Tuen tarjonnan kestävät käytännöt perusopetuksen muuttuneessa oppimisympäristössä : selviytymisestä resilienssiin kevään 2020 poikkeusoloissa
Kevään 2020 poikkeusolot ja etäkoulu toivat suuria muutoksia opetukseen ja sen tukeen. ja tuen tarjontaan suomalaisissa kouluissa. Osalle tehostettua ja erityistä tukea tarvitsevista lapsista etätyöskentely oli vaikeaa, ja osalla tuen tarpeet kasvoivat. Kouluilla kehitettiin nopeasti erilaisia tukemisen malleja. Tässä artikkelissa kuvaamme poikkeusolojen tehostettuun ja erityiseen tukeen tuomaa muutosta sekä muutokseen sopeutumista resilienssin kehittymisenä. Artikkelissa esiteltävä tutkimus perustuu Yhteistyöllä hyvinvointia kouluyhteisöön -tutkimus- ja kehittämishankkeessa koulujen henkilökunnalta kerättyyn kyselyaineistoon ja sitä täydentävään haastatteluun yhden koulun käytänteistä. Kys…
Counting and RAN: Predictors of arithmetic calculation and reading fluency.
This study examined whether counting and rapid automatized naming (RAN) could operate as significant predictors of both later arithmetic calculation and reading fluency. The authors also took an important step to clarify the cognitive mechanisms underlying these predictive relationships by controlling for the effect of phonological awareness and verbal short-term memory. Due to rather strong covariance between verbal short-term memory and phonological awareness, short-term memory could be controlled only partially. Participants, 200 children from a longitudinal study, were followed from age 5 to 10 years. Structural equation modeling showed counting to be a strong predictor, not only of lat…
Practice effects on visuomotor and problem-solving tests by children.
Practice effects on a visuomotor test (the Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration), a timed visual discrimination test (the Underlining Test), and two problem-solving tests (the Porteus Mazes Test and the Tower of Hanoi Test) were analyzed. Children of two age groups ( Ms: 7.7 and 11.6 yr.) were chosen to study the effect of age on practice effects. The tests were repeated nine times with test-retest intervals of 2 mo. The Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration showed no practice effects, while the Porteus Mazes Test, the Underlining Test, and the Tower of Hanoi Test showed significant practice effects. Practice effects were larger for the older age group on all the tests, ex…
Longitudinal and situational associations between math anxiety and performance among early adolescents
Studies have found math anxiety and achievement to be related from the beginning of formal schooling, but the knowledge regarding the direction of the relationship is vague. The purpose of the present study was to study this relationship. We investigated math anxiety from two points of view: trait and state anxiety. In the first substudy, we investigated the longitudinal relationship between math anxiety and performance from sixth to seventh grade (n = 848) with cross-lagged modeling. In the second substudy, we investigated the situational relationship of anxiety and performance by giving the participants (n = 149) challenging and nonchallenging math tasks adapted to their skill level, and …
School-based group intervention in attention and executive functions: Intervention response and moderators
ObjectiveThis study investigated the effects of a school-based skill-training intervention in attention control and executive functions for pupils with hyperactivity-impulsivity (H-I) and cognitive control (CC) deficits. The main aim was to examine whether the intervention differently influenced H-I and CC, and whether cognitive abilities or conduct problems moderated response to the intervention.MethodElementary school pupils from 41 schools participated the study and were divided into an intervention group (n = 71) and a waitlist control group (n = 77). Intervention outcomes were assessed with an inventory assessing executive function difficulties (including H-I and CC) completed by class…
A Register Study Suggesting Homotypic and Heterotypic Comorbidity Among Individuals With Learning Disabilities
The present study examined whether learning disabilities (LD) in reading and/or math (i.e., reading disability [RD], math disability [MD], and RD+MD) co-occur with other diagnoses. The data comprised a clinical sample (n= 430) with LD identified in childhood and a sample of matched controls (n= 2,140). Their medical diagnoses (according to the International Classification of Diseases nosology) until adulthood (20–39 years) were analyzed. The co-occurrence of LD with neurodevelopmental disorders was considered a homotypic comorbidity, and co-occurrence with disorders or diseases from the other diagnostic categories (i.e., mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the nervous system, injur…
Continuity From Prelinguistic Communication to Later Language Ability: A Follow-Up Study From Infancy to Early School Age.
Purpose This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age ( n = 203–322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 ( n = 104), 3;0 ( n = 112), 4;7 ( n = 253), 5;3 ( n = 102), and 7;9 ( n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic …
Interpersonal work resources and school personnel well-being before and after lockdown during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
This two-wave mixed-methods study used the job demands and resources model to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on school personnel's work well-being (including burnout, work engagement, and sense of belonging) in spring 2020 in Finland in particular with respect to collegial relationships (respectful engagement) and leadership support. A pre-lockdown survey was administered prior to the pandemic (in January–February, n = 437) and a post-lockdown survey was administered after the two-month lockdown (at the end of May, n = 270). At post-lockdown, the school personnel reported, on average, more exhaustion, less work engagement (measured as enthusiasm and energy at work), and a decr…
Development of math anxiety and its longitudinal relationships with arithmetic achievement among primary school children
Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the development of two separable aspects of math anxiety, anxiety about math-related situations and anxiety about failure in math, and their cross-lagged relationship with arithmetic achievement. The mean level of anxiety about math-related situations decreased among second, third, and fourth graders, and the level of anxiety about failure in math declined among third, fourth, and fifth graders. The rank-order of individuals was more stable in arithmetic achievement than in either aspect of math anxiety. Arithmetic achievement predicted later anxiety about failure in math, but neither aspect of math anxiety predicted later achievement. The result…
Repeated assessment of the Tower of Hanoi test: reliability and age effects.
The purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of repeating an executive function test. Three versions of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test were repeated three times each, with test-retest intervals of 2 months. Two groups of children participated in the research (7.7 and 11.6 years, n = 22 and n = 28). Repeating the assessment improved the performance and decreased the total performance time in both of the groups. The older participants improved their performance faster than the younger ones. The reliability of all the scores, besides the error scores, seemed to be satisfactory after the first few assessments. The stability of the scores was maintained through all the assessments. Th…
Specificity of Reading Self-Efficacy Among Primary School Children
We investigated the specificity of reading self-efficacy among second- to fifth-grade children in Finland (N = 1,327). Bandura (1997 Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman. [Google Scholar] ) theorized that efficacy beliefs can be assessed at different levels of specificity; however, empirical support for this view is scarce among young children. Efficacy beliefs targeting reading-related activities were assessed at three specificity levels (general, intermediate, and specific). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that these specificity levels are separable, but correlated, and the structure was invariant across gender and grade level. Self-effic…
Adolescents' school-related self-concept mediates motor skills and psychosocial well-being.
Background The health benefits of exercise participation and physical activity for mental health and psychosocial well-being (PSWB) have been shown in several studies. However, one important background factor, that is, motor skills (MSs), has largely been ignored. In addition, most of the existing research focuses on poor MSs, that is, poor MSs are often connected to poorer PSWB. The mechanism linking MSs and PSWB is unclear. However, a preliminary suggestion has been made that self-worth or self-perceptions might mediate the association between MSs and PSWB. Aim We investigated whether the self-concepts (SCs) of school-related physical education (SCPE), reading (SCR), and mathematics (SCM)…
Effects of Multidomain Risk Accumulation on Cognitive, Academic, and Behavioural Outcomes
This longitudinal study examined the predictive associations between cumulative multidomain risk factors and cognitive (IQ), academic (reading fluency), and social adaptive outcomes at 8 to 9 years among 190 children with or without familial risk for dyslexia. Other risk factors included parental and neurocognitive risks assessed when the children were 1 to 6 years of age. Risks accumulated more among children with familial risk for dyslexia than among children without familial risk. A higher number of risks was associated with poorer performance in all outcome measures as postulated by the cumulative risk model. However, when the effects of individual risk variables were controlled for at …
Validity of the Play Assessment for Group Settings: An evaluation of differential item functioning between children with specific language impairment and typically developing peers
Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity evidence based on internal structure of the Play Assessment for Group Settings (PAGS). Methods: The study was conducted in day care centres by comparing observations of the free play performance of two groups of children: those with specific language impairments (SLIs) (n = 55) and those with typical language development (n = 55). The participating children were 3 to 6.5 years of age. Data were subjected to many-faceted Rasch analyses and differential item functioning analysis was conducted to identify possible group-specific items in the PAGS. The effect of differentially functioning items on mean play performance measurements b…
Trajectories of change in reading self-efficacy: A longitudinal analysis of self-efficacy and its sources
The beliefs children hold about their capabilities as readers are known to influence their reading achievement. The aim of this study was to extend previous work by examining trajectories of change in reading self-efficacy among primary school students (N = 1327) and the relations between the trajectories of self-efficacy and their hypothesized sources over 11 months. Using growth mixture modeling, we identified four trajectories of change in reading self-efficacy, involving increasing, stable, and declining trends. These trajectories of change in reading self-efficacy were associated with students’ varying experiences with the four sources of self-efficacy over time. Higher levels of maste…
Suggestions for revised scoring of the Tower of Hanoi test
Detailed time and error analyses of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test was performed using four repeated assessments of eight children (ages 9-12 years), who had perceptual and problem solving deficits. The time before each move was measured. In addition to the traditionally counted time scores, new, relative time scores were computed in order to separate the planning time from the general reaction speed. New error scores were defined and sum scores of serious errors (perserative moves, illegal moves, and wrong results) and mild errors (self-corrected moves, almost performed moves, and interrupted trials) were computed. The relative planning time correlated positively with the achieved score, a…
Cognitive and non-cognitive factors in educational and occupational outcomes-Specific to reading disability?
Low education and unemployment are common adult-age outcomes associated with childhood RD (c-RD). However, adult-age cognitive and non-cognitive factors associated with different outcomes remain unknown. We studied whether these outcomes are equally common among individuals with c-RD and controls and whether these outcomes are related to adult-age literacy skills or cognitive and non-cognitive factors or their interaction with c-RD. We examined adult participants with c-RD (n = 48) and their matched controls (n = 37). Low education was more common among c-RD than the controls, whereas long-term unemployment was equally common in both groups. Moreover, adult-age literacy skills, cognitive sk…
Associations Between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills
Purpose In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Method Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires. Results Children with delay in toddler-age language development de…
Developmental trajectories of early communication skills.
Purpose This study focused on developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills and their connections to later parent-reported language difficulties. Method The participants represent a subset of a community-based sample of 508 children. Data include parent reports of prelinguistic communication skills at 12, 15, 18, and 21 months and language difficulties at age 4;7 (years;months). The authors used latent profile analysis to identify groups of children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills ( n = 271). The relations among these groups and follow-up data of parent-reported concerns of language development ( n = 187), as well as the ro…
Clinical significance of test refusal among young children.
The present study describes the incidence of test refusal at neuropsychological assessment, investigates its correlates, and its stability. The participants were 124 children aged 3.5 years whose development has been followed from birth in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD). The frequency of test refusal on the Finnish version of the NEPSY was analyzed with respect to the children's concurrent and earlier cognitive and language skills, assessed using tests and parental ratings. Refusal during test-taking was found to be relatively common at this age, and high frequency of refusal at an earlier age was associated with similar tendency at a later age. High test refusal was ass…
Oppimisvaikeudet eivät ole lastentauteja
Early language and behavioral regulation skills as predictors of social outcomes.
Purpose In the present study, the authors examined the prospective associations among early language skills, behavioral regulation skills, and 2 aspects of school-age social functioning (adaptability and social skills). Method The study sample consisted of children with and without a familial risk for dyslexia. The authors analyzed the relations among children’s language (at age 2;6 [years;months] and age 5;0), behavioral regulation skills (at age 5;0), and social functioning (at age 8;0) using structural equation modeling. Subgroups of children with respect to language and behavioral regulation skills (at age 5;0) were identified through the use of mixture modeling. Results Among at-risk …
Self-regulatory efficacy and sources of efficacy in elementary school pupils: Self-regulatory experiences in a population sample and pupils with attention and executive function difficulties
In this study, we examined self-regulatory efficacy and sources of self-efficacy (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and physiological/emotional states) and the relationships between self-efficacy and its sources among elementary school pupils. Two groups were compared: a population sample (PS, N = 1284) and pupils with difficulties in attention and executive functions (AED, N = 61). Data gathered from self-report questionnaires indicated that pupils in the PS group had more positive efficacy beliefs and mastery experiences and fewer negative physiological/emotional states than the AED group. Analyses showed strong connections between sources and self-regulatory e…
Usherin oireyhtymää sairastavien lasten psykososiaalinen hyvinvointi ja perheiden saama tuki
Millainen johtaminen tuki peruskoulujen henkilöstön työhyvinvointia covid-19-pandemiasta johtuneen etäkoulun aikana?
Henkilökunnan hyvinvointi on yhteydessä johtamiseen, mutta koulukontekstissa johtajuuden merkitystä henkilökunnan hyvinvoinnille (ja sitä kautta oppilaiden hyvinvoinnille) tunnetaan heikosti. Tässä tutkimuksessa keskitymme kolmeen johtajuusominaisuuteen, jotka kirjallisuuden perusteella näyttäytyvät potentiaalisina hyvinvointijohtamisen tekijöinä koulukontekstissa: palveleva johtaminen, henkilöstön hyvinvoinnista huolehtiminen ja jaettu vastuu. Tutkimme, ovatko nämä tammi-helmikuussa 2020 (n=437, 48 koulua) ennen etäkoulua Keski-Suomen koulujen henkilökunnan arvioimat johtajuustekijät yhteydessä heti etäkoulun päättyessä toukokuussa 2020 (n=270, 27 koulua) arvioituun henkilöstön hyvinvointi…
Group-based intervention on attention and executive functions in the school context
The objective of the study was to examine the effects of a group-based behavioural, cognitive and skills training intervention (Maltti) provided in schools for elementary school pupils with attention and executive function (EF) deficits. The treatment effects were identified by comparing an intervention group (n = 46) with a waitlist control group (n = 26). Specific effects of the intervention on behavioural deficits in attention and EF in a classroom setting as well as on academic skills were examined. Our analysis indicated that significant intervention effects could be found in the behavioural manifestation of attentional and executive skills in the classroom setting among children (n = …
Reading self-efficacy and reading fluency development among primary school children: Does specificity of self-efficacy matter?
Abstract Efficacy beliefs relate to effort and persistence devoted to learning. Therefore, efficacy beliefs might be especially important in achieving skills that require persistent practice, such as fluent reading. Although reading self-efficacy has been positively linked to reading comprehension, less is known about its relationship to reading fluency . The relationship between reading self-efficacy studied at three specificity levels and reading fluency development was examined among Finnish primary school students ( N = 1327). The results showed that self-efficacy related positively to reading fluency and its development. The association was dependent on the specificity of the self-effi…
Does Childhood Reading Disability or Its Continuance Into Adulthood Underlie Problems in Adult-Age Psychosocial Well-Being? A Follow-Up Study
This follow-up study aimed at a better understanding of the associations of reading disability (RD) with adult-age psychosocial well-being. We compared adult-age psychosocial well-being in 48 individuals (20–39 years) with documented childhood RD but without comorbid disabilities to 37 matched controls. The associations of psychosocial well-being with childhood and adult-age reading fluency were studied in the RD group, controlling for IQ, gender and unemployment. Psychosocial well-being was assessed with commonly used self-report questionnaires. No group differences were found in psychosocial well-being. In the RD group, lower adult-age reading fluency was associated with symptoms of depre…
Progress through the Early Stages of Assimilation in Play Therapy with a Traumatized Six-Year-Old Girl
We applied the assimilation of problematic experiences sequence (APES) to a six-year-old girl’s processing of traumatic experiences involving violence and death in play therapy. We analyzed the post-session notes from the first 34 sessions of a much longer treatment, during which the girl repeatedly enacted a drama we called the cottage play, involving characters assumed by the child and characters assigned to the therapist. We distinguished four phases based on changes in play themes. In phase 1, the girl expressed her need for safety in response to an overwhelming internal threat (APES stage 0, warded off/dissociated). In phase 2, she worked to escape and avoid the threat, referenced in t…
Coactivation of Autonomic and Central Nervous Systems During Processing of Socially Relevant Information in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review
AbstractBody-brain interaction provides a novel approach to understand neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this systematic review, we analyse the empirical evidence regarding coexisting differences in autonomic (ANS) and central nervous system (CNS) responses to social stimuli between individuals with ASD and typically developing individuals. Moreover, we review evidence of deviations in body-brain interaction during processing of socially relevant information in ASD. We conducted systematic literature searches in PubMed, Medline, PsychInfo, PsychArticles, and Cinahl databases (until 12.1.2022). Studies were included if individuals with ASD were compared…
Associations Between Childhood Learning Disabilities and Adult-Age Mental Health Problems, Lack of Education, and Unemployment.
We studied the impact of diverse subtypes of learning disabilities (LD) on adult-age mental health, education, and employment by comparing the LD group ( n = 430) with a matched control group without a known history of LD ( n = 2,149). The clinical archived data were merged with lifelong register data on sickness allowances/disability pensions granted on the basis of psychiatric illnesses, reimbursements for psychoactive medication, having a degree after compulsory education, and having received unemployment allowances. Differences emerged between the LD and control groups in all outcomes, suggesting that a higher proportion of individuals with LD had mental health problems compared to the…
Counting and rapid naming predict the fluency of arithmetic and reading skills
Understanding of the factors that underlie the development of fluency in reading and arithmetic is limited. This longitudinal study examined whether verbal counting and rapid automatized naming (RAN) were predictors of arithmetic and reading fluency in a population-based sample and to what extent related early emerging cognitive abilities and socioeconomic background accounted for the predictive power of counting and RAN. In addition, in order to examine the uniqueness of counting as a numerical predictor of reading fluency, the influence of another early number skill—number concept—was controlled. Three hundred and seventy-eight Finnish children were followed from kindergarten to Grade 3 (…
Math anxiety and its relationship with basic arithmetic skills among primary school children
Background Children have been found to report and demonstrate math anxiety as early as the first grade. However, previous results concerning the relationship between math anxiety and performance are contradictory, with some studies establishing a correlation between them while others do not. These contradictory results might be related to varying operationalizations of math anxiety. Aims In this study, we aimed to examine the prevalence of math anxiety and its relationship with basic arithmetic skills in primary school children, with explicit focus on two aspects of math anxiety: anxiety about failure in mathematics and anxiety in math-related situations. Sample The participants comprised 1…
Cognition in Interaction : Challenges in Assessing Persons with Sensory and Multiple disabilities
This article reports a qualitative study of cognitive assessments of three teenagers with sensory and multiple disabilities, including moderate to profound developmental disability. The aim was to evaluate the possibilities for adapting standardized tests and the implementation of interactional partnership in assessment. Cognitive assessments were made with an individually-adapted psychological assessment tool, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. The assessment situations were video-recorded and analyzed based on sociocultural theories of early interaction, dynamic assessment, and the bodily-tactile modality of cognition. The results showed that the requirements for assessm…
Learning Disabilities Elevate Children’s Risk for Behavioral-Emotional Problems : Differences Between LD Types, Genders, and Contexts
Our purpose was to study the frequency of behavioral-emotional problems among children identified with a learning disability (LD). The data were obtained for 579 Finnish children (8–15 years) with reading disability (RD-only), math disability (MD-only), or both (RDMD) assessed at a specialized clinic between 1985 and 2017. We analyzed percentages of children with behavioral-emotional symptoms reaching clinical range (i.e., z score ≥1.5 SDs) and the effects of the LD type, gender, and context (home vs. school) on them. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of the severity of LD and gender on the amount of behavioral-emotional symptoms reported by teachers and parents. Alarmingly high percenta…
Children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills: language and working memory at age 5.
Purpose In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12–21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months). Results Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-u…
Validation of a New Cognitive Screening Method for Stroke Patients
Objective. Two million adults under fifty years of age have a cerebral stroke every year worldwide. Neuropsychological assessment is the best way to identify poststroke cognitive dysfunction, but it is often time-consuming and can be tiring for the patient, and hospitals vary in their availability of neuropsychological expertise. A valid and reliable cognitive screening method could be advantageous in identifying patients who need comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Our purpose in this study was to validate a newly developed cognitive screening method as an identifier of cognitive dysfunction after stroke in working-aged patients. Methods. We analyzed new cognitive screening metho…
Luetun ymmärtäminen ja strategiat
Tekstin ymmärtäminen on yksi vaativimmista toiminnoista, johon ihmismieli kykenee. Se on monitasoinen ja -vaiheinen prosessi, jossa tarvitaan useita taitoja ja tietoja: sujuvaa lukutaitoa, kielellisiä taitoja ja tietoja, taustatietoa, päättelykykyä, toiminnanohjausta sekä mielenpainamiseen ja mielestä hakemiseen liittyviä muistiprosesseja. Myös lukemisen konteksti ja tavoitteet on otettava huomioon, kun pohditaan luetun ymmärtämisen osataitoja. Lukeminen huviksi tai tiedon etsimiseksi eroavat tavoitteeltaan ja kognitiivisilta vaatimuksilta toisistaan. Myös lukijan kiinnostus ja motiivi lukemiselle tai käsitys itsestä hyvänä tai heikkona lukijana vaikuttavat ymmärtämisprosessiin ja lukijan m…
Profiles of school motivation and emotional well-being among adolescents : Associations with math and reading performance
This study examines profiles of school motivation and emotional well-being and their links to academic skills (reading and math) among adolescents (N = 1629) at the end of comprehensive school (age 15–16). Using a person-centered approach (latent profile analysis), five distinct profile groups were identified. Three of the identified groups had a flat profile in motivation and well-being but at different levels. The first group manifested high motivation and well-being (n = 178, 11%); the second group was average in both (n = 1107, 68%); and the third had low motivation and well-being (n = 121, 7%). Two groups had mixed profiles; one group manifested only low motivation (n = 140, 9%) and th…
Conceptual knowledge‐based strategy training in single‐digit calculation: a single case intervention study in a child with specific language impairment
The aim of this single‐case intervention study was to examine whether a conceptual knowledge‐based strategy training would improve the accuracy of single‐digit arithmetical calculation in a child with specific language impairment. The intervention concerned an11‐year‐old Finnish‐speaking child with specific language impairment. He was trained individually once a week for three months. On the basis of his baseline performance single‐digit arithmetical problems were divided into ‘well‐known arithmetical problems’ and ‘error‐prone arithmetical problems’. Error‐prone problems were taught in meaningful relation to well‐known problems, which he repeatedly solved correctly by using arithmetical fa…
Associations between private speech, behavioral self-regulation, and cognitive abilities
We examined the associations between 5-year-old children’s private speech, behavioural self-regulation, and cognitive abilities. Behavioural self-regulation was assessed using parental and preschool teacher questionnaires. Cognitive abilities (i.e., language, inhibition, planning and fluency, and memory) were assessed with neurocognitive tests, and the effectiveness of private speech (i.e., whether the child performs better when using speech than when not using speech) with the Hammer Task. About 43% of the children used private speech spontaneously, and about 76% performed better on the Hammer Task when they used speech. Associations between behavioural self-regulation and speech effectiv…
Returning to Work after Stroke: Associations with Cognitive Performance, Motivation, Perceived Working Ability and Barriers.
Objective: To investigate post-stroke return-to-work and its associations with cognitive performance, motivation, perceived working ability, and self-perceived barriers to returning to work.Design: Prospective cohort study of a clinical sample.Subjects and methods: Participants were 77 stroke patients younger than age 69 years. Assessment included a cognitive screening method for stroke patients (CoMet), a questionnaire regarding work-related matters, and a question regarding motivation to return to work. A predictive model of return-to-work was built, and how participants managed in their working life was examined.Results: Cognitive performance was significantly connected with returning to…