Sonia Martinez

Brain lateralization for language in high-functioning children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and sensory processing were explored as a part of a neuropsychological profile. A dichotic listening test and the Luria laterality subtest were administered to all participants (including controls) and the sensory profile test only to the ASC group. The usual right ear advantage was not exhibited by children with ASC and anomalies in auditory filtering were found. The sensory profile of 60% of the sample was characterized by hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli, hyposensitivity to vestibular information, high emotional reactions to sensory experiences, poor psychosocial coping strategies, high distractibility and inability to interpret body and facial language. Hyper-responsiveness to environmental auditory stimuli was significantly associated with impaired attention. Similarly, non-adaptive responses to sensory quotidian experiences were strongly connected to poor coping strategies. Our results, although preliminary, contribute to emphasizing the importance of including additional assessment methods such as the dichotic listening and the sensory profile questionnaire in the evaluation of cognitive profile in high-functioning children with ASC to plan an individualized psycho-educative intervention. eww140929dxn

The whole globe is now suffering the biggest economic crisis since World War II, which is shaking the structures of the capitalist system as a way to progress. Actually, our society won´t be the same. If our society wanted to get over it, solidarity would be the key word to resolve it, as a main social action policy. In this way, social action is the answer of every government to resolve all the effects caused by this economic tsunami. Talking about social action is to talk about everything we worry about as a society: teaching, health system, culture, housing, environment, consumption, social security, free time etc. Therefore, in this essay, we are going to talk about this matter, social action. When we were writing it, we had two main objectives. Firstly, to simplify what the meaning of social action is, even when we know how tough this accomplishment is because as we have already said there are a lot of different subjects involved in this concept. Secondly, to pick up all the international, national, and even regional laws about this matter. Accordingly, to make things easier to understand, we have divided this essay into five points: an historic perspective of social action, current legislative systems, social services, different kinds of social grants and how to encourage private initiative. To sum up, we want to stress that all opinions written in this essay are based on fact and never our opinions.