Neuromyths: Misconceptions about neurodevelopment by Italian teachers.

Background: Neuromyths are commonly held misconceptions about the brain, often generated by a misunderstanding of scientifically established facts. To date, limited research has explored the pervalence of neuromyths about neurodevelopmental disorders in the teacher population.

Method: The current study investigated the prevalence of teachers' general and neurodevelopmental neuromyths among 820 Italian teachers.

Neuromyths about neurodevelopmental disorders in Chilean teachers.

Misconceptions about how the brain works (neuromyths) are shown to be common among educators, but little is known about neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) neuromyths. Here, we explored the prevalence of both general and neurodevelopmental disorders neuromyths in Chilean teachers and other educational professionals. One hundred forty-four participants answered an online neuroscience knowledge, interest, and training questionnaire.

Longitudinal association of conduct and emotional problems with school exclusion and truancy: A fixed effect analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Background: There is a need for causally stronger research on the association between child mental health and school exclusion and truancy. This study examines school exclusion and truancy in relation to both conduct and emotional problems and considers these problems both as predictors and as outcomes of school exclusion and truancy.

Method: The sample included 15,236 individuals from the Millennium Cohort Study, a UK longitudinal birth cohort study.

Anxiety, concerns and COVID-19: Cross-country perspectives from families and individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health and well-being of children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and of their families worldwide. However, there is insufficient evidence to understand how different factors (e.g.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal assessment of cognitive development in Williams syndrome.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic syndrome. As with all rare syndromes, obtaining adequately powered sample sizes is a challenge. Here we present legacy data from seven UK labs, enabling the characterisation of cross-sectional and longitudinal developmental trajectories of verbal and non-verbal development in the largest sample of individuals with WS to-date.

Anxiety, concerns and emotion regulation in individuals with Williams syndrome and Down syndrome during the COVID-19 outbreak: a global study.

Individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) have been reported to experience increased levels of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we document how individuals with Down Syndrome (DS; N = 557; Mage = 16.52; 233 female) and Williams syndrome (WS, N = 247; Mage = 18.

"Not in the mood": The fear of being laughed at is better predicted by humor temperament traits than diagnosis in neurodevelopmental conditions.

Background: Research has shown that autistic individuals seem to be more prone to develop gelotophobia (i.e., the fear of being laughed at) than typically developing individuals.

Efficacy of coping mechanisms used during COVID-19 as reported by parents of children with autism.

The COVID-19 pandemic's alterations to daily life have been especially challenging for families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), worsening the core features of ASD and overall mental health. With the increased need for effective coping, the current retrospective study used data from a survey regarding parent reports of how often their child with ASD used certain coping strategies (frequency), as well as the extent to which they felt their child benefitted from their use (efficacy) in mitigating stress during the pandemic. This retrospective study Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate whether there were significant differences in both frequency and efficacy ratings for each coping strategy, for the entire sample as well as for three children's age groups.

An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability.

Background: Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders often have atypical emotion profiles, but little is known about how they regulate their emotions. While several studies have examined emotion regulation strategy use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), only a few have included individuals with intellectual disability (ID) or focused on specific syndromes such as Williams syndrome (WS).

Methods: A parent-reported survey launched during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed to exploratorily study emotion regulation strategy use and its link to anxiety in individuals with ASD with (N=785) and without ID (N=596), WS (N=261), and Intellectual Disability not otherwise specified (N=649).

Block Design Performance in Williams Syndrome: Visuospatial Abilities or Task Approach Skills?

The block design task (BDT) is a visuospatial measure that individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) perform poorly on. However, it is unclear what underlies their impaired performance. This study investigated whether poorer performance is a result of visuospatial difficulties, executive function (EF) difficulties, atypical looking strategies, or a combination of these.

The impact of COVID-19 on individuals with ASD in the US: Parent perspectives on social and support concerns.

The COVID-19 pandemic's disruptions to daily routines and services have proven especially challenging for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. The current retrospective study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic's social environmental changes on parental ratings of personal and child concerns about family conflict, opportunities for social interaction, and loss of institutional support (school and therapy services). Analyses of responses from families with ASD in the US determined differences in concerns across three time points which were measured simultaneously: prior to COVID-19, at the start of COVID-19, and at the time of survey completion.

All views my own? Portraying the voices of children with complex neurodevelopmental disorders in statutory documents.

Portraying the voices of children with complex genetic neurodevelopmental disorders about their health, care and education needs in their statutory documents is a challenging task. This study examined the ways by which the perspectives of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS) and Williams Syndrome (WS) are portrayed in their statutory documents, namely the Education Health and Care plans, in England. Using the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health for Children and Youth, we analysed the content of Section A of the Education Health and Care plans of 52 children and young people with WS and DS, between 5 and 26 years of age.

Brief Report: A Cross-Sectional Study of Anxiety Levels and Concerns of Chinese Families of Children With Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Post-first-wave of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has a multifaceted impact on mental health due to ill health, restrictions and lockdowns, and loss of employment and institutional support. COVID-19 may disproportionally impact families with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) due to the already higher prevalence of mental health conditions in children with SEND and their parents. Therefore, it is essential to determine the short-term impact of the pandemic on the mental health of families with SEND in order to identify their ongoing health support needs.

Sensory Processing in Williams Syndrome: Individual differences and changes over time.

This study examined individual differences as well as the development of sensory processing difficulties in children with Williams syndrome (WS) using a cross-sectional (Experiment 1) and longitudinal design (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, a clustering approach of sensory processing scores suggested two groups. Experiment 2 showed that the clusters identified in Experiment 1 were not stable across development, especially for those with high sensory impairments at either time point.

The Home Learning Environment of Primary School Children with Down Syndrome and those with Williams Syndrome.

Background And Aims: Research on typically developing (TD) populations has shown that the home learning environment plays a significant role in cognitive development and learning, but very little is known about the home learning environment of children with Down syndrome (DS) or children with Williams syndrome (WS). The present study examined and compared, for the first time, the home learning environment of children diagnosed with DS and children diagnosed with WS to investigate whether different cognitive profiles were reflected in their home literacy and number experiences.

Methods And Procedures: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a web-based survey from 58 parents and one foster parent of primary school children with DS (n = 35) and WS (n = 24) mostly based in the UK.

The role of context in verbal humor processing in autism.

Difficulties in processing humor have been associated with individuals with autism. The current study investigated whether humor comprehension and appreciation could be augmented in children with autism by providing contextual support suggesting that humor was to be expected. A verbally presented riddle task was used in which participants were assessed for their subjective ratings and comprehension of the materials.

Dental experiences of a group of autistic adults based in the United Kingdom.

Aims: Previous international research has shown that autistic people have difficulty accessing dental care due to sensory processing, anxiety and communication issues. However, it is not known whether autistic adults in the United Kingdom are experiencing similar dental care barriers. The current study investigated autistic adults' dental experiences in the United Kingdom.

Online and Face-to-Face Performance on Two Cognitive Tasks in Children With Williams Syndrome.

There has been an increase in cognitive assessment via the Internet, especially since the coronavirus disease 2019 surged the need for remote psychological assessment. This is the first study to investigate the appropriability of conducting cognitive assessments online with children with a neurodevelopmental condition and intellectual disability, namely, Williams syndrome. This study compared Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM) and British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS) scores from two different groups of children with WS age 10-11 years who were assessed online ( = 14) or face-to-face (RCPM = 12; BPVS = 24).

Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome: Insights from eye movements.

Background And Aims: Mathematical difficulties in individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) and in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are well-established. Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing are domain-specific precursors of mathematical achievement in typically developing (TD) population. This study employed, for the first time, eye-tracking methodology to investigate subitizing abilities in WS and DS.

The Underreporting of Vision Problems in Statutory Documents of Children with Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome.

Vision problems can lead to negative developmental outcomes. Children with Williams syndrome and Down syndrome are at higher risk of vision problems, and these are less likely to be detected due to diagnostic overshadowing and difficulty accessing eye-care. Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are statutory documents, introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 in England, with the intention of integrating provision across these domains.

The foundations of mathematical development in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome.

Background: Studies in Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) have suggested that mathematical abilities are impaired. However, it is unclear which domain-general or domain-specific abilities impact on mathematical development in these developmental disorders.

Method: The current study examined the foundations of mathematical development across participants with WS (n = 24) and DS (n = 26) compared to typically developing (TD) children (n = 26) in relation to domain-general (i.

Mathematical development in Williams syndrome: A systematic review.

Background: The current systematic review is the first to systematically explore and synthesis research to date on mathematical abilities in Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disorder that results in an uneven cognitive profile. As mathematical development is complex and relies on both domain-specific and domain-general abilities, it is currently not clear what mathematical abilities have been examined in WS and also what the current gaps in this research area are.

Methods And Procedures: A total of 27 studies across 22 publications were identified through a systematic review search process.

The development of children's comprehension and appreciation of riddles.

Humor appreciation and understanding is important for children's social relationships. The current study examined the associations among riddle comprehension, riddle appreciation, and smiling/laughter in children from a wide age range (4-11 years) as well as how cognitive processing style relates to riddle comprehension. Style was distinguished between local and global language processing at the sentence level.