Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:40:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Millena de Cassia Ormenese Gomes.pdf: 356819 bytes, checksum: ab8cad21d9f374ea8716d1daee04645b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-18 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / This research aimed at understanding the educational path of a student with Tourette Syndrome, attending a regular public school. It also aimed at understanding the difficulties this student had to face, as well as those caused by his behavior. Emphasis was given to the possibility of prejudice and stigmatization in the school environment. The research had a qualitative focus and a case study methodology was adopted. The student, his family, and academic and administrative professionals from his school were interviewed. The data collected from these semi-structured interviews were analyzed and classified in thirteen categories. Data shows that this student faces social relations problems; he was even misunderstood by his own family and was always a victim of prejudice from his classmates, and sometimes, his teachers. The school staff tries to make his inclusion possible by adopting simple resources, consistent with the ones available in the specialized literature. The student was observed to have an inclination towards identifying with and helping other children with special educational needs. The family, specially the mother, has an important role in helping her child at school. She always provides necessary clarifications, support in difficult situations and is always acting as an intermediator with the care staff. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo compreender o percurso de escolarização de um aluno com Síndrome de Tourette, estudante de uma classe regular do ensino público. Procurou compreender as dificuldades por ele experimentadas, assim como aquelas provocadas por seus comportamentos, focalizando as possibilidades de expressão de preconceito e estigmatização presentes no ambiente escolar. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida no enfoque qualitativo e a opção metodológica adotada foi o estudo de caso, sendo que o aluno, seus familiares e profissionais da equipe escolar e de atendimento foram entrevistados. Os dados obtidos através dessas entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo, resultando em treze categorias. Sinalizam que este aluno enfrenta dificuldades nas relações sociais, já tendo sido incompreendido até no ambiente familiar, permanecendo alvo de atitudes preconceituosas por parte de seus colegas e, eventualmente, até de professores. A equipe escolar busca favorecer sua inclusão, adotando alguns recursos simples, coerentes aos sugeridos na literatura especializada. Foi observada uma tendência do aluno a identificar-se e a servir de apoio a outras crianças com necessidades educacionais especiais. A família, particularmente a mãe, desempenha um papel fundamental no acolhimento do jovem na escola, fornecendo esclarecimentos constantes, suporte às situações de crise e promovendo o intercâmbio entre a equipe de atendimento.

The aim of this study was to determine executive function outcomes after an equi-therapy intervention in a group of Tourette syndrome children. Equi-therapy is a new form of therapeutic horse riding, which is related to the stimulation of the vestibular system through sensory integration in the brain. For this study a non-equivalent control group design was implemented. The study consisted of 8 Tourette syndrome children aged between 9 and 15, who were referred after a definite Tourette syndrome diagnosis from various neurologists and paediatricians. Both groups were evaluated on a battery of 6 neuropsychological tests measuring various aspects of executive function before and after receiving the therapeutic horse riding intervention. The tests used were the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Stroop Colour Word Test, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, the Trail Making Test A and B, the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Qualitative inputs were also included in the study. These consisted of behavioural checklists completed by the participants’ parents, the evaluation of the participants’ copy drawings as ’frontal’ or ’normal’ obtained from the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test, and results of tests that were administered by an occupational therapist as part of the required evaluation for the therapeutic horse riding (equi-therapy) itself. Results of the neuropsychological tests indicated significant differences for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Colour Word Test and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, indicating improvements in selective attention, cognitive flexibility, visualspatial constructional ability, visuomotor integration, visual memory and organisational strategies. The qualitative results indicted improvements in emotional and behavioural aspects. Executive abilities are a very complex system and evaluation should always include robust and sensitive neuropsychological tests. It seems as if Tourette syndrome could be directly related to executive dysfunction, but not in a simple manner as aspects may vary due to other more complex factors that may contribute to these dysfunctions. However, for equi-therapy as an alternative form of therapy, the opportunity should not be lost to establish its efficacy because of the possible beneficial outcome. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

This study aimed to characterize and assess the subjective impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on symptom severity and psychosocial experiences of youth with chronic tic disorders (CTD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and co-occurring tic and OCD (Tics+OCD) through the use of Likert scales and validated measures. Children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 and their parents were asked to complete an online survey from July 2020 to April 2021. Overall, youth in the study reported negative pandemic-related impact on several domains, particularly after-school activities, relationships with friends, and family and community gatherings. Though limited by the small sample size of the group, youth with OCD appeared to report more negative impact compared to the other diagnostic subgroups. The median screen use for youth in this study was 3-8 hours a day; youth who reported >8 hours of screen time per day on weekends trended towards a 13x greater odds of depression compared to those with <8 hours per day although not statistically significant. If future public health emergencies were to ensue, supports aimed at helping these particularly vulnerable youth navigate the impact of those restrictions would be welcome and important to their mental health and general well-being.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / Tourettesindroom is 'n lewenslange versteuring wat gekenmerk word deur motoriese en vokale trekkings saam met moontlik ook komorbiede simptome soos aandagtekort-hiperaktiwiteitsversteuring, obsessief-kompulsiewe versteuring, aggressie en depressie. Die sindroom kom in hoe mate in Suid-Afrika voor en die pastor kan dus heel moontlik daarmee te doen kry. Die beste behandeling vir die sindroom is medikasie saam met gedrags- en gesinsterapie toegedien deur 'n multidissiplinere span. Die pastor het 'n rol om te vervul in hierdie span probleme het aangesien persone met Tourettesindroom dikwels in hulle verhoudings met God, hulleself en ander mense. Vir effektiewe pastorale berading aan sodanige persone, moet die pastor deeglike kennis he van die sindroom en die simptome daarvan, asook van sy of haar invalshoek as pastor. 'n Moontlike kernmoment van die sindroom wat deur die pastor aangespreek kan word, is die verlies aan beheer wat deur dje lyer ervaar word. Die sindroom kan as 'n verskoning gedrag en gebruik word vir negatiewe en onverantwoordelike die pastor sal die lyer dus moontlik eties moet konfronteer op 'n medemenslike wyse. / Tourette Syndrome is a lifelong disorder. Symptoms are motoric and vocalic tics with possible comorbid symptoms such as attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. It is frequent among South Africans and the pastor will probably be confronted with persons struggling with the syndrome. The best therapy for Tourette Syndrome is medication in conjunction with behaviour and family therapy administered by a multi-disciplinary team. Persons with Tourette Syndrome have problems maintaining relationships with God, themselves and others. The pastor therefore has a definite role to play in the team. Knowledge of the syndrome and its symptoms, and of pastoral care are essential for succesful pastoral counseling. A possible central theme of the syndrome is the loss of control experienced by the person with the syndrome. The syndrome can become an excuse for negative and irresponsible behaviour and ethical confrontation may be necessary. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Praktiese Teologie)

The research, on which this account is based, took place within the context of Blooming Acres, my home, and the learning community that I co-founded with my wife Sherri-Ann. In the first chapters, I tell the story of how I came to home-educate learners with complex special needs at my farm north of Toronto, Canada. I describe the neurological disorders that the children in my care are diagnosed with and map out the main literature that guides how I think about and practice education. The aim of this section is to paint a picture of the context in which the research takes place and describe my role in this community. The second section consists of my research with two of the children who lived and learned at Blooming Acres. This includes their stories as told by them, their parent(s), and the educators at Blooming Acres. As I juxtaposed the life experiences of these learners with each other, and wove together aspects of these stories, significant themes emerged relating to their academic and medical histories, as well as their social, extracurricular, and family life, and finally, their experience at Blooming Acres. I employed a life history methodology; one that honours the meaning and knowledge that exists in the storied lives of individuals. As I applied this methodology and engaged in the storied lives of these learners I learned more about what it is like to live and learn with neurological disorders. Four major themes emerged. The first, Pathology for Support / Support for Pathology, relates to learning issues, referral, assessment, diagnosis, medications and “school battles”. Second, Parent Stress includes behavioural issues, judgment, stressful calls from teachers and principals and school failure. Third, Oasis Teachers / Mentors is an expression of care, support, social competence, self-esteem and relationships. Finally, Strengths and Coping is a culmination of issues such as advocacy for support, strategies for success, identifying and coping with stress, understanding diagnosis and becoming well. These emergent themes are articulated within the context of neurology and school failure (risk) and the context of transformation and getting well (resilience). This work contributes to parenting, education, social work, disabilities, medical and risk / resiliency literature.

Nous proposons un cadre statistique pour analyser les anomalies morphologiques et organisationnelles altérant l'anatomie des circuits neuronaux chez les patients atteints du syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette. Les composants de chaque circuit (matière grise et blanche) sont représentés comme des maillages 3D et intégrés dans un seul complexe. Cela permet d'étudier leur organisation et surtout la connectivité structurelle. La méthode proposée est basée sur une approche statistique appelée construction d'atlas qui résulte en un template, capturant les invariants de la population, et en déformations template-vers-sujets, décrivant la variabilité morphologique. Premièrement, nous intégrons la construction d'atlas dans un cadre bayésien qui permet d'estimer automatiquement des paramètres autrement fixés. Deuxièmement, nous réduisons les ressources de calcul nécessaires au traitement de faisceaux de fibres en définissant un schéma d'approximation basée sur un nouveau modèle appelé courants pondérés. Troisièmement, nous décrivons un nouveau modèle de déformation pour la construction d'atlas qui permet de capturer les variations morphologiques et organisationnelles. On montre l'efficacité de la méthode par comparaison de deux groupes de 44 patients et 22 témoins. Les résultats soulignent des anomalies sur la forme des structures de la matière grise et sur la connectivité structurelle. / We propose a statistical framework to analyse morphological and organisational anomalies altering the anatomy of neural circuits in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. The components of each circuit, from both white and grey matter, are represented as 3D meshes and integrated in a single shape complex. This allows to study their organisation and in particular the structural connectivity. The proposed methodology is based on a statistical approach called atlas construction which results in a template complex, capturing the invariants of the population and in template-to-subject deformations, describing the morphological variability. First, we embed the atlas construction in a Bayesian framework which allows to automatically estimate important parameters otherwise fixed by the user. Second, we reduce the important computational resources required to process fiber bundles by defining an approximation scheme based on a new computational model called weighted currents. Third, we describe a new deformation scheme for the atlas construction which permits to model variations in structural connectivity and at the same time to capture global anatomical changes. We show the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing two groups of 44 patients and 22 controls respectively. Results highlight anomalies about both the shape of grey matter structures and structural connectivity.

The research, on which this account is based, took place within the context of Blooming Acres, my home, and the learning community that I co-founded with my wife Sherri-Ann. In the first chapters, I tell the story of how I came to home-educate learners with complex special needs at my farm north of Toronto, Canada. I describe the neurological disorders that the children in my care are diagnosed with and map out the main literature that guides how I think about and practice education. The aim of this section is to paint a picture of the context in which the research takes place and describe my role in this community. The second section consists of my research with two of the children who lived and learned at Blooming Acres. This includes their stories as told by them, their parent(s), and the educators at Blooming Acres. As I juxtaposed the life experiences of these learners with each other, and wove together aspects of these stories, significant themes emerged relating to their academic and medical histories, as well as their social, extracurricular, and family life, and finally, their experience at Blooming Acres. I employed a life history methodology; one that honours the meaning and knowledge that exists in the storied lives of individuals. As I applied this methodology and engaged in the storied lives of these learners I learned more about what it is like to live and learn with neurological disorders. Four major themes emerged. The first, Pathology for Support / Support for Pathology, relates to learning issues, referral, assessment, diagnosis, medications and “school battles”. Second, Parent Stress includes behavioural issues, judgment, stressful calls from teachers and principals and school failure. Third, Oasis Teachers / Mentors is an expression of care, support, social competence, self-esteem and relationships. Finally, Strengths and Coping is a culmination of issues such as advocacy for support, strategies for success, identifying and coping with stress, understanding diagnosis and becoming well. These emergent themes are articulated within the context of neurology and school failure (risk) and the context of transformation and getting well (resilience). This work contributes to parenting, education, social work, disabilities, medical and risk / resiliency literature.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / Tourettesindroom is 'n lewenslange versteuring wat gekenmerk word deur motoriese en vokale trekkings saam met moontlik ook komorbiede simptome soos aandagtekort-hiperaktiwiteitsversteuring, obsessief-kompulsiewe versteuring, aggressie en depressie. Die sindroom kom in hoe mate in Suid-Afrika voor en die pastor kan dus heel moontlik daarmee te doen kry. Die beste behandeling vir die sindroom is medikasie saam met gedrags- en gesinsterapie toegedien deur 'n multidissiplinere span. Die pastor het 'n rol om te vervul in hierdie span probleme het aangesien persone met Tourettesindroom dikwels in hulle verhoudings met God, hulleself en ander mense. Vir effektiewe pastorale berading aan sodanige persone, moet die pastor deeglike kennis he van die sindroom en die simptome daarvan, asook van sy of haar invalshoek as pastor. 'n Moontlike kernmoment van die sindroom wat deur die pastor aangespreek kan word, is die verlies aan beheer wat deur dje lyer ervaar word. Die sindroom kan as 'n verskoning gedrag en gebruik word vir negatiewe en onverantwoordelike die pastor sal die lyer dus moontlik eties moet konfronteer op 'n medemenslike wyse. / Tourette Syndrome is a lifelong disorder. Symptoms are motoric and vocalic tics with possible comorbid symptoms such as attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. It is frequent among South Africans and the pastor will probably be confronted with persons struggling with the syndrome. The best therapy for Tourette Syndrome is medication in conjunction with behaviour and family therapy administered by a multi-disciplinary team. Persons with Tourette Syndrome have problems maintaining relationships with God, themselves and others. The pastor therefore has a definite role to play in the team. Knowledge of the syndrome and its symptoms, and of pastoral care are essential for succesful pastoral counseling. A possible central theme of the syndrome is the loss of control experienced by the person with the syndrome. The syndrome can become an excuse for negative and irresponsible behaviour and ethical confrontation may be necessary. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Praktiese Teologie)