THESES
Depressive symptoms and cognitive functions in children with developmental dyslexia (Abstract). Dissertation. Campinas, 2011.
Ricardo Franco de Lima** * Sintomas depressivos e funções cognitivas em crianças com dislexia do desenvolvimento (Resumo). Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Departamento de Psicologia Médica e Psiquiatria (Dissertação de Mestrado em Ciências Médicas - Área Ciências Biomédicas). Campinas SP. Orientadora: Sylvia Maria Ciasca. Coorientadora: Cíntia Alves Salgado Azoni. ** Address: R. Jorge Miranda, 104/ 43 - 13020-180 Campinas SP - Brasil. E-mail: rilima@fcm.unicamp.br.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to evaluate depressive symptoms and cognitive functions of attention and executive functions in children with dyslexia and children without learning disabilities.
METHOD: A sample of 61 children, aged between 7 and 14 years old, was divided into two groups: (A) 31 children diagnosed with dyslexia at Learning Disabilities Ambulatory - Hospital de Clínicas; (B) 30 children without learning disabilities evaluated at a public school. Individual evaluations were performed using the following instruments: Children Behavior Checklist, Children's Depression Inventory, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Cancellation Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, Tower of London, Wisconsin Test, and the Verbal Fluency Test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: There were significant differences between groups in scores of different instruments. Correlations between scores of depressive symptoms and attention and executive functions tests were also observed. The findings indicate that parents of dyslexic children reported greater frequency of emotional symptoms, and these children are more vulnerable to depressive symptoms. They have shown alterations in attention and in some skills of executive functions: flexibility, inhibitory control, cognitive strategies, working memory, and verbal fluency. Correlations obtained suggest that depressive symptoms may negatively influence on cognitive functions.
CONCLUSION: These aspects should be investigated in the diagnosis of dyslexia and considered in the intervention process.
Key words: neuropsychology, neuropsychological tests, learning disabilities, dyslexia, depression.
Support: This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
27 Oct 2011 -
Date of issue
Oct 2011
