Learning Difficulties Research Articles

Influence of pre-existing conditions and concussion history on post-concussion symptom severity and recovery time in collegiate athletes.

Mental health conditions and concussion history reported by a collegiate athlete may contribute to prolonged recovery and symptom severity after concussion. This work examined the potential associations among concussion history, pre-existing conditions, and sex relative to initial symptom severity and recovery duration following sport-related concussion (SRC) in a cohort of Division 1 NCAA athletes. This prospective cohort study analyzed symptom severity, recovery and return-to-play times reported post-SRC using data collected as part of the Pac-12 CARE Affiliated Program and Health Analytics Program. Health history questionnaires which included self-reported history of pre-existing conditions were completed at baseline. When consented athletes were diagnosed with a concussion, daily post-concussion symptom scores were evaluated until an athlete was clinically determined to be asymptomatic. Generalized linear and Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine associations between pre-existing conditions and recovery and return-to-play times. 92 concussions met inclusion criteria. Notable differences in initial symptom severity existed between females and males who had mood disorders ([Cohen's d] = 0.51) and ADHD (d = 0.93). The number of previous concussions was a strong predictor of athletes reporting pre-existing mood disorders, depression, anxiety, and ADHD (p = 0.008-0.04). Females with ≥2 previous concussions required more days to return-to-play than males (d = 0.31-0.72). Weekly recovery and return-to-play probabilities substantially differed between athletes that did or did not have learning disorders (HRRecovery = 0.32, HRRTP = 0.22, d = 1.96-2.30) and ADHD (HRRecovery = 3.38, HRRTP = 2.74, d = 1.71-4.14). Although no association existed between concussion history and acute symptom severity, collegiate athletes with a history of concussion had higher probabilities of reporting depression, mood disorders, anxiety, and ADHD. Having ADHD or learning disorders likely strongly affects time to recovery and return-to-play for collegiate athletes.

Practical Strategies of “Soldiers Leading Soldiers” Mode in Primary School Teaching in Suburban Areas

With the promotion of curriculum reform, China’s basic education is moving from the era of “knowledge” to the era of “core literacy.” In the face of this teaching reform, teachers should focus on the main body of education and teaching-students, let students become the master of the classroom, and let the core literacy really land. The “soldiers leading soldiers” mode is a teaching method carried out given the large number of students with learning difficulties in class and the backward quality of class teaching. Through “soldiers teaching soldiers” and “soldiers training soldiers,” students’ mutual assistance can be achieved and the overall improvement of class teaching quality can be promoted. It extends from classroom to after-school, giving full play to the enthusiasm of students of different ability levels. This paper carries out practical research on primary school teaching by studying the organizational structure and evaluation mode of the “soldiers leading soldiers” mode.

Assessment of the Quality of Life and Family Function in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Caregivers in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.

Background Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neurobehavioral disorder in children and teenagers. The condition is debilitating, affecting numerous cognitive and behavioral processes and leading to substantial long-term consequences. Affected individuals, their families, and society as a whole bear a heavy functional, psychological, and financial cost. Aim The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) among parents of children with ADHD diagnoses, as well as the burden and level of dysfunction in the family. Additionally, to ascertain the sociodemographic factors that influence these issues. Methods This cross-sectional study used an online survey to collect data from caregivers of children with a confirmed diagnosis of any type of ADHD who were exhibiting symptoms before the age of seven, speaking Arabic fluently and consented to take part in the study. The Arabic version questionnaire of the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to assess the QOL, and the Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire was employed to assess the degree of the experienced burden. Participants were recruited by a systematic random sampling method. Results A total of 103 ADHD caregivers were included in the study. A total of 89 out of 103 (86.4%) participants reported having various degrees of burden. There was a significant relation between the marital status of the caregiver and the degree of burden (p=0.024). Divorced caregivers were (4, 57.1%) severely burdened. Ninety out of 103 participants (87.4%) reported having dysfunctional families, and the majority of them (60, 60.1%) reported moderate family dysfunction. All quality-of-life domains were negatively impacted, with the environmental domain experiencing the most disruption. The overall four subdomains of QOLdid not differ significantly with various sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of burden and family dysfunctionamong caregivers of ADHD children. Marital status was associated with a significant impact on the level of burden.In addition, there was a detrimental influence on every aspect of quality of life, with the environmental domain suffering the most. It is important to take into account family therapy and other interventions that strengthen caregivers' and families' relationships.

Predicting Adolescent Arithmetic and Reading Dysfluency.

The long-term negative consequences of learning difficulties have been acknowledged. Nonetheless, research is still scarce regarding the prediction of adolescent difficulties in reading and arithmetic skills. The present study examines at which age phase and with what kind of constellation of parent- and child-related factors can adolescent difficulties in arithmetic and/or reading fluency be successfully predicted. A sample of Finnish children (N = 941) was followed from the onset of kindergarten (at age 6) through adolescence (ages 13-16). Children's cognitive skills were assessed in kindergarten, and arithmetic and reading fluency were examined in Grades 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Parents' self-report data were collected on their own learning difficulties and educational level. Scoring below the 16th percentile in both Grades 7 and 9 was set as the criterion for dysfluency either in reading (N = 87, 9.2%) or arithmetic (N = 84, 8.9%). Adolescent dysfluency in both domains was moderately predicted by parental measures and kindergarten cognitive skills. Although adding school-age fluency measures clearly increased both the predictability and specificity of models up to Grade 4 for both skills, knowledge of letters' names, counting, and visuospatial skills remained unique predictors of dysfluency in adolescence.

Association Between Exposure to Heavy Metals and Dyslexic Risk Among Children: A Narrative Review

Context: Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a learning disorder characterized by difficulties in reading due to challenges in sound identification and letter-word association. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between exposure to heavy metals (HMs) and the risk of dyslexia in children through a narrative review. Evidence Acquisition: The study adopted a narrative review approach, utilizing keywords to search reputable databases like Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. Relevant research meeting specific criteria were selected for analysis. Results: In most studies, metals were measured in children's urine. The results indicated that children with DD had lower levels of essential metals such as zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and cobalt (Co). In contrast, toxic metals like mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), silver (Ag), and lead (Pb) were significantly higher compared to the control group. Based on the results of previous studies, no significant variations were observed in other essential and toxic metals between the case and control groups. Conclusions: Essential metals like Zn, Se, and Co may protect against DD in children, whereas toxic metals such as Pb, Ag, Cd, and Hg could exacerbate the disorder. It is recommended to evaluate essential and toxic metal levels in parents before and during pregnancy and in infants to mitigate dyslexia risk in children.

Educational Poverty and Deprivation: Attitudes and the Role of Teachers during the Pandemic

Educational poverty is widespread in compulsory education in terms of poor learning and socio-cultural disadvantages; it affects students with disabilities, students with learning difficulties, and those with an immigrant background. During the pandemic crisis, students with special educational needs (SENs) mostly suffered the risk of an additional deprivation. Within an advanced inclusive model during school closure, the Italian State guaranteed access to schools only to students with disabilities. What effects did this “equalizing” measure produce? What kinds of attitudes have teachers adopted and what roles have they played (active vs. passive) in order to make it sustainable? What was their acknowledgement of the educational poverty and deprivation? To what extent were their attitudes differentiated? This article explores the roles and attitudes of teachers during periods of lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. We assume that the teachers’ attitudes were differentiated on the basis of five cultural dimensions (auto/hetero-referencing; vision of remote teaching; relationship with bureaucracy, relationships with students; teaching as performance or relation), and two functions (classroom teachers/ SENs teachers). The study is based on 42 semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers, principals, and parents in six lower secondary public schools with high rates of SENs students and multi-ethnicity (Northern Italy), and focused on the organisational, teaching, and relational aspects. Results seem to confirm that not all teachers agreed with the Ministry line and adopted a range of responses to the challenge of maintaining inclusivity, from the inert/impatient to the creative/active ones. Their attitudes changed during the post-pandemic period from atomistic to more collaborative, and their preoccupation with the fragile “uncertified students” increased. The article closes with recommendations on teacher training.

Using students’ critical aspects to deepen understanding of nuclear physics concepts

Identifying students’ understanding provides a pathway to develop focused teaching to facilitate conceptual understanding. This study aims to gain more insight into undergraduate students’ conceptual understanding of two nuclear physics concepts: nuclear binding energy (NBE) and nuclear force; as the literature has shown that students face difficulties in learning and understanding such concepts. Phenomenography was used to provide a special qualitative research approach to exploring students’ in-depth understanding which was not addressed in previous studies. Data was collected from purposively selected students (N = 30) through semi-structured interviews. Phenomenography was used to reveal the different ways in which students understand these concepts and serves as indicators of potential conceptual difficulties. Based on these, the relevant and irrelevant critical aspects discerned by students are identified using the variation theory of learning. These critical aspects illustrate how the students understand each concept. For instance, NBE is the energy that must be added to a nucleus to separate it into its constituents and relates to a relevant critical aspect. However, NBE is also the energy that binds nucleons and this relates to an irrelevant critical aspect. These critical aspects can provide crucial information that can assist physics instructors in developing focused teaching and learning strategies. Thus, the responses to the interview can be used as a basis for teaching and learning nuclear physics concepts.

Lived Experiences of Primary Caregivers of Children with Dyslexia: A Phenomenological Study

Background: Caregivers play an important role in children’s development. Therefore, they need to recognize the learning difficulties that their children face and support them to ensure learning gains and prevent secondary complications. Nevertheless, supporting a child with a learning disability can be challenging for caregivers in many ways. 1 This study investigated caregivers’ knowledge of dyslexia, their challenges when raising children with dyslexia, and the support they seek to raise such children. Methods: Ten individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) and four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among 30 caregivers in Sri Lanka. Initial codes were generated using open coding from the transcripts, leading to sub-themes and themes. Results: Thematic analysis revealed a lack of knowledge of dyslexia-type difficulties among caregivers and in society, giving rise to misconceptions, leading to labeling and abuse of children. Caregivers feel emotionally pressured, helpless, stressed, and depressed in bringing up children with dyslexia, creating family disputes. Further, as a family, they have a sense of rejection and discrimination from school and society. Caregivers receive insufficient support from the education and health sectors due to multiple complexities such as myths, misbeliefs, inadequate knowledge and skills, unavailability of resources, and inaccessibility to services. Conclusions: Caregivers and families of children with learning disabilities demand more attention to improve their mental health and family harmony, which in turn improves children’s educational and health status. Sri Lankan health, educational, and social services should be optimized to reach the families of children with dyslexia-type difficulties.

Clinical utility of brief screening measures during neuropsychological consultation for pediatric onset multiple sclerosis.

Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) accounts for approximately 2 to 5% of all individuals with MS and is associated with an increased risk for cognitive impairment. In recent years, neuropsychological screening questionnaires have been increasingly utilized for pediatric populations in multidisciplinary settings. This study examines the clinical utility of the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ) and Pediatric Perceived Cognitive Functioning (Peds PCF) screening measures for identifying cognitive impairment in persons with POMS during a target neuropsychological evaluation. Retrospective data was gathered from electronic medical records at a single pediatric hospital. Forty-nine participants were included (69% female; 43% Hispanic/Latinx; mean age = 16.1 years old, range = 9.9 to 20.6 years old). Correlation analyses demonstrated strong interrelatedness between caregiver ratings on screening measures and performance on traditional neuropsychological measures. Effect sizes were medium across comparisons (CLDQ: Spearman's rho = -.321 to -.563; PedsPCF: Spearman's rho = .308 to .444). Exploratory cut-points using receiver operating characteristic analysis and Youden indices are also discussed. Comparison of scores across caregiver rating questionnaires and on a targeted neuropsychological battery suggests that the screening surveys alone may not be sensitive enough to identify children with cognitive impairments, but ratings may provide qualitatively meaningful information along with neuropsychological testing. This study illustrates how pediatric neuropsychologists can leverage screening tools to focus consultative interviews and effectively triage referrals for evaluation within an academic medical setting.

Enhancing student engagement in online education: the role of self-regulation and teacher support in Zambia

This study examined the opportunities and difficulties of online learning in Zambia’s higher education system, emphasizing the effects of self-regulation as a mediator between teacher-scaffolded online interactions and student learning engagement. Students and teachers frequently encounter significant challenges, such as low motivation, engagement, and self-regulation, despite the growing popularity of online learning. Hence, there was a need to explore how these can be mitigated through enhanced self-regulation and contribute to better educational outcomes and the broader context of pedagogical innovation. Data was gathered from an online survey of 1323 undergraduate students who took online courses in blended learning environments at four higher education institutions in Zambia. The results show a substantial mediating effect of self-regulation on student learning engagement and teacher-scaffolded online interactions. Findings underscore the need for comprehensive strategies to enhance online learning experiences, including constructive feedback, conducive learning environments, and continuous professional development programs for teachers. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of interactive online learning activities to improve students’ learning management skills and promote self-discipline in online learning. It highlights the vital role of self-regulation, active learning engagement, and teacher-scaffolded online interactions and calls on educators and administrators to develop innovative ways to make participating in online learning smoother.

Beyond Magic: Fostering Literacy Resilience in Diverse Classrooms through Home-Based Approaches.

The classrooms in Israel are very diverse, with students differing in learning styles, their handling of literacy tasks, personal and socioeconomic backgrounds, and more. These differences significantly impact the curriculum aimed at promoting literacy resilience, explicit teaching processes in the classroom, and imparting metacognitive strategies and actions to overcome learning difficulties. This qualitative-interpretative study reveals the pedagogical perceptions, challenges, and coping strategies of fourteen Hebrew teachers in five elementary schools in central Israel regarding integrating home literacy in language lessons and cultivating literacy resilience among their students. The research data were collected through in-depth interviews with the teachers. The analysis of the teachers' reports reveals two main perceptions regarding literacy resilience: (1) Literacy resilience is a tool for life; (2) Home literacy significantly contributes to fostering literacy resilience. Furthermore, cultivating literacy resilience presents three significant challenges for the teachers: (1) Teaching in a heterogeneous classroom, (2) Encouraging parental involvement, and (3) Fostering independent learners. To cultivate literacy resilience in a heterogeneous classroom, teachers must be sensitive to each student's unique needs and plan teaching-learning processes based on principles of self-directed learning and peer dialogue. They must establish a personal-emotional connection that is a significant anchor for the students and outlines a path for integrating and strengthening the sense of competence in handling literacy tasks. It was also found that parental involvement is a significant factor influencing the cultivation of literacy resilience, and teachers undertake various actions to increase their level of involvement. This study adds an essential layer to the body of knowledge regarding the understanding of the factors affecting the development of pedagogical literacy perceptions that promote the integration of home literacy in the classroom. These perceptions may promote the nurturing process of literacy resilience among students from various cultures, accepting and understanding them. In this way, we can attempt to address literacy and language challenges in Israel.

Where do neurodevelopmental conditions fit in transdiagnostic psychiatric frameworks? Incorporating a new neurodevelopmental spectrum.

Features of autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, intellectual disabilities, and communication and motor disorders usually emerge early in life and are associated with atypical neurodevelopment. These "neurodevelopmental conditions" are grouped together in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 to reflect their shared characteristics. Yet, reliance on categorical diagnoses poses significant challenges in both research and clinical settings (e.g., high co-occurrence, arbitrary diagnostic boundaries, high within-disorder heterogeneity). Taking a transdiagnostic dimensional approach provides a useful alternative for addressing these limitations, accounting for shared underpinnings across neurodevelopmental conditions, and characterizing their common co-occurrence and developmental continuity with other psychiatric conditions. Neurodevelopmental features have not been adequately considered in transdiagnostic psychiatric frameworks, although this would have fundamental implications for research and clinical practices. Growing evidence from studies on the structure of neurodevelopmental and other psychiatric conditions indicates that features of neurodevelopmental conditions cluster together, delineating a "neurodevelopmental spectrum" ranging from normative to impairing profiles. Studies on shared genetic underpinnings, overlapping cognitive and neural profiles, and similar developmental course and efficacy of support/treatment strategies indicate the validity of this neurodevelopmental spectrum. Further, characterizing this spectrum alongside other psychiatric dimensions has clinical utility, as it provides a fuller view of an individual's needs and strengths, and greater prognostic utility than diagnostic categories. Based on this compelling body of evidence, we argue that incorporating a new neurodevelopmental spectrum into transdiagnostic frameworks has considerable potential for transforming our understanding, classification, assessment, and clinical practices around neurodevelopmental and other psychiatric conditions.

Empowering parents of students with and without learning difficulties to collaborate with schools: how are family–school partnerships related to parents’ motivational beliefs?

ABSTRACT Although parental involvement is known to be crucial for the academic and social development of students, especially those with learning difficulties, little is known about the relationship of schools’ invitations with parents’ motivational beliefs. A sample of N = 881 German parents of secondary school students, of which N = 119 were identified as parents of children with learning difficulties, participated in the study. Structural equation models were analysed to examine how different aspects of family–school partnerships are related to parental motivational beliefs. Our findings suggest that a welcoming culture and the quality of parent-teacher collaboration are positively associated with higher parental motivation, regardless of students’ learning difficulties. These results highlight the need for inclusive secondary schools to foster not only individual contacts between teachers and parents but also a positive and welcoming school culture.

Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Bridging the Gap for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities experience (SWDS) difficulties in learning due to limitations placed on them by their defect. To meet their learning needs distinguishing educational provisions from regular education were introduced into educational system which consist of special teachers and modification of curriculum, instructional procedures, methodology, instructional materials and learning environment contingent on category and magnitude of disabilities. Similarly, given that learning has to be effective; inclusive education in regular educational institutions was introduced. Nevertheless, while those who cannot benefit from inclusive education due to the severity of their handicap; provisions were made to accommodate them in special classes and special schools. These provisions are indeed beneficial to SWDs. However, introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in tertiary institutions personalizes and has been found to enhance learning for SWDs. Moreover, its use is not without challenges which need to be addressed to enable them benefit maximally from this novel and unique technology. This paper, therefore, through evaluative and prescriptive methodology using google search on the theme, concepts and keywords examines the type of AI technologies used by SWDs in higher education, benefits and challenges. Finally, the paper offers some suggestions on overcoming these challenges to enable SWDs benefit maximally from the usage.

WEB-SITE DESIGN (BEHAVIORAL + EDUCATIONAL) TO HELP AUTISUM CHILDRENDISORDER

Autism is a condition in which children have difficulties interacting with others or exhibit differences in how they interact with people. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may respond well to web-based learning because computers can offer features such as repetition, visual stimuli, and independent interactions that appeal to them. However, there have been limited studies on websites (behavioral and educational), especially outside of institutional settings. The aim of this research is to assess the effectiveness of interactive digital programs used to teach individuals with learning difficulties, tailored to their capabilities and needs. Modern technology has provided interactive and educational opportunities through picture books. This research involves designing an educational website for children with autism, including a program to teach them basic concepts necessary for daily life, such as the Arabic alphabet, to enable them to form complete words and, consequently, complete sentences. Additionally, the program teaches numbers, enabling children to count and perform arithmetic problems such as counting money and telling time. The main interface page displays eight images that change every seven seconds automatically or via navigation links on the right and left sides of the image. A six-page website was designed, covering topics such as what autism is, symptoms, diagnosis, and more. Web technologies were utilized in the website design, with HTML as the primary language. To analyze some aspects of this study's results, the use of the computer screen is intended to capture the autistic child's attention, helping them remain in one place and stay focused on the screen for as long as possible. If a mother or female teacher can keep a child engaged with the screen for 5-10 minutes, it is considered a significant achievement.

Optimizing Capsule Network Performance with Enhanced Squash Function for Classification Large-Scale Bone Marrow Cells

Capsule networks (CapsNet) have emerged as a promising architectural framework for various machine-learning tasks and offer advantages in capturing hierarchical relationships and spatial hierarchies within data. One of the most crucial components of CapsNet is the squash function, which plays a pivotal role in transforming capsule activations. Despite the success achieved by standard squash functions, some limitations remain. The difficulty learning complex patterns with small vectors and vanishing gradients are major limitations. Standard squash functions may struggle to handle large datasets. We improve our methodology to enhance squash functions to address these challenges and build on our previous research, which recommended enhancing squash functions for future improvements. Thus, high-dimensional, and complex data scenarios improve CapsNet’s performance. Enhancing CapsNet for complex tasks like bone marrow (BM) cell classification requires optimizing its fundamental operations. Additionally, the squash function affects feature representation and routing dynamics. Additionally, this enhancement improves feature representation, preserves spatial relationships, and reduces routing information loss. The proposed method increased BM data classification accuracy from 96.99% to 98.52%. This shows that our method improves CapsNet performance, especially in complex and large-scale tasks like BM cells. Comparing the improved CapsNet model to the standard CapsNet across datasets supports the results. The enhanced squash CapsNet outperforms the standard model on MNIST, CIFAR-10, and Fashion MNIST with an accuracy of 99.83%, 73%, and 94.66%, respectively. These findings show that the enhanced squash function improves CapsNet performance across diverse datasets, confirms its potential for real-world machine learning applications, and highlight the necessity for additional research.

A longitudinal study of learning difficulties in adolescence and biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk in adulthood: A gendered pathways approach

ObjectivesLittle is known about the relationship between learning difficulties (LD) in adolescence and physical health in adulthood. This study investigates the gender-specific pathways through which LD is longitudinally associated with cardiometabolic risk in adulthood. Study designWe used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 11,342). To assess cardiometabolic risk, 11 biomarkers related to cardiovascular functioning, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and inflammation were utilized. MethodsWe first estimated the association between LD in adolescence and cardiometabolic risk in adulthood. Then, we examined whether this association is mediated by educational attainment and body mass index (BMI). Finally, we employed a moderated mediation model to determine whether gender moderates these mediation patterns. ResultsLD in adolescence was positively associated with cardiometabolic risk in adulthood (b = 0.165, p < 0.001). LD also predicted lower educational attainment (b = −0.724, p < 0.001) and higher BMI (b = 0.589, p < 0.05). Educational attainment and BMI explained 18 and 25 percent of the positive association between LD and cardiometabolic risk, respectively. A moderated mediation model revealed that indirect effects of LD on cardiometabolic risk via educational attainment and BMI were more pronounced among women than men. ConclusionLD in adolescence is a significant predictor of cardiometabolic risk in adulthood. Interventions focusing on the academic and health behaviors of girls with LD may be effective in improving their adult physical health.

Influence of Educational Measures on Emotional Adjustment in Students with and without Specific Learning Difficulties according to Gender

The prevalence of mental health problems in adolescence is high, and it would appear that certain conditioning factors such as having a Specific Learning Disability (SpLD), the application of educational measures (repeating a school year), or gender can have an impact on the socioemotional development of adolescents. However, we do not yet have a clear picture of the role played by each variable or whether there are interactions between them. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse the effect of these independent variables on internalising problems (anxiety and depression) and on personal resources (self-esteem, social competence, and awareness of the problem). The sample is composed of 80 students, 40 with SpLD and 40 control, aged between 12 and 17 years old, matched in terms of age and gender. The results indicate that the variables Specific Learning Disabilities and educational measures have a negative impact on internalising problems and personal resources of adolescents, while there is no significant effect with respect to gender. In addition, we identified interactions between having SpLD and being held back a year. We therefore call into question the negative impact of repeating a school year according to the condition.

PPP2R5E: New gene potentially involved in specific learning disorders and myopathy

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a family of multifunctional enzymatic complexes crucial for cellular signalling, playing a pivotal role in brain function and development. Mutations in specific genes encoding PP2A complexes have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders with hypotonia and high risk of seizures. In the current work, we present an individual with specific learning problems, motor coordination disorders, hypotonia and behavioural issues. Although whole exome sequencing (WES) did not unveil pathogenic variants in known genes related to these symptoms, a de novo heterozygous variant Glu191Lys was identified within PPP2R5E, encoding the PP2A regulatory subunit B56ε. The novel variant was not observed in the four healthy brothers and was not detected as parental somatic mosaicism. The mutation predicted a change of charge of the mutated amino acid within a conserved LFDSEDPRER motif common to all PPP2R5 B-subunits. Biochemical assays demonstrated a decreased interaction with the PP2A A and C subunits, leading to disturbances in holoenzyme formation, and thus likely, function. For the first time, we report a potential causal link between the observed variant within the PPP2R5E gene and the symptoms manifested in the subject, spanning specific learning problems and motor coordination disorders potentially associated with myopathy.

Enhancing Support for Slow Learners Evaluating Inclusive Education Models in Contemporary Classrooms

Present study assesses the effectiveness of inclusive education frameworks in supporting slow learners, a student needs extra time and resources to achieve academic success. The objective is to include these students in regular classes to promote fairness and social unity. Qualitative research study supported by six teachers working in primary, elementary, and secondary institutions in Karachi. The data collected provided thematic analysis identifying key challenges, strategies, and impacts in the implementation of inclusive education toward children with learning difficulties. Findings also show that though the models of inclusive education may uplift the slow learners both in academic performance and self-esteem, their effectiveness depends on adequate resources, flexible curriculum, and comprehensive training for teachers. Individual education plans and differentiated instruction are also identified as important. Future research has to be based on longitudinal studies and comparative studies across different cultural contexts of inclusive education models with specific attention to teacher preparation and the perspectives of slow learners.