EuroEspes Medical Center launches the PROFE PLAN for the prevention and treatment of school failure in Spain.
One of the many problems which afflict education in our country is the lack of specific programs to aid educators and parents to identify early on the performance deficit at school which later results in school failure, a lack of personal fulfillment and social and family conflicts.
The increasing demand for medical and psychological help from various schools in our country has prompted the professionals at EuroEspes Medical Center to design an action plan for the early identification of school failure, its prevention in groups at risk, and an operative therapeutic plan coordinated with educators and parents in order to optimize the performance of children of school age.
This plan is extended to teenagers and youths with learning difficulties, attention deficit or psychological, neurological or psychiatric problems which encumber their academic performance at high school or in higher education.
OBJECTIVES
Early identification and prevention of the risk of school failure.
Early diagnosis.
Etiopathogenic and symptomatic treatment.
Psychopedagogical and cognitive intervention to stimulate areas of learning deficit.
Enhancement of intellectual development.
Clinical and medical supervision.
Promotion of personal independence.
Guidance for parents and educators.
Organization and execution of individualized programs..
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFE PLAN
The main causes of school failure are:
Organic factors (5-15%) (minimal brain injuries, deficit in brain development, epilepsy, brain tumors, subarachnoid cysts, mental retardation, genetic diseases, metabolic disorders, inborn errors of metabolism, endocrinopathies, etc.);
Endogenous and exogenous psychological factors (15-30%);
Family factors (10-20%);
Social-environmental factors (30-40%).
This plurality of factors which are potentially responsible for school failure requires the execution of a medical, neurological, psychiatric and psychological diagnosis prior to the establishment of a therapeutic intervention plan.
DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOL
The diagnostic protocol of the PROFE Plan includes the following sections:
A neurological, psychiatric and general medical examination.
A neuropsychological, psychometric, psychopedagogical and psycholinguistic examination.
Blood and urine laboratory tests.
A study by radiology and by static (TAC/ Brain Scanner) and dynamic (SPECT) neuroimaging.
An electrophysiological study (electro-encephalogram, brain mapping, evoked potentials).
A hemodynamic brain study (transcranial ultrasonography).
A metabolic and endocrine study.
A genetic study.
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION PROGRAMS
Medical Treatment
The PROFE Plan medical treatment for those children in whom organic pathologies are detected includes the following therapeutic intervention formulae:
1. Pharmacological treatment to stimulate the process of brain development.
2. Neuroprotective pharmacological treatment.
3. Symptomatic treatment.
4. Endocrine-metabolic treatment.
5. Nutritional treatment.
6. Neuro-rehabilitation treatment.
7. Physiotherapeutic treatment.
Neuropsychological Treatment
The PROFE Plan neuropsychological intervention formulae include:
1. Psychodynamic intervention.
2. Cognitive intervention.
3. Behavioral intervention.
4. Family intervention.
5. Individual therapy.
6. Group therapy.
Logopedic and Psycholinguistic Treatment
The PROFE Plan’s logopedic and psycholinguistic treatment patterns are adapted to the specific needs of each child in accordance with the causes of his/her school failure, including:
1. Complementary schooling programs.
2. Intervention on learning difficulties.
3. Correction of literacy problems.
4. Verbal comprehension and expression strategies.
5. Linguistic initiation.
6. Social skills.
7. Global psychomotricity.
8. Fine psychomotricity.
9. Special didactics.
10. Psychosensorial stimulation.
11. Music therapy.
12. Relaxation therapy.
13. Communication systems and methods.
Areas of Intervention
The various areas of logopedic, psychopedagogical and psycholinguistic intervention include:
1. Special educational needs
2. Attention problems
3. Concentration Problems
4. Memory problems
5. Learning problems
6. General academic backwardness
7. Selective academic backwardness
8. Backwardness and language problems
9. Mental retardation
10. Dysmetabolopathies
11. Endocrinopathies
12. Inborn errors of the metabolism
13. Neurological disorders
14. Infantile and juvenile psychiatric disorders
15. Mutism
16. Dysarthria
17. Dyslalia
18. Dysphemia
19. Dyslexia
20. Dysgraphia
21. Dysorthographia
22. Dysglosia
23. Dysphasia
24. Aphasia
25. Dysphonia
26. Cerebral paralysis
27. Laryngeal paralysis
28. Swallowing disorders
29. Autism
30. Cranio-encephalic traumatisms
31. Genetic defects
32. Disorders of alimentary behavior
TENDER OF SERVICES
EuroEspes Medical Center places the PROFE Plan at the disposal of the autonomic and national educational communities, both public and private, and of those families in which the parents are interested in assessing their children’s capacity of academic performance, whether they are at risk of exposure to situations of school failure or not.
