Improving Cognitive Abilities and e-Inclusion in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Besides overcoming the motor barriers for accessing to computers and Internet, ICT tools can provide a very useful, and often necessary, support for the cognitive development of motor-impaired children with cerebral palsy. In fact, software tools for computation and communication allow teachers to put into effect, in a more complete and efficient way, the learning methods and the educational plans studied for the child. In the present article, after a brief analysis of the general objectives to be pursued for favouring the learning for children with cerebral palsy, we take account of some specific difficulties in the logical-linguistic and logical-mathematical fields, and we show how they can be overcome using general ICT tools and specifically implemented software programs.

[1]  Oscar Mayora-Ibarra,et al.  Improving text entry performance for Spanish-speaking non-expert and impaired users , 2005, CLIHC '05.

[2]  L Girelli,et al.  The development of automaticity in accessing number magnitude. , 2000, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[3]  Carlo Dapueto,et al.  Contributions and Obstacles of Contexts in the Development of Mathematical Knowledge , 1999 .

[4]  João Pedro da Ponte,et al.  Mathematical Problem Solving and New Information Technologies , 1992, NATO ASI Series.

[5]  H. S. Sullivan.  The interpersonal theory of psychiatry , 1953 .

[6]  Jiří Mikulčák,et al.  Zentralblatt für Didaktik der Mathematik , 1971 .

[7]  Debbie Stone,et al.  User Interface Design and Evaluation , 2005 .

[8]  A. Ferrari.  Paralisi Cerebrale Infantile , 2009 .

[9]  S. Hughes,et al.  Another Look at Task Analysis , 1982, Journal of learning disabilities.

[10]  Kathleen F. McCoy,et al.  User Interaction with Word Prediction: The Effects of Prediction Quality , 2009, TACC.

[11]  Francesco Curatelli,et al.  A powerful pseudo-syllabic text entry paradigm , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[12]  Tonio Wandmacher,et al.  SIBYLLE: a system for alternative communication adapting to the context and its user , 2007, Assets '07.

[13]  Paolo Boero.  The Crucial Role of Semantic Fields in the Development of Problem Solving Skills in the School Environment , 1992 .

[14]  Formation and extension of the concept in a prelinguistic child. , 1977 .

[15]  W. L. ZAGLER,et al.  FASTY – Faster and easier text generation for disabled people , 2003 .

[16]  S. Dehaene,et al.  The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics. , 1998 .