Pierluigi Zoccolotti

Neuropsychological research has the general objective of examining human behavior in relation to the structures and functioning of the nervous system

Background and Objectives: Children with specific learning disorders (SLD) often present a history of speech and language deficits. However, systematic evidence on the co-occurrence among distinct learning and communication disorders remains limited. This study aimed to describe the associations among reading, spelling, and math disorders and their relationships with clinically diagnosed speech sound and language disorders and speech sound disorders in a large, well-characterized clinical sample. Methods: 235 3rd- to 8th-grade Italian children with SLD participated in the study. They were categorized in terms of learning (reading, spelling, and math) and comorbid communication disorders (speech sound, and language disorders), according to established diagnostic criteria. Prevalence rates were assessed for each of the resulting subgroups. Results: Comorbidity between the three learning disorders was very frequent; 75.4% of children showed different forms of multiple SLDs, with 47.7% presenting a combined reading, spelling, and math disorder. Communication disorders were reported in 40.4% of the sample. Both language and speech sound disorders frequently co-occurred with spelling disorders, whereas associations with isolated reading or math disorders were more infrequent. Additionally, speech sound disorders frequently co-occurred with isolated spelling disorders, whereas language disorders frequently co-occurred with comorbid spelling disorders. Conclusions: Consistent with previous evidence, the study shows that learning disorders are highly comorbid with communication disorders. Critically, speech and language disorders are most frequently comorbid with spelling disorder, independent of reading and math deficits, highlighting spelling as a potential key interface between phonology, language, and learning.

Background/Objectives: Mastery of reading requires the ability to process multiple stimuli in sequence. Previous research shows that children gradually develop this skill as their reading experience increases. This study investigated the serial superiority effect and its association with reading experience. Reading performance was compared using single- and multiple-word displays in typically developing Italian readers from 1st to 3rd grade. Given the link between reading times and interindividual variability, the analyses used models (DEM, RAM, and State trace) that account for global components of individual performance. Methods: Ninety 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-grade students participated. Children were presented with words of varying lengths. Stimuli appeared either sequentially from left to right (single-display condition) or in a static array of 25 words (multiple-display condition). Results: Reading times were faster in the multiple-display than the single-display condition, as expected. Analyses of global components showed that this advantage increased linearly with years of schooling. This finding reflects a progressive mastery of multiple displays as the reading experience grew. Conclusions: Global processing models effectively capture early reading acquisition, especially the increasing difference between reading from single displays and managing multiple reading stimuli.

We examine “allocentric” neglect from Rosenholtz’s perspective, focusing on visual limitations in the periphery rather than attention. Studies of allocentric neglect report no or limited data on visual field defects and extinction. We propose that if visual input is degraded, patients may fail to detect the left part of the stimulus and complete it perceptually (preattentively) rather than attentionally.

Objective: Neurobehavioral disturbances often follow acquired brain injuries. Patients and family members may perceive these anomalies differently, and these discrepancies are difficult to interpret due to methodological constraints. We explored the differing perceptions of behavioral alterations in patients with severe acquired brain injury (sABI) and their caregivers using the Latent Difference Score (LDS) analysis. We also examined the relation between the behavioral ratings and demographic, injury, and functional variables. Method: Data from 154 patients with sABI in the post-acute phase and their caregivers were retrospectively analyzed. The BIRT Personality Questionnaire was used to assess behavioral disorders. Results: We examined four subscales: Lack of Motivation (LoM), Lack of Emotion Regulation (LoER), Negative Emotionality/Reactivity (NE), and Lack of Social Skills (LoSS). Patients generally tended to underestimate their problematic behaviors compared to their family members. Sex predicted patient/caregiver discrepancies in the LoM and LoER subscales, with male patients perceiving themselves as higher functioning than female patients. The scale measuring physical disability was not associated with patient/caregiver discrepancies, except for LoER, with family members' judgments of greater severity correlated with lower functional scores. Conclusions: Notable gaps emerged between subjective and family perceptions, particularly in motivation and social skills. The discrepancies were associated with sex differences. LDS is a promising tool for examining patient/caregiver discrepancies in patients with ABI.

The Montessori method was originally developed from an examination of children with cognitive disabilities. Numerous studies have explored the application of Montessori principles with typically developing children and adolescents across different educational settings. However, despite its original interest in children with cognitive disabilities, there has been a limited number of systematic reviews specifically addressing its impact on these children. We conducted a systematic review of quantitative research based on a search of the literature on the effects of the Montessori educational approach in teaching academic and non-academic skills to children and young people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and autism. A search was conducted of seven bibliographic databases: Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Ebscohost, Proquest, and Scopus, until 31 October 2024. We identified 7165 reports, 3 of which meet the inclusion criteria for the review. The selected studies reported improvements in the areas investigated, including motor skills, perceptual abilities, cognitive development, and self-care, confirming the effectiveness of the Montessori methodology. Although there are few experimental studies available, these findings provide valuable operational insights. They suggest that we can return to the roots of the method, which was originally designed for children with mental disorders. An experimental approach to this time-honored method could enhance its application in neurodevelopmental disorders, maximizing autonomy and inclusion while improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

Background: Caregivers of a person with aphasia (PWA) often lack knowledge about aphasia and have difficulty acting as effective conversation partners, feeling excluded and passive. Promoting the interlocutor's proficiency in the ability to support the PWA in a conversation is essential for improving patient–caregiver relationships. Aims: This observational study aims to test a newly developed method, that is, TIC‐TAC (which was derived from the Italian acronym ‘ T raining di I struzione alla C omunicazione T ra persona A fasica e C aregiver’ (English transl. ‘ Communication Training Education for a Person with Aphasia and a Caregiver’ ), which was specifically designed to enhance the communicative competence of non‐professional caregivers in their interaction with PWAs. Methods: We enrolled 42 PWA–caregiver dyads. Three dyads dropped out from the study: Thus, the final sample included 39 dyads. The ‘Caregiver Communication Assessment in Aphasia—Checklist’ (ACCA‐cl) evaluated the caregiver's communicative competence before and after the administration of the TIC‐TAC method. This scale detects the verbal, para‐verbal and non‐verbal components of communication during the interaction with the patient. Results: Comparisons between pre‐ and post‐method ACCA‐cl scores showed a significant difference between T ₀ and T ₁ in the verbal, non‐verbal, para‐verbal and total scores. Caregivers effectively stored and used information and indications learned during the TIC‐TAC training, and showed improvements in all language modalities. Conclusions: The application of the TIC‐TAC method to caregivers of PWAs yielded promising data regarding its impact on the evolution of caregivers’ communicative competence across three representative levels of communication (verbal, para‐verbal and non‐verbal). WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject Over the years, some training packages have been developed to improve communication between people with aphasia and their conversation partners. However, many of these programs were developed for healthcare professionals or students rather than for non‐professional caregivers, limiting their accessibility and real‐world applicability. Moreover, existing training methods have often been designed for individuals in the chronic phase of recovery, neglecting the need for communication support in earlier stages of rehabilitation. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge The ‘TIC‐TAC’ method, from the Italian acronym ‘ T raining di I struzione alla C omunicazione T ra persona A fasica e C aregiver’ (English transl. ‘Communication Training Education between a Person with Aphasia and a Caregiver’ ), is an educational instrument centred on the caregiver–aphasic patient dyad that is easy to administer in terms of time and procedure, feasible in all rehabilitation services, adaptable to different stages and forms of aphasic disorder and effective to improve the caregiver's communicative competence in daily communication with his/her loved one. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study showed the positive effects of a new method tailored to enhance the communicative competence of caregivers of persons with aphasia. The TIC‐TAC method is an educational and informative counselling method addressed to caregivers and available in the professional practice of speech therapists working with adult aphasic patients.

Background/Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate letter processing in children with dyslexia and typically developing readers as a function of the type of orthographic context. Methods and Results: In Experiment 1A, children performed a two-alternative forced choice task (Reicher–Wheeler paradigm) using as probes either high-frequency words, pronounceable pseudo-words, or unpronounceable non-words. The group differences in letter recognition were clearly distinguished from those present in typical word and pseudo-word reading conditions (Experiment 1B), as a global factor was present only in the latter case. In Experiment 2, the two-alternative forced choice task required the child to search for the target letter in the subsequent multi-letter string (i.e., words, pseudo-words, or non-words), thus reducing the memory load. Detecting the target letter was more difficult in a word than in a pseudo-word or non-word array, indicating that the word form’s lexical activation interfered with the target’s analysis in both groups of children. In Experiment 3, children performed the two-alternative forced choice task with symbols (Greek letters) either in the Reicher–Wheeler mode of presentation (Experiment 3A) or in the search condition (Experiment 3B). Children with dyslexia performed identically to typically developing readers in keeping with the selectivity of their orthographic difficulties. Conclusions: The present data indicate that children with dyslexia suffer from an early deficit in making perceptual operations that require the conjunction analysis of a set of letters. Still, this deficit is not due to an inability to scan the letter string. The deficit is confined to orthographic stimuli and does not extend to other types of visual targets.