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Application of new methods and technologies in mice models of autism research
Nováková, Rozálie ; Kubik-Zahorodna, Agnieszka (advisor) ; Telenský, Petr (referee)
Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting around 2 % of the world's population. The underlying pathology is still unknown, but it seems that this disorder might be caused by a complex combination of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. ASD individuals suffer not only from repetitive behavior, abnormal social behavior and impaired communication but also from many comorbid disorders. ASD mouse models offer a deeper insight into the pathology of ASD, possibly leading to the development of treatments, or even a cure. Since there are over a thousand risk-genes for ASD, and therefore many ASD mouse models, there is an increased pressure to develop new, effective, and more automatized behavioral assays. Two examples of this would be Intellicage and Digitally Ventilated Cage (DVC), where an explicit advantage to these systems is that they can both function as a home cage. Intellicage is a fully-automized home cage designed for the high-throughput and long-term investigation of spontaneous behavior and cognitive abilities of mice, and DVC, a standard IVC cage continuously measuring a mouse's activity. These may become useful tools not only for animal models of Autism Spectrum Disorder, but all studies involving behavioral assays.
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Personality Development of Preschool Children. Use of Rhythmic Texts with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dovrtělová, Marie ; Zemková, Jaroslava (advisor) ; Mrkosová, Eva (referee)
The rhythmic text is irreplaceable in the life of every preschool child. The main pointof the theses is to find a way to make this development tool approach to children with autism spectrum disorder. Theses characterize rhythmic texts and discusses their importance in a child's life. It occused with personal and social education of preschool children. Based on the Rámcový vzdělávací program pro předškolní vzdělávání. We pay attention to the way visualized creating rhythmic texts and the possibility of their use in the kindergarten. We found that visualized poems and songs can affect not only the speed and accuracy of their learning, but also can become helpers in introducing methods of augmentative and alternative communication, as well as a means for developing games and creating new opportunities for social inclusion of children with autistic spectrum disorder.
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The Usage of Sensory Integration within Occupational Therapy in children with autism spectrum disorder
Kozáková, Veronika ; Gerlichová, Markéta (advisor) ; Krulová, Anna (referee)
The thesis aims to describe the approach of sensory integration according to Jean Ayres and examine the possibilities for the usage in occupational therapy for children suffering from autism spectrum disorder. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the basic knowledge about sensory integration and occupational therapy related to autism spectrum disorder. The practical part tackles the terms of using sensory integration and therapeutic activities focused on particular sensory processing disorders of children with autism spectrum disorder. Sensory integration approach was developed by occupational therapist. Sensory integration approach defines three primary diagnostic groups of sensory processing disorders, provides evaluations and sensory integration activities. Based on observed data, sensory integration can be used in occupational therapy as a means to treat autistic children suffering from sensory processing disorder Key words: Sensory Integration Occupational Therapy Sensory Processing Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Specifics of school maturity and school readiness in children with autism spectrum disorder from the point of view of special education teachers and primary school teachers
Nováková, Monika ; Sotáková, Hana (advisor) ; Presslerová, Pavla (referee)
Primary target of this thesis entitled 'Specifics of school maturity and school readiness of children with autism spectrum disorder from the point of view of special education teachers and primary school teachers' is to focus on abilities and skills of children with autism spectrum disorder at the beginning of their school attendance and to look for individual preferences of respondents to the individual components of school maturity and school readiness. For this purpose a combined research has been used. Presented data are based on the study of professional literature, questionnaires, and interviews with special pedagogues and teachers. The results from both the quantitative and qualitative part of the research confirm that school maturity needs to be significantly supported and individual requirements have to be adapted in the social-emotional area and language area. Research shows that school maturity in the two above mentioned areas can be hard to achieve but school readiness is something a child with ASD can still achieve through adequate intervention. The research part also identified other factors that may affect school maturity and readiness - family, kindergarten or a teacher in both the pre-school facility and the first grade of elementary school. Keywords: autism spectrum disorders,...
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Reading comprehension in children with autism spectrum disorder in 6th and 9th grade
Nováková, Hana ; Sotáková, Hana (advisor) ; Kucharská, Anna (referee)
The submitted thesis deals with the matter of reading comprehension in pupils with autism spectrum disorders. The thesis is divided into the theoretical and empirical part. In the theoretical part we dealt with the issue of autism spectrum disorders, constituent diagnoses and the triad of disrupted areas. Further into thesis we presented the reader the fundamental cognitive theories which explain exhibitions within the range of autism spectrum disorders. Towards the end of thesis we dealt with reader's literacy with special emphasis on reading comprehension. The second part presents empirical research aimed at ascertainment of reading comprehension in pupils with autism spectrum disorders. The research sample consisted of sixth and ninth grade pupils diagnosed with Asperger syndrome from both primary and grammar school. The sample was supplemented with a control group which comprised intact pupils of the same grades. For the purposes of this study there were created new tests focusing on the level of reading comprehension. The first test aimed at reading comprehension with regard to silent reading, the second test observed reading comprehension in terms of loud reading. Methodology was further supplemented with the Strange Stories test ascertaining the level of theory of mind. The crucial part of...
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Coping with Stress in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Brožová, Kateřina ; Horáková Hoskovcová, Simona (advisor) ; Mertin, Václav (referee)
in English: This diploma thesis is focused on parents coping with the burden of having children with autism spectrum disorder. It's goal is to analyze parent's strategy to cope with such burden in relation to taking care of a child with autistic spectrum disorder. Thesis is constructed as an emprical qualitativeresearch which also involves quantitative data. Data were acquired via half - structured interviews with parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.Furthermore, a questionnaire SVF 78 "Strategy of stress management" was used and filled out by the parents. The data were subsequently qualitatively analyzed and interpreted using content analysis. Finally, a comparison to specialized literature was performed. The text of the thesis itself is composed of three parts. First part includes theoretical solutions that are based on both Czech and foreign literature concerned with autism theory and coping with stress of parents bringing up an autistic child. Second part is focusing on the methodology and data analysis procedure. The final third part is dedicated to the interpretation of interviews and discussion results, combined with results of available literature research. The benefit of this diploma thesis is discovery of what helps to parents of autistic children to cope with the stress...
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The clinical picture of developmental dysphasia in the concept of neuorodevelopmental disorders
Pospíšilová, Lenka ; Hrdlička, Michal (advisor) ; Koutek, Jiří (referee) ; Ošlejšková, Hana (referee)
Introduction: Developmental dysphasia (DD) is a developmental language disorder with high prevalence, but also with low publication index and confusion of the terminology (including the Czech version of ICD - "speech" disorder instead of "language" disorder). The scientific view has passed the development from a symptom, through the specific nozologic unit to the current term Developmental language disorder (DLD) and its classification among a new category of diseases in ICD-11 (existing in DSM-5) called Neurodevelopmental disorders. Another disorder with the characteristic pathology in communication is the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which is classified as a disease of the same category as DD. Compared to DD, it has a higher publication index, lower prevalence, and even more serious consequences. Three different domains that cause confusion, both in ASD and DD, are "speech", "language", and "communication". The same confusion applies to the current subtypes in ICD-11 with the term "functional language". In the Czech Republic there are very few studies dealing with the patients with DD, their profile of a clinic picture has not been processed so far. In spite of the increase of Czech research of ASD there is a missing speech, language, and communication profile of these individuals. This has...
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Memory and cognitive coordination impairment in rat models of neuropsychiatric diseases
Vojtěchová, Iveta ; Stuchlík, Aleš (advisor) ; Syka, Josef (referee) ; Hort, Jakub (referee)
The memory and spatial navigation are extremely important brain functions for humans, but they are often the question of life and death for animals. In humans, memory can be disrupted by various neuropsychiatric disorders. The patients suffering from Alzheimer's dementia (AD) have impaired working and long-term memory, spatial navigation, higher cognitive functions and social memory. The deficit of cognitive coordination (the skill to recognize the relevancy of incoming information) and disorientation belong to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Intelectual disability appears in some patients with autism spectrum disorder. Unfortunately, it is not possible to cure these disorders efficiently because the etiology is not known in the majority of patients. The causes leading to development of these disorders could be revealed using animal models. This thesis contributes to the characterization of the cognitive skills disruptions - as well as other behavioral alterations - in selected rat models of AD (transgenic McGill rat, non-transgenic Samaritan rat) and schizophrenia (lipopolysaccharide model of early postnatal, or prenatal, bacterial infection). The thesis also discusses the validity and limitations of these models. Our results showed a severe deficit of spatial navigation, learning and...
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Adults with Asperger's Syndrome and Their Compensatory Mechanisms
Babčaníková, Anna ; Mlejnková, Kristýna (advisor) ; Ondrušová, Jiřina (referee)
The aim of the diploma thesis entitled Compensatory mechanisms in adults with Asperger's syndrome is to answer the main research question: What compensatory mechanisms do adults with Asperger's syndrome use during integration into society and what social consequences do they face? The diploma thesis is divided into two parts, theoretical and research. The theoretical part presents readers with expertise from Czech and foreign publications. The introductory part deals with the characteristic of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Asperger's syndromem (AS), etiology and interesting myths about the development of autism spectrum disorders. The following chapters provide information on the integration of adults with AS into society, possible barriers to social integration and social skills training that can be supported by social workers. The next chapters present a long-term prognosis, compensation mechanisms and their possible social consequences. The research part of the thesis focuses mainly on the collection and analysis of data oriented according to some elements of constructivist grounded theory (GTM). Interpretative qualitative research of the diploma thesis is realized through semi-structured interviews with adults with Asperger's syndrome and also with social workers from one organization,...
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