Movement cognition and narration of the emotions treatment versus standard speech therapy in the treatment of children with borderline intellectual functioning: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundBorderline intellectual functioning (BIF) is defined as a “health meta-condition… characterized by various cognitive dysfunctions associated with an intellectual quotient (IQ) between 71 and 85 which determines a deficit in the individual’s functioning both in the restriction of activities and in the limitation of social participation”. It can be caused by many factors, including a disadvantaged background and prematurity. BIF affects 7–12% of primary school children that show academic difficulties due to poor executive functioning. In many children with BIF, language, movement and social abilities are also affected, making it difficult to take part in daily activities. Dropping out of school and psychological afflictions such as anxiety and depression are common in children with BIF.This study investigates whether an intensive rehabilitation program that involves all of the areas affected in children with BIF (Movement, Cognition and Narration of emotions, MCNT) is more effective than Standard Speech Therapy (SST).MethodsThis is a multicenter interventional single blind randomized controlled study. Children aged between 6 to 11 years who attend a mainstream primary school and have multiple learning difficulties, behavioral problems and an IQ ranging between 85 to 70 have been enrolled. Participants are randomly allocated to one of three groups. The first group receives individual treatment with SST for 45 min, twice a week for 9 months. The second group receives the experimental treatment MCNT for 3 h per day, 5 days/ week for 9 months and children work in small groups. The third group consists of children on a waiting list for the SST for nine months.DiscussionBIF is a very frequent condition with no ad hoc treatment. Over the long term, there is a high risk to develop psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Due to its high social impact, we consider it very important to intervene during childhood so as to intercept the remarkable plasticity of the developing brain.Trial registration“Study Let them grow: A new intensive and multimodal Treatment for children with borderline intellectual functioning based on Movement, Cognition and Narration of emotions”, retrospectively registered in ISRCTN Register with ISRCTN81710297 at 2017–01-09.

Intervening on the Developmental Course of Children With Borderline Intellectual Functioning With a Multimodal Intervention: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…For a comprehensive description of both rehabilitative approaches, see the Study Protocol (Blasi et al, 2017a).…”

“…As specific interventions for children with BIF are lacking, we developed a multimodal treatment (Blasi et al, 2017a) based on three main theoretical considerations. First, intelligence seems to be a multidimensional and dynamic process that plays a pivotal role in the development of truly adaptive abilities (Gottfredson, 1997).…”

“…Based on these considerations, we designed a treatment named movement, cognition and narration of the emotions treatment (MCNT) (Blasi et al, 2017a). Central aspects of MCNT are the intensity and the integration of the approach.…”

“…MCNT operates through a highly enriched and motivating approach in which children are divided into three "teams" that, in rotation, attend three laboratories, one for each domain: cognition, movement, and emotions. The MCNT program is integrated with the school programs and with the families through the engagement of teachers and parents in the finality and the strategies used in the program (Blasi et al, 2017a).…”

“…The aim of the present work is to report the results of the previously published Study Protocol (Blasi et al, 2017a), in which a detailed description of all the procedures and treatment adopted is available. The aim of the trial was to investigate the efficacy of the MCNT intervention in the recovery of the BIF condition and to compare it with SST in promoting complex reasoning, motor, behavioral and adaptive skills.…”