Carter, Marie-Louise Yvette;
(2020)
Devising and Assessing an Intervention to help Extend the Attention Span of a Child with Cerebral Palsy.
Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Literature suggests that children with developmental impairment of motor skills may have an increased risk of disorders of learning, including attentional and working memory (WM) difficulties, which may remain undetected. Whilst there are many clinical studies which focus on limb function and movement, very few studies have explored the cognitive difficulties of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Among cognitive difficulties, working memory (WM) and attention seemed particularly important. In the present research, an extensive pilot focusing on working memory identified insuperable methodological difficulties. The study therefore focused instead on sustaining attention (readily identifiable from observed behaviours) and on testing the ability of an intervention to increase attention. The research consisted of close observation of a single individual with CP in a single-case study design. The present study, within the action research paradigm, incorporates some features of single case methodology; specifically, of the ABA withdrawal design. The design consisted of three phases: A no-intervention baseline phase (A), an intervention phase (B), and a no-intervention withdrawal phase, followed by return to a (new) baseline (A). The initial baseline assessment involved a series of observations during unstructured play sessions. This was to establish typical movement patterns for the participant with CP so that these could be distinguished from later movement patterns associated with the interventions. The idea of ‘pattern’ was the central concept chosen for the intervention because it is central to mathematical understanding and is part of the school curriculum. Activities were planned which were not being taught or practised at other times. Sustained improvement in attention in successive baselines would suggest the intervention programme was successful in effecting a stable change. Results demonstrate the intervention was successful in supporting a child with cerebral palsy to develop his attentional ability. This was evidenced through increased time on-task across the intervention. The child was able to choose what to pay attention to and what to ignore when undertaking adult-led learning tasks.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ed.D |
| Title: | Devising and Assessing an Intervention to help Extend the Attention Span of a Child with Cerebral Palsy |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10094862 |
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