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Biomedical subjects

F Affolter

Publications and source records attributed to F Affolter.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1981

Perceptual processes as prerequisites for complex human behaviour.

Learning implies interaction between the environment and the individual. Thus processing of perceptual information becomes a crucial factor. Perception includes all the mechanisms used in processing the stimuli of an actual situation. Research findings in normal and sensory-deprived children suggest that perceptual development covers the entire period of acquisition of language and other complex human performances. Furthermore, children and brain damaged adults presenting problems of language and other complex human performances, such as imitation and production of events, also show difficulties in successive pattern and form recognition. The hypothesis is proposed that the adequacy of perceptual processes is a prerequisite for complex human performance. A learning model is described, based on that assumption, and therapeutic consequences are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Developmental features of speech-sound production in language-impaired children.

The speech-sound production of severely language-impaired children was monitored in a longitudinal study. In order to generalize findings, acoustical, phonemic, and clinical observation data were collected from 30 children. Results showed that speech-sound acquisition goes through a hierarchical sequence of development and that speech-sound production will deteriorate in a predictable manner depending on the pathology. The authors hypothesize a speech-sound acquisition model, SSAM, based on the development observed.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1976

[Perceptual disorders in childhood].

Cross-sectional findings in form of performance profiles of 71 severely language disturbed children three to ten years old corroborate the hypothesis that beside disturbances of complex performances, such as language, disturbances of earlier developmental performances mainly of the sensory-motor level can be observed. The prerequisites of these complex and of sensory-motor performances include different levels of perceptual integration. In each of the prefil constellation a different type of perceptual dysfunction can be observed: auditory dysfunction, or tactile-kinesthetic, or intermodal, or serial dysfunction. 15 children with intermodal and 8 with serial problems were exposed to therapy for several years. The therapy attempted to stimulate the disturbed perceptual processes. Longitudinal observations demonstrated that progress became first apparent in more primitive performances, and secondly, with a time lag, in more complex performances. These findings not only confirm the original hypothesis that in these children language disturbances are secondary to perceptual disturbances, but demonstrate also the possibility of early diagnosis and treatment of children with language difficulties.

Age Factors↗