An increasing body of research on typically and atypically developing infants has shown that motor skills play an important role in language development. To date, however, the role of specific object exploration skills for early gesture and vocabulary development has not been investigated in extremely low gestational age infants (ELGA, GA < 28 weeks), who are at greater risk for motor and language delays than full-term (FT) infants. This longitudinal study examined relations between 6-month active exploratory behaviors and 12- month word comprehension, gestures and vocal production, controlling for cognitive performance and neonatal condition (ELGA vs FT). Forty infants, 20 ELGA and 20 FT, and their mothers participated in the study. Mother-infant play interaction was video-recorded at 6 and 12 months. Oral and manual object exploration at 6 months and spontaneous gestures and vocal production at 12 months were coded. Word comprehension was evaluated with the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates CDI parent questionnaire at 12 months. Cognitive performance was examined with the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales at 6 months and the Bayley-III Scales at 12 months. Regression analyses showed that after accounting for cognitive performance and neonatal condition, oral exploration was related to word comprehension, and manual exploration to gestures and vocal production in the overall sample. Cascading effects of specific object exploration skills on gestures and language comprehension and production in preterm infants and FT infants are discussed. Clinical implications for early assessment of and interventions involving object exploration skills, which may affect language development, are considered for the preterm population.

A growing body of literature indicates that children with Specific Learning Disorder (SpLD) are at risk of internalising and externalising problems. Instead, less is known about the factors that may influence this symptomatology. For instance, a few studies investigated the extent to which impaired school well-being could predict internalising and externalising symptomatology. This study aimed first to examine school well-being in SpLD children in a multi-dimensional perspective, from the point of view of the children and their mothers; second, the study analysed relationships between school well-being problems and psychopathological symptoms. Seventy-two children aged 8–10 years, 20 with SpLD and 52 typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers completed the Questionnaire on School Well-being. The mothers also filled in the Child Behaviour Checklist. Compared with TD group, mothers of children with SpLD reported on QBS lower children’s learning performances and worse family–teacher relationships. Closer relationships between QBS scores, i.e. struggles with learning and emotional problems at school, and internalising/externalising symptoms were found in SpLD group. These findings suggest that school well-being problems could negatively influence the psychological development of children with SpLD and highlight the importance of supportive school environment to improve school well-being and overall psychological health of these children.

People with sub-threshold autistic traits (SATs) are more prone to develop addictive behaviors such the ones linked to Internet abuse. The restrictions for anti-COVID-19 distancing measures encourage social isolation and, consequently, increase screen time, which may lead to Internet addiction (IA). However, a better quality of life (QoL) may have function as a protective factor against the development of IA. This study wanted to investigate the relation between SATs, QoL, and the overuse of the Internet in a group of 141 university students in the North of Italy. Participants completed a battery of tests. Results suggest that QoL is a predictive factor of IA and that the relationship between QoL and IA is significantly moderated by SATs. This could mean that SATs might represent a risk factor for IA, even when people have a better quality of life. Differences between female and male students are discussed, as well as possible implications for practice.

Children with special needs have encountered many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, no studies have focused on the Quality of life (QoL) of children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD). This study aimed first to examine the physical, emotional and school dimensions of QoL in a group of primary school children with SpLD. The second goal was to investigate the extent to which the experience and resilience of their mothers were related to the children’s QoL. The sample included 35 children with SpLD and 85 typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers. Three standardised questionnaires were filled in by the mothers. The findings showed that, compared to TD children, those with SpLD reported worse physical health, learning processes and school-related emotional health. Relative to the TD group, the mothers of the children with SpLD experienced more negative emotions and concern towards their children’s difficulties, where these closely correlated with the children’s QoL. Maternal resilience appeared crucial to the emotional health of these children. Our findings were discussed in terms of the need for more inclusive teaching practices that support the learning processes and the psychological health of children with SpLD, and for supporting interventions for their mothers.

Background: Previous studies have identified areas of cognitive weakness in children diagnosed with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), in the areas of working memory and processing speed in particular. In adulthood, this literature is still scant, and no studies have compared the cognitive profile of university students with dyslexia (DD) with that of students with Mixed-type SLD. Method: Thus, in this study, the WAIS-IV was used to examine the cognitive functioning of three groups of university students: students with DD, with Mixed-type SLD, and typical students. Statistical analyses were performed to examine differences in WAIS-IV FSIQ, main, and additional indexes and subtests. Results: The results showed strengths in perceptual reasoning and good verbal comprehension abilities in both the DD and Mixed-type SLD group, with weaknesses in working memory and processing speed, leading to a pattern of a better General Ability Index (GAI) than Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) in both clinical groups. Thus, discrepancies between GAI and CPI, well documented in children with SLD, still manifest in adulthood in university students. Our findings also revealed worse cognitive performance in university students with mixed learning disorder relative to students with only a reading deficit. Conclusions: The cognitive features and distinctive subtest profiles that emerged should guide the assessment and the definitions of intervention programs, special educational needs, and strategies of compensation.

The present study examined maternal responses to infants’ spontaneous communicative behaviors in a sample of 20 extremely-low-gestational-age (ELGA) infants and 20 full-term (FT) infants during 30 minutes of play interaction when infants were 12 months of age. Relations between maternal responses and infants’ communication skills at 12 and 24 months were investigated. Maternal responses were coded according to their contingency and degree of relevance to the infant’s communicative signal. Despite the less advanced gestural abilities of ELGA infants, their mothers produced high percentages of contingent and relevant responses, as did mothers of their FT peers. Maternal contingent and highly relevant responses (i.e., those with a repeated label) were associated with ELGA infants’ receptive and expressive communication skills at 12 months and predicted expressive communication skills at 24 months. Results suggest that contingent maternal responses with a repeated label following infants’ spontaneous communicative behaviors support communicative development, particularly among ELGA infants.