Diversas anomalías estructurales y funcionales del sistema nervioso central pueden originar trastornos del neurodesarrollo. Las manifestaciones cognitivas y conductuales de estos trastornos se hacen evidentes, cuando, de forma congruente con la edad y las exigencias del medio, se espera que se hayan desarrollado ciertas habilidades, éstas no aparecen o lo hacen de forma inapropiada. Dentro de esta categoría se encuentran: discapacidad intelectual, trastorno de la comunicación, trastorno del espectro autista, trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad, trastorno específico del aprendizaje y el trastorno de la coordinación motora. Esta obra es una guía actualizada para estudiantes y profesionistas interesados en el enfoque neuropsicológico de dichos trastornos, brinda información sobre sus características clínicas, correlatos anatómico-funcionales, teorías e hipótesis explicativas y estrategias de evaluación e intervención.
Diversidade(S). Discapacidad, altas capacidades intelectuales y trastornos del espectro autista se estructura en tres partes. En primer lugar, se presenta la discapacidad intelectual desde el modelo social. En segundo lugar, se estudian los trastornos del espectro autista desde una visión amplia e interdisciplinaria hasta los aportes específicos de Fernand Deligny en Francia y el movimiento de la neurodiversidad en Inglaterra. En tercer lugar, se indican los elementos esenciales para el trabajo educativo con niños con altas capacidades intelectuales en el aula. El libro recoge los enfoques teóricos, modelos epistemológicos, técnicas de acompañamiento socioeducativo, instrumentos de detección, evaluación y orientaciones generales de trabajo en contextos educativos para los tres casos citados. Se plantea una aproximación teórico-práctica que ofrece criterios de actuación a los profesionales de la educación. Por otro lado, se interroga sobre algunos debates y controversias presentes en los casos estudiados ofreciendo, en su conjunto, un contenido extenso y de gran aplicación práctica.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is portrayed as cognitive and social disorders. Undoubtedly, impairments in communication and restricted-repetitive behaviors that now define the disorders have a profound impact on social interactions. But can we go beyond the descriptive, observational nature of this definition and objectively measure that amalgamate of motions and sensations that we call behavior? In this Research Topic we bring movement and its sensation to the forefront of autism research, diagnosis, and treatment. We gather researchers across disciplines with the unifying goal of recognizing movement and sensory disturbances as core symptoms of the disorder. We also hear confirmation from the perspective of autism self-advocates and parents. Those important sources of evidence along with the research presented in this topic demonstrate without a doubt that profound movement and sensory differences do exist in ASD and that they are quantifiable. The work presented in this Research Topic shows us that quantifiable differences in movements have a better chance than current observational techniques to help us uncover subtle solutions that the nervous system with autism has already spontaneously self-discovered and utilized in daily living. Where the naked eye would miss the unique subtleties that help each individual cope, instrumentation and fine kinematic analyses of motions help us uncover inherent capacities and predispositions of the person with autism. The work presented in this topic helps us better articulate through the voices of parents and self-advocates those sensory motor differences that current inventories could not possibly uncover. These differences are seldom perceived as they take place at timescales and frequencies that fall largely beneath our conscious awareness. To the person in the spectrum living with this disorder and to the caregiver creating accommodations to help the affected loved one, these subtleties are very familiar though. Indeed they are often used in clever ways to facilitate daily routines. We have waited much too long in science to listen to the very people that we are trying to define, understand and help. Being autism a social problem by definition, it is remarkable that not a single diagnosis inventory measures the dyadic social interaction that takes place between the examiner and the examinees. Indeed we have conceived the autistic person within a social context where we are incapable –by definition– of accepting those differences. The burden is rather placed on the affected person to whom much too often we refer to in the third person as “non-verbal, without intentionality, without empathy or emotions, without a theory of mind”, among other purely psychological guesses. It is then too easy and shockingly allowed to “reshape” that person, to mold that person to better conform to our social expectations and to extinguish “behaviors” that are socially unacceptable, even through the use of aversive punishing reinforcement techniques if need be. And yet none of those techniques have had a single shred of objective scientific evidence of their effectiveness. We have not objectively measured once, nor have we physiologically characterized once any of those perceived features that we so often use to observationally define what we may think the autistic phenotype may be. We have not properly quantified, beyond paper-and-pencil methods, the effectiveness of interventions in autism. Let us not forget when we do our science, that we are all part of the broad human spectrum.
Diagnosis, Management and Modeling of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Neuroscience of Development is a comprehensive reference on the diagnosis and management of neurodevelopment and associated disorders. The book discusses the mechanisms underlying neurological development and provides readers with a detailed introduction to the neural connections and complexities in biological circuitries, as well as the interactions between genetics, epigenetics and other micro-environmental processes. In addition, the book also examines the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions of development-related conditions. - Provides the most comprehensive coverage of the broad range of topics relating to the neuroscience of aging - Features sections on the genetics that influences aging and diseases of aging - Contains an abstract, key facts, a mini dictionary of terms, and summary points in each chapter - Focuses on neurological diseases and conditions linked to aging, environmental factors and clinical recommendations - Includes more than 500 illustrations and tables
The classic text--now updated with a new interpretive approach tothe WAIS?-III Assessing Adolescent and Adult Intelligence, the classic text fromAlan Kaufman and Elizabeth Lichtenberger, has consistently providedthe most comprehensive source of information on cognitiveassessment of adults and adolescents. The newly updated ThirdEdition provides important enhancements and additions thathighlight the latest research and interpretive methods for theWAIS?-III. Augmenting the traditional "sequential" and "simultaneous"WAIS?-III interpretive methods, the authors present a new approachderived from Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory. This approachcombines normative assessment (performance relative to age peers)with ipsative assessment (performance relative to the person's ownmean level). Following Flanagan and Kaufman's work to develop asimilar CHC approach for the WISC?-IV, Kaufman and Lichtenbergerhave applied this system to the WAIS?-III profile of scores alongwith integrating recent WAIS?-III literature. Four appendices present the new method in depth. In addition to adetailed description, the authors provide a blank interpretiveworksheet to help examiners make the calculations and decisionsneeded for applying the additional steps of the new system, andnorms tables for the new WAIS?-III subtest combinations added inthis approach. Assessing Adolescent and Adult Intelligence remains the premierresource for the field, covering not only the WAIS?-III but alsothe WJ III?, the KAIT, and several brief measures of intelligence,as well as laying out a relevant, up-to-date discussion of thediscipline. The new, theory-based interpretive approach for theWAIS?-III makes this a vital resource for practicing psychologists,as well as a comprehensive text for graduate students.
