Biomedical subjects

M A Sedó

Publications and source records attributed to M A Sedó.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[Seven ipsative keys to understanding the poor 'Hispanic' student in the USA].

INTRODUCTION: Examination of the special bilingual student (5% of the bilingual student population of the USA) permits us to use not only (1) the statistical reports of the population coefficients and percentages), (2) measurements of progress or performance (age in years or grades of progress at school) and (3) the neuropsychological dimensions of the brain (left and right, anterior and posterior, inferior and superior). DEVELOPMENT: It is possible to put into parenthesis the statistical norms, either national, local, regional or even Hispanic national, given the great disparity seen in the results. At the present time the Hispanic population is made up mainly of young persons, recent immigrants with limited education. So it is logical that there are three major sources of error for students who do an exam in a foreign language when they are already disadvantaged and handicapped. Alternatively, we may pay attention to ipsative comparisons (of the same subject regarding different aspects of his behavior), which are almost free of any norm but comparison between themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Here we list a series of comparisons connected with concrete and abstract conduct, asynchrony between knowledge and operations, hand work (unilateral and bilateral), linguistic and academic performance, in one language or the other. The comparisons observed help us to understand, in a new, relevant manner, the cognitive and academic function of the child who is handicapped, disadvantaged and bilingual . It also allows us to describe the basic dimensions of his cognitive and academic progress.

Brain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

['5 digit test': a multilinguistic non-reading alternative to the Stroop test].

INTRODUCTION: The use of digits in groups that may or may not correspond to their arithmetic values (for instance: five twos, that can be easily read as 'two', but must be counted as a 'five') allows us to measure at the same time the 'processing speed' of the subjects and their ability to 'direct' and 'switch' their attentional control. AIMS: The use of this new 'five digit test' (5DT) as a multilingual non-reading alternative to the Stroop test presents a series of advantages: it minimizes the effects of education and social class, allows the testing of much younger students, and allows the testing of some severe clinical cases, who may not be able to read words or name colors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Using groups of 20 adults at different age levels (55-64, 65-74, 75+) and groups of 20 and 20 subjects with cerebral-vascular episodes (anterior and posterior) we can estimate the usefulness of this instrument in concrete nosological populations. RESULTS: We find a slowing of production and reorientation times with aging; and a dramatic influence of neurological dysfunctions. CONCLUSIONS: The tests allows a valid exploration of the Stroop effect in prereading and non-reading subjects, even in other languages.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[SENTREP test: two lists of sentences of equal length to check the attention and the presence of linguistic maturity problems].

INTRODUCTION: Comparing the syntactic complexity of the sentences, in addition to its length, may help detect the linguistic weaknesses of Spanish-speaking subjects. OBJECTIVES: The test consists of two lists of sentences of similar length: a list of sentences of well-controlled length, based on the repetition of bisyllabic words (such as the ones suggested by Kagan & Klein) and adding length to the sentences in two syllables steps; and a parallel list where a series of linguistic complexities are included (negatives, persons, numbers, tenses, composite or multiple verbs, relatives, etc) where length increases one syllable at a time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We administered this test to 41, 44, 62 and 18 student aged 6, 9, 12 and 15 at a upper-class school in Bogotá; and to parallel groups of 20 gifted students (in a school for gifted children near Bogotá) and 40 disabled Hispanic non-readers attending an independent special program. RESULTS: Below a certain developmental level (the age of 9) student must face complexity as one more difficulty that diminishes the length of the repeated sentence. On the contrary: after this age, their mastery of the structure of language acts as a leading thread that allows the repetition of longer and longer sentences, much longer than their simple attention span. CONCLUSIONS: This diagnostic approach adds an unexpected approach to the very quick observation and detection of both attentional and linguistic problems.

Adolescent↗