PSYCHOLOGY OF DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: ALBERTO SARDELLAExpected Learning Outcomes
The objectives focus on acquiring adequate knowledge of the psychological aspects related to neuro-disability and neurodevelopmental disorders, with particular reference to cognitive, motivational, emotional-affective, relational, and personality-related issues, in both adult and developmental patients. The course also aims to promote knowledge regarding the main purposes of clinical assessment, the relationships between disability and life contexts, as well as the primary intervention/rehabilitation methods. Specifically, in rehabilitative terms, an holistic approach will be promoted, which, unlike traditional methodologies, engages the human psyche in all its complexity, acknowledging the impossibility of separating the mind-body relationship.
Course Structure
Lectures with the opportunity to conduct practical, guided activities.
Required Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the processes and stages of typical development
Basic knowledge of psychobiology.
Attendance of Lessons
Highly recommended.
Detailed Course Content
- Functioning, disability, and environmental factors: WHO classifications.
- The concept of Disability proposed by the ICF; ICF and the functioning profile.
- The main classification systems (DSM-5 and ICD-10), recent terminologies, and the nosographic framework of the most common forms of disability.
- Sensory disabilities
- Motor disabilities
- Intellectual disabilities
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Learning disorders
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Language delays and disorders
Principal neuropsychological deficits:
- Memory disorders: Amnesias
- Frontal syndromes
- Extra-corporeal space disorders: Hemineglect
- Body space disorders: Hemisomatognosia and Somatotopagnosia
- Visuospatial disorders: Constructional apraxia and Topographical disorientation
- Language disorders: Aphasia
- Written language and calculation disorders: Alexia, Agraphia, and Acalculia
- Disorders of gesture planning: Apraxias
- Recognition disorders: Agnosias
Rehabilitation interventions for brain trauma: holistic/integrated approach
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
The evaluation will consist of an oral interview.
It will be a moment to assess the progress made and engage in an individual exchange with the instructor. Mastery of the subject is required, with the ability to recognize the interconnections between different topics and demonstrate the capacity to organize technical knowledge in relation to specific objectives.
The evaluation criteria are based on:
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Clarity in presenting the course content
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Competence in using specialized terminology
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
- Functioning, disability, and environmental factors: WHO classifications.
- The concept of Disability proposed by the ICF; ICF and the functioning profile.
- The main classification systems (DSM-5 and ICD-10), recent terminologies, and the nosographic framework of the most common forms of disability.
- Sensory disabilities
- Motor disabilities
- Intellectual disabilities
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Learning disorders
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Language delays and disorders
Principal neuropsychological deficits:
- Memory disorders: Amnesias
- Frontal syndromes
- Extra-corporeal space disorders: Hemineglect
- Body space disorders: Hemisomatognosia and Somatotopagnosia
- Visuospatial disorders: Constructional apraxia and Topographical disorientation
- Language disorders: Aphasia
- Written language and calculation disorders: Alexia, Agraphia, and Acalculia
- Disorders of gesture planning: Apraxias
- Recognition disorders: Agnosias
Rehabilitation interventions for brain trauma: holistic/integrated approach