication intervention designed to increase the production of emotion-based words as an indicator of emotional competence. For five elementary school-aged children with LI, the production of emotion-based words was analyzed by first determining the frequency of words produced in preintervention sessions for the following categories: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. Following these measures, the participants received 20 intervention sessions over the course of treatment. Treatment involved the use of narratives to address emotion recognition and inferencing abilities. Individual analyses for each participant, including percent of nonoverlapping data (PND), were conducted for each participant in the categories of anger, fear, and surprise, to determine the effects on the production of emotion-based words during the intervention. The results for each participant and emotion category varied greatly, but each participant demonstrated improvement in the PND for at least one emotion category. These results were promising and underscore the value of social communication intervention for children with LI in the area of emotion understanding.

Darbe atlikta teorinė sveikatos sampratos analizė; išnagrinėti priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų sveikatos ugdymo ypatumai.Iškelta hipotezė, kad priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikai turi įgiję žinių apie sveikatą ir tai sudaro pagrindą jų sveikatai ugdyti, palaikyti ir puoselėti.Tarpusavyje derinant ir integruojant kokybinius (interviu) ir kiekybinius (anketinė apklausa) tyrimo metodus buvo atliktas tyrimas, kurio tikslas – atskleisti priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų žinias apie sveikatą ir jų sveikatos ugdymo galimybes. Tyrime dalyvavo 50 ikimokyklinėse ugdymo įstaigose dirbantys specialistai, 100 tėvų, auginančių priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikus ir 10 priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų. Empirinėje dalyje nagrinėjamas sveikatos ugdymas ikimokyklinėje ugdymo įstaigoje ir šeimoje, ugdytojų požiūris į vaikų sveikatą, priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų žinios apie sveikatą. / The work carried out theoretical analysis of the concept of health; it was examined preschool children's health education features. Hypothesis: preschool children have formed knowledge about health and this forms the basis of their health education, support and nurturing. Combining and integrating qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (survey) methods were investigated, with the aim - to reveal the pre-school age children about health and health education opportunities. The study involved 50 pre-school institutions working professionals, 100 parents of preschool children and 10 preschool children. In the empirical part of health education pre-school educational institution and the family, the attitude towards the health of children, preschool children knowledge about health.

The thesis includes comparison of the selected somatic characteristics of current young school-age children, determination the incidence of obesity and overweight among children by calculating Body Mass Index, an overview of physical activity and nutrition habits in children with questionnaires, and design and test a unit focused on healthy nutrition. The research was carried out in randomly selected primary schools (Pacov, Mladá Vožice and Načeradec). The anthropometric data (body height, body weight, chest circumference and skinfold thickness - triceps and subscapular) were collected according to a standardized (Martin-Saller?s) method or its modification. Our data were compared (t-test, Z-score) with the results of the previous surveys of Czech children. Other characteristics of measured children and their parents were collected through questionnaires.