Insights into Rett Syndrome girls' receptive vocabulary through eye movements and parental perception.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the receptive vocabulary of girls diagnosed with Rett Syndrome (RS) by employing eye-tracking technology and examined how these objective measures compared with parents' perceptions of their daughters' language abilities. METHOD: Fourteen girls with RS and eleven typically developing peers participated. Instruments included the Kerr Scale, a parental questionnaire on communication skills, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - PPVT-4, and eye-tracking equipment. The PPVT-4's initial 12 cards, each displaying four images, were presented on screen for 5 s for the child's initial inspection. Subsequently, the same card was shown for 5 s with instructions to identify the picture matching the word, repeated three times in a randomized order. RESULTS: Eye-tracking assessments revealed that girls with RS with less severe symptoms, performed below typically developing peers with aged 3-4 years. The number of eye fixations emerged as a reliable metric for assessing their performance. A positive correlation was found between parental reports of their daughters' vocabulary knowledge and their ability to identify the correct stimulus, suggesting comprehension and active engagement in the testing process. CONCLUSION: This study presents a pioneering approach by combining parental perceptions with eye-tracking measures to assess receptive vocabulary in girls diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. Despite showing lower performance levels compared to significantly younger peers, the findings suggest that these individuals use less effectively eye contact as a mode of communication.

Low weight, socioeconomics and behavioral issues: examining a population in the Northeast of Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Preterm and low weight children at birth are exposed to higher risks and rates of motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional problems. Being born under low socioeconomic conditions adds even more complexity to these children. This report describes the emotional and behavioral issues of a group of children who were born in low income families and had low weigh at birth in the Northeast region of Brazil. METHOD: A total of 100 children (47 with adequate and 53 with low weigh) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist for behavioral and emotional problems, as well as with the Autism Behavior Checklist for autism symptoms. RESULTS: Results show no difference between the two groups (low and adequate weight) in terms of behavior problems or autism characteristics, however, it shows elevated clinical prevalence's of behavioral and emotional problems and more vulnerability for autism symptoms when compared to the general population. Data also showed the more years children spent in pre-school, the less internalizing problems they manifested. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the impact of low socioeconomics environment is more prominent in the development of behavioral and emotional problems than low weight at birth, in addition it points to the benefits of pre-school years for the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children from low income and with low weight at birth.

Novas possibilidades na avaliação neuropsicológica dos transtornos invasivos do desenvolvimento: Análise dos movimentos oculares / New possibilities on neuropsychological assessment in pervasive developmental disorders: Analyses of eye movements

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo utilizar o rastreamento ocular como parte da avaliação neuropsicológica em crianças e jovens com TID. Foram avaliadas 10 crianças e jovens com diagnóstico clínico de TID, idade média 11,9 (DP=3,22). Todas as crianças foram pareadas por idade e sexo com um grupo controle. Avaliou-se a inteligência com o WISC III e o rastreamento ocular com Tarefa de Sacada Preditiva (SP) e Tarefa de Anti-Sacada (AS). Encontraram-se diferenças significativas para acertos, erros e latência para Tarefa SP; e erros seguidos de acerto para Tarefa AS. Resultados indicam falta de regulação da atenção voluntária, dificuldade em inibir um comportamento e direcioná-lo ao objetivo proposto na tarefa, alteração no planejamento de ação e dificuldade para iniciação de resposta no grupo TID. Todas as alterações encontradas corroboram dados da literatura. Conclui-se que a avaliação dos movimentos oculares contribui para a avaliação neuropsicológica, assim como para intervenções eficazes nos TID.(AU)

The objective of the present study is to use eye tracking in neuropsychological assessment of PDD children and adolescents. Ten clinically diagnosed PDD children and adolescents, mean age 11,9 (SD=3,22), were assessed. All children were pared by age and gender with a control group. The WISC III was used to assess intelligence and the eye movements parameters were assessed with Predictive Saccade Task (SP) and Anti-Saccade Task (AS). Significant differences between groups were found in the eye tracking tasks accuracy, errors and latency in the SP Task; and errors followed by correct responses in the AS Task. Results show lack on voluntary attention regulation, response inhibition, planning, and response initiation on the PDD group. All the differences corroborate previous literature. In conclusion, the assessment of eye movements in PDD children contributes to neuropsychological assessment, as well as to development of efficient interventions.(AU)

Novas possibilidades na avaliação neuropsicológica dos transtornos invasivos do desenvolvimento: análise dos movimentos oculares / New possibilities on neuropsychological assessment in pervasive developmental disorders: analyses of eye movements

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo utilizar o rastreamento ocular como parte da avaliação neuropsicológica em crianças e jovens com TID. Foram avaliadas 10 crianças e jovens com diagnóstico clínico de TID, idade média 11,9 (DP=3,22). Todas as crianças foram pareadas por idade e sexo com um grupo controle. Avaliou-se a inteligência com o WISC III e o rastreamento ocular com Tarefa de Sacada Preditiva (SP) e Tarefa de Anti-Sacada (AS). Encontraram-se diferenças significativas para acertos, erros e latência para Tarefa SP; e erros seguidos de acerto para Tarefa AS. Resultados indicam falta de regulação da atenção voluntária, dificuldade em inibir um comportamento e direcioná-lo ao objetivo proposto na tarefa, alteração no planejamento de ação e dificuldade para iniciação de resposta no grupo TID. Todas as alterações encontradas corroboram dados da literatura. Conclui-se que a avaliação dos movimentos oculares contribui para a avaliação neuropsicológica, assim como para intervenções eficazes nos TID.

The objective of the present study is to use eye tracking in neuropsychological assessment of PDD children and adolescents. Ten clinically diagnosed PDD children and adolescents, mean age 11,9 (SD=3,22), were assessed. All children were pared by age and gender with a control group. The WISC III was used to assess intelligence and the eye movements parameters were assessed with Predictive Saccade Task (SP) and Anti-Saccade Task (AS). Significant differences between groups were found in the eye tracking tasks accuracy, errors and latency in the SP Task; and errors followed by correct responses in the AS Task. Results show lack on voluntary attention regulation, response inhibition, planning, and response initiation on the PDD group. All the differences corroborate previous literature. In conclusion, the assessment of eye movements in PDD children contributes to neuropsychological assessment, as well as to development of efficient interventions.