Background. Adolescence represents a critical period for brain
development, addressed by neurodevelopmental models to frontal,
subcortical-limbic, and striatal activation, a pattern associated with rise of
impulsivity and deficits in inhibitory control. The present study aimed at
studying the association between self-report measures of impulsivity and
inhibitory control with executive function in adolescents, employing structural
equation modeling. Method. Tests were administered to 434 high
school students. Acting without thinking was measured through the Barratt
Impulsiveness Scale and the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory, reward sensitivity
through the Behavioral Activation System, and sensation seeking through the
Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personali- ty Questionnaire. Inhibitory control was
assessed through the Behavioral Inhibition System. The performance at the
Wisconsin Card Sorting Task indicated executive function. Three models were
specified using Sample Covariance Matrix, and the estimated parameters using
Maximum Likelihood. Results. In the final model, impulsivity and
inhibitory control predicted executive function, but sensation seeking did not.
The fit of the model to data was excellent. Conclusions. The
hypothesis that inhibitory control and impulsivity are predictors of executive
function was supported. Our results appear informative of the validity of
self-report measures to examine the relation between impulsivity traits rather
than others to regulatory function of cognition and behavior.
Until the first decade of the current millennium, the literature on metaphor comprehension highlighted typical difficulties in children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). More recently, some scholars have devised special programs for enhancing the capability of understanding metaphors in these children. This article presents a case study based on a treatment aiming at enhancing novel metaphor comprehension in a high-functioning child with ASD. M.M., a pseudoacronym for an 8;10 year-old boy, diagnosed with high-functioning ASD, was first assessed with a metaphor comprehension test. This testing (at time T0) highlighted a rigid refusal of metaphors and a marked tendency toward literal interpretation. A baseline treatment (8 sessions of 45–60 min each, twice a week) was implemented, based on a series of recognition, denomination and emotion comprehension activities. M.M.'s metaphor comprehension was assessed a second time (T1), followed by the experimental treatment (same duration and frequency as the first one), specifically focused on metaphor comprehension. Finally, a third assessment of metaphor comprehension took place (T2), followed by a last assessment 4 months later (follow-up, T3). The comparison between the performances at the metaphor comprehension test across the four assessments, from T0 to T3, showed that the baseline treatment produced no effect at all, whereas a significant improvement appeared at T2, just after the experimental treatment, later confirmed at the follow up. Both quantitative and qualitative results showed an evident improvement in the way M.M. handled the semantic issues posed by the metaphors of the test, in line with the strategies he was taught during the treatment.
Recent research into difficulties in figurative language in children with ASD highlighted that it is possible to devise training interventions to overcome these difficulties by teaching specific strategies. This study describes how children with ASD can improve their capability to explain metaphors with a treatment. Two types of metaphors, in the “X is Y” form, were addressed: sensory and physico-psychological. To face the difficulties posed by these metaphors, the adult taught two strategies: inserting the connective “is like” between “X” and “Y”, which transforms the metaphor into a simile; comparing “X” and “Y” by means of thinking maps. Two tests of metaphor comprehension were used, one based on sensory and the other on physico-psychological metaphors. Sixteen 10 year-old children participated into the study, including an experimental group formed by 8 children with ASD (n = 4) which had received the treatment, and a control group (n = 4) which had not, and 8 typically-developing (TD) children. At the post-test, the experimental group significantly outperformed the controls in explaining both types of metaphors, but only in the sensory metaphors did their performances reach TD children’s levels. These results illuminate how clinical treatment can positively influence the developmental trajectories of metaphor comprehension.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.