Neuropsychological characteristics of children with specific learning disorders from Cali, Colombia
Abstract
Specific learning disorders (SLD) characterized by a difficulty in reading, writing and/or arithmetic skills, not caused by neurological, emotional and behavioral disorders, that affects academic achievement and/or performance of daily living activities. In psychometrical terms, children with SLD perform below expected levels for age, intelligence and educational level in tests that assess these academical skills. The aim of this study was to compare the neuropsychological profile of children with a history of SLD with a control group (CG). The sample consisted of 37 subjects with SLD and 28 subjects with typical development (CG), from upper-middle socioeconomic status, aged X to Y years old (M=9, D.E.=Z), and that are between X and Y grade in private schools in Cali, Colombia. All children were assesed with the Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CEPA), the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children WISC-R, and the Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil [Child neuropsychological assessment battery] (ENI) . The scores obtained in the first three scales were used to establish the SLD and CG. On the other hand, data obtained with the ENI showed significant differences between both groups in cognitive functions such as attention, memory (encoding and recall), language comprehension, constructional abilities, spatial and executive functions. In summary, children with SLD performed worse than the CG in many cognitive tasks, suggesting that the presence of neuropsychological difficulties may affect the development of academic skills. Future intervention programs directed to enchance academic skills in children with SLD may emphasize not only in reading, writing and arithmetic abilities, but also in the underlying cognitive difficulties.
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