Thesis

This thesis work analyses the path of the students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), placing emphasis on the integration between the strengthening of neuropsychological skills and the management of the emotional-relational dimension.

Starting from a theoretical framework based on the neuroconstructivist approach, the paper delves into the cognitive mechanisms underlying reading and writing processes, highlighting how the multifactorial nature of SLD requires highly personalized interventions.

This work investigates the role of workingmemory in the understanding of complex morphosyntactic structures in developmental age, with particular reference to relative clauses. Morphosyntactic understanding represents a fundamental skill for linguistic development and for scholastic learning, and is frequently compromised in children with Primary Language Impairment (PLI)The literature highlights how this ability is closely connected to cognitive resources, particularly working memory, which is involved in maintaining and manipulating linguistic information during sentence processing.

This thesis analyzes Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) within an integrated theoretical framework that considers the interaction between biological and environmental factors in determining individual functioning profiles. Moving beyond a purely deficit-based perspective, SLD is interpreted as the expression of dynamic processes, influenced by contextual variables and flexible, modifiable developmental mechanisms.

This thesis analyses the Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), with particular reference to the developmental dyslexia, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent difficulties in reading accuracy and speed, in the presence of adequate intellectual functioning and suitable educational opportunities.

Through the presentation of a clinical case, we illustrate how individualized care, shared with the family and school, can promote improvement in reading and writing skills, academic independence, and the child's overall well-being.

This study analyses the comparability between the Intelligence and Development Scales for Children and Adolescents (IDS-2) , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) in the cognitive assessment of subjects with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)Both tools are based on the theoretical framework of the model Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC).

I Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) These are neurobiological conditions that impair the automatic acquisition of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, even in the absence of cognitive or sensory deficits or inadequate educational opportunities. Early identification and the adoption of appropriate intervention strategies are essential to reduce the impact of the disorder and promote more effective and inclusive learning.

Le executive functions (EF) They represent a set of cognitive processes fundamental to the regulation of behavior, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, and the inhibition of automatic responses. These processes play a crucial role in learning and academic success, and their deficit is frequently associated with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD).

This paper examines the role of executive functions in DSA, the main theoretical models of reference and the empirical evidence relating to rehabilitation interventions.

This paper is based on the presentation of a clinical case involving a girl attending the second grade of primary school, with a history of previous language difficulties. The first neuropsychological evaluation, carried out in March 2021 by Dr. Daniela Gallo, highlights the presence of a Expressive Language Disorder (F80.1) still active, with significant repercussions on learning to read and write, such as to configure a high risk of developing a Specific Learning Disorder in the field of reading and writing (Developmental Dyslexia F81.0 e Developmental Dysorthography F81.1).

I Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) They affect 5-15% of the global population (APA, 2013), with dyslexia being one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders (MIUR, 2024). They can have significant repercussions on school adjustment and psychological well-being, influencing not only performance but also the emotional health of individuals (Scorza et al., 2018a).

This thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing Italian validation process of the instrument. The results of the descriptive analyses and linear regressions were obtained by comparing two groups, consisting of a total of 13 children, with different levels of decoding ability.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between Language Delay (LR), Primary Language Impairment (PLI) e Specific Learning Disorder (SLD).

The candidate conducted a bibliographic search through the main scientific literature databases, in order to identify articles relevant to the topic, selected on the basis of thematic relevance and publication date.

This thesis initially provides a general description of **Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)**, regarding their etiology, characteristics, functional consequences, and comorbid conditions. It then provides an overview of the most recent recommendations on the principles to follow for the assessment and intervention of SLD. The final section describes Mia's clinical case, from the assessment phase to the proposed intervention.

This work analyses the bilingualism in developmental age and its implications in the diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)In an increasingly multilingual society, the assessment of bilingual children requires particular attention to avoid false positives, due to linguistic difficulties related to the acquisition of the second language (L2), and false negatives, which can prevent the recognition of a real disorder.

La dyslexia Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that significantly impacts reading skills, with repercussions that can extend well beyond school age. This paper aims to explore the topic of dyslexia in adulthood, with the goal of highlighting the cognitive, emotional, and social implications associated with the disorder in adulthood. The underlying hypothesis is that the difficulties experienced in the school context do not end with growth, but can persist, also affecting work and social experiences.

The present paper aims to analyze the role of genetic components in the onset of Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), which identify a heterogeneous category of difficulties emerging during developmental age and affecting basic learning in reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are defined as "specific" because they significantly and circumscribedly affect a particular skill domain, preserving general intellectual functioning. Furthermore, they represent the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, and the scientific literature agrees that their origin lies in the interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

Nonverbal learning disorder (NLD) is a condition frequently encountered by clinicians treating learning disabilities, although it is not included in any official classification. The symptomatic constellation of NLD and its presumed etiopathogenesis are described.

The present work aims to describe the text comprehension disorder, referring to existing scientific literature.

It is known that adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) are at greater risk of developing psychological difficulties than their typically developing (TS) peers. However, following the two-year pandemic Covid-19, studies aimed at analyzing psychological outcomes in this population are still limited.

This study has two objectives: the first is to investigate the emotional, social, and behavioral strengths and weaknesses of adolescents with learning disabilities; the second is to analyze the concordance between the responses provided by mothers, fathers, and children.

Digital technology is providing great support both in school and out of school to all students, but especially to children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), thanks to the use of specific programs such as Geco. The importance of having models in the educational field that see technology as a new way to communicate and learn within the classroom context becomes a fundamental objective, in the near future, to which all schools of any order and level in our country should aspire.

One of the erroneous beliefs is that poor performance at school is always linked to an intellectual deficit, instead there is a large category of intelligent children/teens who suddenly encounter a barrier compared to their peers: what is simple for others is complicated for them.

On the basis of the literature and taking into consideration the studies that relate the WISC-IV to Specific Learning Disorders, with this thesis contribution we aimed to observe the cognitive profiles outlined by the WISC-IV scale in a reference sample extracted from the patients of the SOS Dyslexia center of Casalecchio di Reno (BO).

Specifically, we focused on the observation of the values ​​of the specific IRP, IML and IVE indices (whose discrepancy can provide us with information on the basic cognitive processes of DSA) in a clinical sample with well-defined diagnoses; distinguishing the subtypes in the cases of DSA diagnosis based on the scholastic difficulties identified in the diagnostic process. We tried to understand, through the observation of the trend of these indices, whether it was possible to identify profiles that may be typical for subjects with DSA by formulating hypotheses on any prevalent profiles in the selected sample, in particular looking at the relationship between non-verbal logical functions, working memory and processing speed.

Reading Comprehension in Bilingual subjects seems to be less efficient than in Monolingual peers, with consequences that lead to early school dropout. The literature offers an important contribution regarding the Reading Comprehension of Monolinguals, which would be influenced by the Executive Functions and Working Memory of the subjects. As regards Bilinguals, the literature looks more at a linguistic component as a factor underlying Reading Comprehension. The aim of this meta-analysis was to identify which functions are mostly responsible for the Reading Comprehension performance of Bilingual subjects. For this purpose, 13 articles were selected that compared the Reading Comprehension performance of Monolingual and Bilingual subjects, coding in addition to the Reading Comprehension variable, two reading variables and one vocabulary variable. The following were calculated: effect size of each variable to measure the difference between Monolinguals and Bilinguals. The results of our meta-analysis highlight that reading skills (both lexical and phonological) do not seem to influence the performance in Reading Comprehension of Bilingual subjects. Subsequently, a meta-regression was conducted to verify the presence of an influence of vocabulary on Reading Comprehension tasks. Our results show that the size of the L2 Vocabulary of Bilingual subjects influences their performance in Reading Comprehension.