Desarrollo cognitivo y aprendizaje de una niña con hidrocefalia

Abstract

"Hydrocephalus is characterized by the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull,which produces an abnormal increase in the size of the brain, this type of disease causes seizures, intellectual disability or even death, as well as learning difficulties such as: concentration, reasoning, language, coordination, among others. People who suffer from this disease and their families should be aware that Hydrocephalus affects both cognitive and physical development. However, there are certain methods such as rehabilitation therapies and educational interventions which help children lead a normal life without limitations. Other mechanisms to regulate this disease is medication, which helps to control certain symptoms that this disease presents. Hydrocephalus is characterized as a disease and not as a disability, having derivations of different kinds of hydrocephalus such as: cognitive, acquired, non-communicating and communicating, likewise this disease can be detected at birth or through head trauma. At present, there have been no investigations of hydrocephalus focused on the academic area, having as a consequence the lack of methodological and didactic tools for teachers to obtain better results in the classroom, in addition to the lack of knowledge on the part of teachers of how treat these shortcomings of the student and generate better possibilities for daily living. The present work starts from the problem: What is the level of cognitive development and learning of a girl with hydrocephalus? For its solution, the following general objective was defined: To determine the level of cognitive development and learning in a girl with hydrocephalus. From the methodological point of view, the case study based on the qualitative approach was carried out, because it sought to describe the cognitive development and learning of a girl with hydrocephalus, based on the analysis of the data provided by the techniques and instruments of the approach. . For this, the informed consent of the tutor was obtained. A semi-structured interview directed to the mother of the family was used, in which data such as the infant's diagnosis, his learning process in previous years, and his course after stopping the medication were obtained. In addition, different tests were applied (Cumanés and Raven) which provided information on the limitations of her cognition, however when performing the cumanes test the girl presented difficulties in its execution and in order to corroborate the results, the Raven test was applied which allowed measure the infant's IQ, which helps to respond to our stated objective. Likewise, as part of our investigation, it was found that the girl is a 5th year student of Basic education at the “Simón Bolívar” school, which has acquired hydrocephalus. As a result of the application of the instruments, it was revealed that her Cognitive Development product of hydrocephalus is limited due to the lack of adequate tools and methodologies that help the student's learning process. Based on the results of this research, it is considered to configure or design propitious psychopedagogical strategies in relation to boys and girls with hydrocephalus. In future research, related to hydrocephalus, it is recommended to inquire about the emotional state of the patient, an aspect that was also observed affects the quality of life of patients suffering from this disease"