Abstract
The study evaluates the effects of a tact training on the emission of three verbal operants (i.e., tacts, mands and conversational units) in non-instructional contexts. The participants were a 16-year-old boy with autism and a 14-year-old girl with severe intellectual disability. Both students had achieved the listener repertoire and presented a level of verbal development defined as speaker and emergent speaker, respectively. They were selected on the basis of their difficulties in the production of spontaneous language in different non-instructional settings. A delayed multiple probe design across participants was used for the study. The number of pure mands, pure tacts and conversational units was measured in three non-instructional settings as dependent variables. The tact training consisted of an increase of 100 learn units in the emission of tacts compared to the average daily number of learn units received by each participant. Results show that for both students the procedure was effective in increasing the number of pure tacts and conversational units emitted in non-instructional settings.

Abstract
The aim of the present work was to explore early mathematical competencies in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS). Intellectual Disability has been identified as one of the most important features in this population. The behavioral phenotype of individuals with DS is characterized by deficits in cognitive functions and learning abilities. A numerical battery was administered to a group of 11 individuals with DS and 11 Typically Developed (TD) children matched for mental age, as assessed with the Logical Operations Test. The findings revealed that early numerical skills of individuals with DS were well aligned to mental age: the two groups presented similar competencies in counting, in mental calculation and cardinality. Moreover, individuals with DS read better Arabic numbers than the control group. Data concerning the discrimination of numbers in individuals with DS was also taken into consideration. Certainly, more research on children with DS is needed although the findings here presented have implications to understand the development of numerical skills in DS and to improve the neuropsychological assessment of children with this genetic condition.

Abstract
Background: the caregiver’s role is fundamental in the context of healthcare and the well-being of caregivers is often undermined by traumatic experiences and suffering. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship among the caregiver’s resilience, burden, suppressive mechanisms and professional quality of life. Goals and methods: Participants were 665 caregivers, 458 women and 207 men aged between 18 and 81 years old. In order to highlight the above-mentioned relationship, caregivers were asked to complete a Suppression Mental Questionnaire (SMQ), a Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) self-report, a Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) and a Professional Quality of Life Measure (ProQOL-5). A correlation and linear regression analysis was thus performed on the results obtained. Results: The Suppression Mental factors were positively correlated with both Resilience and Burden, with the exception of Regression in the Service of the Ego. Resilience was also positively correlated with Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout but negatively correlated with Compassion Satisfaction. Both significant correlations and linear regressions emerged in terms of the relationship between caregiver’s variables and total scores. Conclusions: Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress can affect the caregiver’s well-being, so that resilience and suppressive mechanisms are fundamental. These components should be considered with a particular reference to the current health emergency.

Abstract
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) represents a critical challenge because of its increasing neuropsychological impairment with progressive cognitive decline accompanied by Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) in almost 90% of patients. BPSD represent relevant clinical problems, leading to a worsening in the general conditions of patients. More specifically, apathy is often associated with a poor response to treatment, a faster cognitive and functional decline and an increased mortality rate. Apathy can be considered as a common symptom of AD and as an early marker of cognitive decline and transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Recent studies have shown different neurobiological and clinical links between apathy and AD. Evidence discussed in the present article suggests a strong clinical link between apathy and AD as well as the relevance of psychometric tools, such as the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), to better diagnose and treat apathy in patients with AD. The aim of this review was thus to provide a general overview of the neurobiological and clinical links between apathy and AD, with the purpose of evaluating the impact of apathy on the health of AD patients, focusing on the role of psychometric tools and the possible implications for treatment. A multimodal intervention should be promoted as an innovative approach for the future treatment of apathetic AD patients.

Abstract
The article deals with applying a level-balanced psychomotor support program, appropriate to the levels of motor development of preschool children with intellectual disabilities and that could improve the orientation and research abilities of the aforementioned subjects. Applying a level-balanced psychomotor support system to children of preschool age with intellectual impairments could create the favorable conditions for the realization of the individually preserved capabilities of motor management and intellectual development. The central core of the psychomotor development of children with intellectual impairments is the ability to restructure the acquired movements and actions as well as the individual recovery of the children’s emotional disorders, orientation and research abilities. It has been empirically proven that the use of a level-balanced psychomotor support program optimizes the psychomotor activity and improves the psychomotor capacity of preschoolers with intellectual impairments. These conditions allow a child’s individually preserved physical health to be involved in the realization of motor function.

Abstract
Caregivers of differently-abled children go through significant challenges in their lives. A number of studies have shown the impact of child disability on the caregivers, although only a handful of studies have shown the different coping strategies used by caregivers in order to buffer against their stressful life events. Hence, the aim of the present research was to study religious coping among the caregivers of differently-abled children with respect to their age and type of child disability. Two hundred caregivers from different rehabilitation schools and centers of the Kashmir valley were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The mean age and standard deviation of the caregivers were 40.04 and 5.31, respectively. Welch’s test, followed by the Games-Howell Post-hoc test, were carried out to analyze the data. The results revealed that children with older caregivers (40-52 years old) scored high on religious coping as compared to children with younger caregivers (27-39 years old). Furthermore, results also revealed that all the caregivers use religious coping as a means to cope with their day-to-day stressful life events, except for caregivers with visually-impaired children, who practice the strategy less as compared to their counterparts.