The COVID-19 pandemic had imposed a variety of containment measures on the general population for prolonged periods. Confinement has had, and still has, social, economic, educational, health, and psychological consequences on the entire population. Objective: In this article, a systematic search has been performed based on studies carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, regarding the impact of these containment measures on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population and their caregivers. Method: We consulted six databases (i.e., PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) and selected ten studies that met the inclusion criteria. The chosen studies have been classified according to their theoretical focus, methodology, and target population. Results: We found an increase in stress and a decrease in psychological well-being among individuals diagnosed with ASD (i.e., parents and caregivers). Additionally, in studies focused on children, youth, and adults with ASD diagnosis, the results are contradictory depending on variables such as age, ASD severity, or type of family structure. Conclusions: The results show that the consequences of quarantine and social confinement are quite contradictory and depend on variables such as age, ASD severity, and family features.

An applied research proposal for integrated learning based on the use of educational robotics has been proposed. The design has been implemented with a sample of 21 four-year-old students applying twenty-first-century competencies (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication) to learn the curricula related to the development of lexical relations. This research aims to apply data directly derived from the application of educational robotics in the classroom. The research aims focus on two fundamental questions: on the one hand, to verify whether the use of educational robotics in teaching practice is related to greater conceptual achievement and, on the other hand, to validate whether students apply transversal competencies through educational robotics. The results allow us to affirm that the didactic application of robotics activities achieves a high degree of conceptual integration when establishing lexical relationships and allows students to put into practice key transversal problem-solving and critical thinking competencies.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused high mortality rates worldwide, as well as consequent psychological and physical stress. The present study aimed to review the main existing scientific research studies conducted since the onset of the COVID-19 that have used mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as tools for emotional regulation, aiming to improve individuals’ ability to cope with general stress caused by pandemic periods and their consequences (e.g., contagion, confinement, loss of loved ones or job stability) especially related with anxiety, stress, depression, or emotional dysregulation. Method: To this aim, six databases (i.e., PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) were consulted and analyzed following PRISMA-Sc guidelines. Results: Of the 16 studies selected, 7 are clinical trials that used MBIs, and 9 are online surveys in which mindfulness and emotional regulation variables were assessed to explore their interrelations. Generally, the analysis suggested that the cultivation of MBI strategies for treating anxiety and depression during COVID-19 confinement periods resulted in improved psychological well-being. Conclusions: MBI techniques can be considered useful intervention tools in current and future worldwide changing situations, in which personal development and resilience should be considered an urgent issue for both educational and preventive health practices. Conversely, there are also some limitations that arose from the field of MBI research that hopefully might be addressed in future research (such as the diversity of intervention techniques used across studies). Pre registration: This study is not preregistered.

The correct use of punctuation marks in secondary-school students is essential for the comprehension of written texts and, therefore, for the students’ academic success. However, the examination of this issue has often been overlooked in the literature. In the present study, we focused on the progression of comma usage (i.e., a punctuation mark that is often challenging to master) and examined its relation to reading comprehension. A sample of first- and fourth-year secondary-education students from Spain (N = 115) punctuated brief texts in which commas had been previously omitted. The original texts included various types of mandatory commas in Spanish. We also obtained a reading comprehension score from a standardized reading test. Results show that secondary-education students often did not correctly place the commas, with first-year secondary-education students only succeeding in the correct placement of commas 54.5% of the time in (Year 8 in the UK system). This figure increased to 80.9% in fourth-year secondary-education students (Year 11 in the UK system). As a control, this figure rose to 91.5% in first-year university students. Critically, better comprehenders were the ones with better use of punctuation marks (r = 0.33). These results are useful for developing teaching methods to improve writing/reading skills in secondary-school students.

Copy number variants (CNVs) found in individuals with communication deficits provide a valuable window to the genetic causes of problems with language and, more generally, to the genetic foundation of the human-specific ability to learn and use languages. This paper reports on the language and communication problems of a patient with a microduplication in 22q11.23 and a microdeletion in 7q31.1-q1.33 encompassing FOXP2. The proband exhibits severe speech problems and moderate comprehension deficits, whereas her pragmatic abilities are a relative strength, as she uses gestures quite competently to compensate for her expressive issues. This profile is compatible with the deficiencies found in patients with similar CNVs, particularly with people bearing microdeletions in 7q31.1-q31.33.

El desarrollo pragmático temprano se configura sobre competencias interaccionales que preceden a la gramática y que son decisivas para la adaptación escolar. Este trabajo presenta un estudio piloto de viabilidad y concordancia de un protocolo de cribado pragmático en aula (24–36 meses) en contextos ecológicos de juego simbólico. El objetivo es ofrecer a docentes una herramienta breve, comprensible y aplicable sin formación logopédica especializada, que permita perfilar necesidades comunicativas y orientar la programación didáctica. La metodología combinó una rúbrica cualitativa de tres niveles (No adquirido/En proceso/Adquirido) —estructurada en pragmática enunciativa, textual e interactiva— con un registro cuantitativo de seis tipos de turnos (producción verbal espontánea, respuesta, petición, ofrecimiento, turno no verbal y ruptura conversacional). Participaron 15 alumnos/as (7 niños, 8 niñas) de un aula pública con diversidad lingüística (L1 y L2). La docente cumplimentó la rúbrica tras siete meses de curso y una investigadora realizó observaciones directas en actividades de juego (10–12 minutos) con codificación en tiempo real. Entre los resultados, el acuerdo entre la docente y la investigadora fue moderado (0.40) y reveló el enmascaramiento de las habilidades conversacionales de varios alumnos por parte de la primera. En turnos, el 100% del alumnado produjo turnos de respuesta y conductas no verbales; mientras que el 66,7% inició producciones verbales espontáneas; el 60% realizó peticiones, ofrecimientos y rupturas conversacionales. En la discusión, se interpreta el predominio de respuestas y de recursos no verbales como patrón típico de esta franja etaria y como indicador sensible para detectar vulnerabilidad pragmática en ausencia de repertorios lingüísticos extensos. La discrepancia moderada entre evaluaciones subraya la utilidad de complementar la percepción docente con observación estructurada y codificación funcional de turnos. El protocolo demuestra viabilidad, pertinencia ecológica y utilidad de cribado en una sola sesión, facilitando perfiles pragmáticos individuales y la toma de decisiones didácticas tempranas.