Investigating the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on Italian children and adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental disorders: a cross-sectional study.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the impact of social distancing and lifestyle changes that occurred during Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown on children and adolescents with and without Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs). An online questionnaire was administered in order to investigate the effects of NDD condition, socio-demographic status, familiar/home environment and COVID-19 exposure on their lives during a two months period of social isolation. We used logistic regression, focusing on five endpoints (remote learning, lifestyle, stress/anxiety, sociality, scolding) to define the extent of these effects. Most questions were paired up to parents and children, to verify the occurrence of agreement. 8305 questionnaires were analyzed, 1362 of which completed by NDDs and 6943 by controls. Results showed that the presence of a NDD, compared to controls, had a significant impact on: Remote Learning (i.e. subjects with NDDs experienced more difficulties in attending online classes and studying), Sociality (i.e. subjects with NDDs missed their schoolmates less), Scolding (i.e. subjects with NDDs were scolded more often) and Anxiety (i.e. subjects with NDDs were perceived by their parents as more anxious). Substantial agreement between parents and children arose from questions concerning Remote learning, Lifestyle and Scolding. The current study actually points out that having a NDD gives account for a stronger influence on school performance and on behavioral and psychological aspects, during a two months lockdown. Such results may provide useful information to governments and school authorities on how carrying through supportive strategies for youth affected by NDDs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02321-2.

University inclusion at the time of COVID-19: a pilot study

In line with the pedagogical movement called Student Voice (Cook-Sather, 2014), a research group in the Pedagogy and Special Didactics field, from the University of Macerata, has carried out a pilot study with University students with disabilities and with Specific Learning Disorders (Giaconi, Capellini, 2015;Del Bianco, 2019). Specifically, the study will deepen how the Voices of all students can be recorded even during an emergency period and how students' feedback can be the first step to start new cooperation in the implementation of educational paths. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

SARS-COVID-19 pandemia: Neuropsychological and educational consequences in developmental age

The tension caused by the SARS-COVID pandemia has led to severe emotional stress in children, especially in pre-adolescent age. The study investigates whether there are emotional-behavioral repercussions due to the pandemia in the sample of 11-year-old children analyzed and it assesses how these have affected their mental health. Our study showed that the pupils, both male and female, had quite significant levels of anxiety on the internalizing scale, while on the externalizing scale it was the male sample who obtained a higher score. These elements were globally perceived by the teachers in the class group, but hardly identified in the individual pupils. It would therefore be useful to start psychological activities and paths capable of enhancing the experience of each subject involved in the world of education and schools, in particular for teachers and their pupils. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) La tensione causata dalla pandemia da SARS-COVID ha portato nei bambini, soprattutto in eta preadolescenziale, un forte stress emotivo. Lo studio indaga se nel campione di bambini di 11 anni analizzato sono presenti ripercussioni emotivo-comportamentali dovute alla pandemia e valuta come queste abbiano inciso sulla loro salute mentale. Dal nostro studio e emerso che gli alunni, sia maschi che femmine, presentavano livelli d'ansia nella scala internalizzante alquanto significativi, mentre nella scala esternalizzante era il campione maschile a ottenere un punteggio maggiore. Tali elementi sono stati globalmente percepiti dagli insegnanti nel gruppo classe, ma difficilmente identificati nei singoli alunni. Sarebbe utile, percio, avviare attivita e percorsi psicologici in grado di valorizzare l'esperienza di ogni soggetto coinvolto nel mondo educativo e scolastico, in particolare per gli insegnanti e i loro alunni. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Specific Learning Disorders and Special Educational Needs during COVID-19 Pandemic; Pilot Survey Study Performed in Local District Schools in Italy.

Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are a group of heterogeneous health deficits frequently diagnosed in early childhood that cause difficulties in general intellectual functioning. In the last decades in Italy new laws have been developed to give practical guidelines for the best education plans for children with SLD. BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of the educational treatment on SLD in Primary and Secondary schools in the Italian city of Barletta. We acquired valuable data to evaluate Special Education Needs during COVID-19. METHODS: Our study was conducted from April to June 2021, during the second "lockdown" period in Italy. A fact-finding survey was conducted to schools with a questionnaire provided to the teachers to acquire data on the SEN applied in the management of distance learning for children. RESULTS: The study involved 15 male and 6 female pupils with SLD in Primary Schools and 18 male and 6 female in Secondary Schools. The schools participating in the study organized distance learning programs with a support teacher with a 1:1 ratio. Data showed that all children with SLD needed a support teacher. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this pilot study suggest that distance learning programs are able to achieve adequate educational goals, despite the difficulties of the lockdown period.

Telerehabilitation and Wellbeing Experience in Children with Special Needs during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic represented a golden opportunity to implement telerehabilitation for clinical groups of children. The present study aims to show the impact that telerehabilitation had on the experience of well-being of children with special needs being treated at the Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute 'C. Besta' in Milan (Specific Learning Disorders and Cerebral Palsy diagnosis); it aims to do so by comparing it with experiences of those who did not undertake telerehabilitation despite the diagnosis during the pandemic, and with typically developing children. Results show that the three groups differed in the Support, Respect and Learning dimensions of well-being experience. Post hoc comparisons revealed that children with Specific Learning Disorders and Cerebral Palsy scored higher than normotypical children in Support and in Respect scales. Furthermore, children who experienced telerehabilitation showed the highest scores on the Learning scale in comparison with the other two groups. These results support the importance of reorganizing care and assistance by integrating telemedicine, which seems to have fostered a positive experience of well-being in people with special needs, particularly in the perception of a supportive environment that respects psychological needs.