Examining Discrepancy between Performance on Traditional Measures and Parent Report Measure of Executive Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

There is a growing concern amongst the researchers regarding the ecological validity of the neuropsychological tests used to assess EF in ASD. Traditional EF tests have been criticized for not being unable to tap real-life scenarios that are relevant to and representative of everyday behavior. The present study aimed to examine any potential discrepancy between performance on traditional measures of executive function and behavioural expressions of EF in case of an individual with High Functioning Autism (HFA). The findings highlight the importance of use of ecologically valid measures to gain a more valid assessment of executive functions.

Impairments in activities of daily living in Parkinson's disease: implications for management.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with progressive impairment in motor and cognitive functioning. A review of past research shows that individuals experience not only physical discomfort brought on by the illness, but also considerable psychological distress. Increased dependency on a caregiver due to impairments in activities of daily living (e.g., walking, eating, dressing) may bring on feelings of being a burden and strain relationships. However, since PD is a chronic illness, it necessitates family caregiving throughout the life-span. This has implications for the family members who need to redefine their roles within the family to manage the circumstances brought on by the illness. Such strains may include finances, threats to employment, social isolation or health strain. Thus, it becomes imperative to provide unrelenting support to the affected family and individual, to enable them to refocus and learn to manage new illness-related, task-oriented, and affective roles. This enhances the integrity and self-esteem of the patient and helps the family's adjustment to illness of a member. This paper outlines, the role of mental health professionals in providing counseling and psychoeducational approaches to helping patients and their families.

Cognitive retraining in epilepsy.

Epilepsy is the commonest neurological disorder, so there is a need to establish more effective remedial programmes for the deficits in cognitive functioning associated with epilepsy. The present paper studies the relative change in the targeted skill areas as a consequence of cognitive retraining. For this purpose, a pre- and post-multiple baseline design was adopted with the intention of treating specific deficient skill. The measures of neuropsychological functioning adopted were a composite of tests/tasks, with specific emphasis on attention, memory and emotional status. The subject was targeted to a special neuro-rehabilitation programme comprised of cognitive retraining, supportive therapy and a deep breathing relaxation exercise. A regular home intervention programme was conducted simultaneously. Cognitive retraining included both paper and pencil tasks and real life activities. The training programme covered a 6-week period and each weekly session lasted approximately 1 hour. The results showed an overall improvement in cognitive performance across sessions, and the regular home intervention sessions were found to have enhanced the subject's performance. In conclusion, it was noted that by identifying cognitive deficits, effective training programmes can be devised that will be of substantial benefit to patients with epilepsy.

Exploring word recognition in a semi-alphabetic script: the case of Devanagari.

Unlike other writing systems that are readily classifiable as alphabetic or syllabic in their structure, the Indic Devanagari script (of which Hindi is an example) has properties of both syllabic and alphabetic writing systems. Whereas Devanagari consonants are written in a linear left-to-right order, vowel signs are positioned nonlinearly above, below, or to either side of the consonants. This fact results in certain words in Hindi for which, in a given syllable, the vowel precedes the consonant in writing but follows it in speech. The current research exploited this property of the script to examine when the disparity between spatial and temporal sequencing would incur a processing cost and the implications of the findings from naming speed, accuracy, and writing order for the level at which words in Devanagari are segmented. The results support a partly phonemic and partly syllabic level of segmentation, consistent with the structural hybridity of the script.