Proceedings of Science School: 2nd International Neuropsychological Summer School named after A. R. Luria "The World After the Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects for Neuroscience”. August 20-22, 2020

MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
URAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY
NAMED AFTER THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA B. N.YELTSIN







PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE SCHOOL:
2ⁿd INTERNATIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SUMMER SCHOOL NAMED AFTER A. R. LURIA “THE WORLD AFTER THE PANDEMIC: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR NEUROSCIENCE”

August 20-22, 2020











Ekaterinburg Ural University Press 2020

Editorial board:
Janna M. Glozman, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Nadezhda A. Korepina, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia




    Proceedings of Science School: 2ⁿd International Neuropsychological Summer School named after A. R. Luria “The World After the Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects for Neuroscience”. August 20-22, 2020 / Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Ural Federal University. — Ekaterinburg : Ural Univ. Press, 2020. — 91 p. — ISBN 978-5-7996-3073-7. — Text : electronic.
    ISBN 978-5-7996-3073-7
    DOI 10.15826/B978-5-7996-3073-7.0
       The Proceedings of the Second Summer International Neuropsychological School n. a. A. R. Luria (20-22 August 2020) cover a wide range of issues related to the development of neuropsychology in the modern world. This international collection presents papers from specialists from 47 countries and includes the results of fundamental and practice-oriented research: an overview of practical technologies in the field of neuropsychological care for children with disabilities; development of the cultural-historical approach introduced by A. R. Luria and L. S. Vygotsky; studies in the field of neurolinguistics and the development of brain resources. Moreover, this volume reviews the current research on the possible negative impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the cognitive and neurological functions of recovered people.
       This book will be of interest to neuropsychologists, neurologists, psychologists and other specialists in the field of cognitive neurosciences.



The event was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project №20-013-22020






ISBN 978-5-7996-3073-7

© Ural Federal University, 2020

Section 1




                HELPING CHILDREN
                WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES







DOI 10.15826/B978-5-7996-3073-7.1



            Carla Anauate



                                          CINAPSI-Integrated Center of Neuropsychology and Psychology, Faculdade Censupeg, San Paulo, Brazil



            Remediation in ADHD



        Abstract. This paper discusses techniques of remediation used in a practical study case of an ADHD child. The major focus of this process is to enhance the development of underdeveloped functions and its main objective is to create, together with the patient, effective work methods, which would be meaningful to the child and would a part of his or her experiences in life.
        The paper considers the case of a 7-year-old boy suspected of having ADHD and provides his pre- and post-neuropsychological evaluation data. The 6-month intervention process brought some significant results as the evaluation showed the development of several superior mental functions and the initial hypothesis of ADHD was refuted. Thus, the remediation process which involved an adult that respected the level of the child’s development and included meaningful activities within an affective impact enhanced the child’s development.
        Keywords: neuropsychology, ADHD, remediation process, children.

    Introduction. ADHD is a developmental condition which occurs very frequently in many people in the world. Attention difficulties mean that

© Anauate Carla, 2020

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people find it hard to concentrate and may vary from minimal difficulties to a disorder called attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Solovieva and Rojas [1] argue that ADHD is one of the developmental syndromes most frequently detected at the preschool age. As Luria saw it [2], both evaluation and remediation are a part of the same process because during the evaluation, which is performed in the form of a diagnostic interview, the patient already reveals his or her strong and weak components. Evaluation and remediation are fundamental for treating children with learning disabilities in general, but especially for children with ADHD. The main goal of remediation is to engage, together with the patient, in creative work involving meaningful mediation elements [3].
    Materials and methods. This paper discusses a practical ADHD study case in which the process of remediation was used as an intervention to enhance underdeveloped functions. Our study case is a 6-year-old boy, a first grade student of a private school in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He went through the whole evaluation and remediation process, which included pre- and post-neuropsychological evaluation and 6 months of weekly remediation. Both stages of the evaluation used the following neuropsychological tests that are commonly accepted in Brazil: NEPSY-II, WISC-IV, Hooper Visual Organization Test, RAVLT, ADHD questionnaire — SNAP and Complex Rey Figure. As a result of the pre-test, ADHD was suspected — this diagnosis had to be confirmed by a future medical assessment. The child passed through a 6-month remediation process with the sessions that initially were conducted twice a week and at a later stage, once a week. During the remediation sessions, we used a lot of motor and cognitive exercises. The protocol was established to attend to the client’s needs and develop the following functions: voluntary attention, control, interhemispheric interactions, spatial mechanisms, auditory and visual memory and language disorders. We went twice to the school, at the beginning and end of the semester, together with his parents and speech therapist to talk to the teacher and coordinator to set goals for joint work of parents, school faculty and therapists. At the end of the semester, a post-test was conducted to evaluate the child’s results and the development of all superior mental functions.
    Results. The post-evaluation showed that the child’s IQ and processing speed had increased while his attention deficit had decreased significantly.

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He developed several functions, but he still needs to work on enhancing the following functions: executive function, visual synthesis, language and fine motor. Therefore, he continues attending his remediation sessions and speech therapy sessions. The remediation now focuses mainly on executive functions, helping him to deal with the control of his impulsivity as well as his planning skills.
    Conclusion. The remediation process, as an alternative to traditional medication, is very helpful in ADHD cases. Remediation should be seen not as correction but as creation and it is never too early or too late to start a remediation process with a child diagnosed with ADHD [4]. Remediation is a highly individualized process which addresses specific impaired functions and it proved to be very successful to develop weak components of the child’s mental functions based on those strong components that are preserved.

    1.     Solovieva Yu, Quintanar L., Gomez R, Bonilla R. Neuropsychological characteristics of preschool children with syndrome of attention deficit disorder // Revista CES de Psicolog^a. 2011. № 4(1). PP. 16-31.
    2.    Luria A. Higher cortical functions in man. New York: Basic Books, 1966.
    3.     Glozman J. Developmental Neuropsychology. New York: Routledge Ed., 2013.
    4.     Anauate C., Glozman J. Neuropsicologia aplicada ao desenvolvimento humano. Sao Paulo: Editora Memnon, 2017.

DOI 10.15826/B978-5-7996-3073-7.2



            Janna M. Glozman


                                       Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia



            Lurian neuropsychological assessment at an early age


       Abstract. The paper discusses the theoretical foundations and methods of neuropsychological assessment of 2-6-year-old preschool children and describes the potential and advantages of Luria’s battery for revealing child underdevelopment or abnormal development.
       Keywords: neuropsychological assessment; preschool children; Luria’s battery; scoring.

    Introduction. A. R. Luria, L. S. Vygotsky and developmental neuropsychology
    L. S. Vygotsky and A. R. Luria revealed “a bifurcation in the course of a child’s behavioral development into natural-psychological and cultural-psychological development” [1, p. 30]. They have proved that a defect interferes with a child’s appropriation of the culture, but cultural means can be used to help the child overcome the defect. Thus, the cultural-historical approach has become a methodological basis for remediating education and developmental neuropsychology in general.
    Lurian qualitative approach, that is, the qualitative analysis of different types of errors made by a child during the neuropsychological assessment and their possible correction, identifies a whole range of defects, depending on the maturity of the tested function, the zone of its proximal development as well as the state of various components in the structure of the specific mental function and other functions with common components.
    The main goals of the child neuropsychological assessment
    Lurian neuropsychological analysis differentiates between learning and behavior problems caused by the lack of maturation and/or individual features of brain structures caused by the maladjustment associated with poor teaching methods or pathological features of the child’s personality.
    Not only can a disease provoke certain biological processes that would hinder the child’s development, but it may also interfere with the psycholog-


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© Glozman Janna M., 2020

ical and social development such as personality formation, acquiring new knowledge and mastering new skills. On the other hand, a poor or belated psychological or educational action may also cause developmental delays in children or deviations in the development of their functional systems.
    The up-to-date Lurian neuropsychological analysis is a poly-causal analysis aimed to determine how different biological and social causes of dysontogenesis interact and determine the type of abnormal development in each child
    Why is it important to assess preschoolers?
    Assessment of preschoolers helps reveal delayed mental functions and determine their possible impact on child learning; prevent the learning disability at school or kindergarten and its emotional consequences.
    Neuropsychological assessment of preschoolers is very likely to identify the risk of possible future learning problems. Such children need a neuropsychological follow-up and dynamic evaluation of their functional state. In addition, the qualitative description of differentiated features, strengths and weaknesses in mental functioning of each particular child is essential for helping these children overcome their developmental and learning problems.
    Age differences in the neuropsychological assessment of preschoolers
    The testing material must meet the following criteria:
    • It should be accessible for each age group,
    • It should be familiar to each age group,
    • It should attract attention and incite interest,
    • It should use diverse methods and materials for each age group,
    • The younger is the child, the higher is the rate of game analogies of neuropsychological tests, observations and parents interview.
    • At any age, both the test or its game analogies must follow Luria’s principle of polymodality — to give information about different mental functions [2].
    How to prevent exhaustibility and deal with the problem of low concentration and attention stability at a preschool age?
    • To give the child an option to switch to another activity after about 10-20 minutes of testing;
    • To select the most informative and time-saving techniques to ensure the compactness of methods;

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    • To use diverse tasks;
    • To present each pair of stimuli separately to limit the volume of visual perception;
    • To subdivide the instruction in two parts to limit the volume of acoustic perception;
    • To organize a situation of competition to boost the child’s motivation for testing;
    • To use game-based tasks (games are particularly important at a preschool age) [3, 4].
    Conclusions
    • Pediatric neuropsychology is a young but rapidly developing science.
    • Lurian approach to neuropsychological assessment of children means a shift from the phenomenological description of the observed defects in mental functioning to revealing their mechanisms and organizing the assessment in such a way to allow the child to compensate for his or her difficulties. This is done through dialogue interaction and consecutive transfer from implementation of the test together with the neuropsychologist to an independent one.
    • A neuropsychological survey should not create “a negative picture of the child” [5] but to identify the strengths of his or her mental functioning and the potential for its development.
    • It is necessary to understand and overcome the impediments to the child’s life in harmony and agreement with his or her environment.


    1.     Vygotskij L. S., Luriya A. R. Etyudy po istorii povedeniya. M.: Gosizdat, 1930. [In Russian].
    2.      Luria A. R. The Working Brain. An Introduction to Neuropsychology. London: Penguin Books, 1973.
    3.      Glozman J. M. Developmental neuropsychology. London — New York: Psychology Press — Taylor and Francis group, 2013.
    4.      Glozman J. M. A pratica neuropsicologica fundamentada em Luria e Vygotsky: Avalia^ao, abilita^ao e reabilita^ao. San Paulo: Memnon, 2014.
    5.      Vygotskij L. S. Izbrannye psihologicheskie issledovaniya. M.: Izdatel’ctvo Akademii pedagogicheskih nauk RSFSR, 1956. [In Russian].

DOI 10.15826/B978-5-7996-3073-7.3



            Marina Halpern-Chalom


                                                   Paulista University Sao Paulo, Brazil



            Identifying twice-exceptionality— a case study of a gifted child with ADHD


        Abstract. The article focuses on a case study of a gifted child with ADHD to illustrate the condition of twice-exceptionality — an association between giftedness and disability. This case study aims to shed light on this condition, and to highlight the importance of identifying and considering both exceptionalities in a remediation program.
        Keywords: twice-exceptionality, high ability, attention deficit disorder, remediation, gifted.

    Twice-exceptional people are those that have high cognitive abilities such as the potential for high achievement in one or more academic domains together with one or more disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a learning disability and so on [1]. It is important to identify both the child’s high ability and disability, as usually one is more apparent than the other and each one plays a role in the treatment. This study focuses on the treatment of an 8-year-old boy, who was evaluated through a neuropsychological assessment, and the results of the proposed treatment.
    The assessment consists of an interview with parents and school teachers and quantitative tests as WISC-IV; Raven Test; Five-Digit Test; Rey Complex Figures Test; attentional tests; Social Abilities, Behavior Problems and Academic Achievement Inventory for Child (SSRS); and SNAP-IV Rating scale.
    The subject was an 8-year-old adopted boy, born with syphilis from drug using parents. He was left in an orphanage when he was 2 months old where he received treatment for the disease and recovered. At the age of 1, the child was adopted by a wealthy family, received love and care. His skills were well developed, except for the language skills. After sessions with a speech therapist, which he started at the age of 3.5 and finished


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at 5, his language skills significantly improved. When the boy was 7, the school suggested evaluation as he was having concentration and organization problems as well as some social issues. At that time, the parents said that he always forgot things, was disorganized, and was frequently disconnected from other people, staying in “his own dreamland”, as they used to say. On the other hand, he was very good at drawing, had highly developed logical thinking skills and memory.
   The results indicated that he had attention problems related to the 3rd block of Lurian theory [2, 3] as well as highly developed skills in perceptual organization, indicating high abilities (Wisc-IV, IOP 134, 99 %, which means better results than 99 % of his peers on perceptual organization skills); high development of language skills (92 %); above average results on working memory (84 %) and average results on processing speed (42 %). His Wisc-IV IQ was 125, 95 %, probably downgraded by his attention problems. The inventory filled by the parents indicated that he showed more problems than average: deficits on responsibility (95 %) and self-control behaviors (70 %), the lack of collaboration in daily activities such as good time management (65 %), and emotional problems such as self-esteem issues (80 %).
   Although the parents were aware of his learning abilities, they were also concerned about his regular attention problems. The child constantly felt repressed by his faults. Although he could memorize events easily, at times he also struggled with forgetfulness, which suggested the interference of his deficits on his performance. In the case twice-exceptional people, the gift may mask the child’s disabilities, or the disabilities may

Social Abilities- SSRS Inventory
Results
Answered by parents
      100
Illi
Responsability Self Control Collaboration Behavioral
Problems
■ Pre intervention

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