Abstract
People with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), especially those living in residential settings, will likely experience one or more life events as they age through the lifespan. Relocation, personal illness, and losses were the most common life events in the ID population and have been implicated as risk factors for physical and mental health problems. A number of studies have reported a significant relationship between life events exposure and psychiatric problems in people with ID. When and where a life event occurs, and the ability to cope with an event(s) can have consequences on physical and emotional well-being. The impact of a life event as being positive or negative is also dependent upon how it is viewed by the person who experiences it. Multiple life events exposure was found to have a cumulative effect over time and increases the likelihood of emotional and behavioral problems. Within the ID population, moving (relocation) was a more frequent life event for adults with Down syndrome due to the higher incidence of functional decline and dementia. Further studies are needed that look at different age groups, living settings and sample grouping to better understand the effects of life events exposure in people with ID.

Abstract
The aim of this research is to explore whether there are any differences in couple satisfaction and couple attributions between families with disabled and non-disabled children and to understand if a relationship exists among the above-mentioned variables in parents of children with and without disability. Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (low functioning n = 16; high functioning n = 20); with Down Syndrome (n = 24) and parents of non-disabled children (n = 40) were selected. Couple relationship was investigated using the Italian version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Relationship Attribution Measure (RAM). Compared with other groups, parents of children with ASD reported lower marital satisfaction and a pattern of attribution that is negatively related to marital satisfaction. Couple satisfaction and couple attribution are strongly related both in families of children with ASD and in families of children with Down Syndrome. Results showed differences between families of children with or without a disability, and between parents of children with Autism and with Down syndrome. These results can act as both a stimulus towards further research in families with disabled children and as a starting point for clinical interventions.

Abstract
Background: The aim of this research project was to conduct studies of confirmatory factor analyses of ECPI (Scale of Personal Conceptions of Intelligence) in three different cultural contexts – Italy, Portugal and Romania. We hypothesized a bi-factor structure of the instrument constructed in Portugal by Faria (1990; 2006). Method: 617 subjects, 222 Italian, 200 Portuguese, and 195 Romanian students participated in the study, attending high school, equally distributed according to their gender and socioeconomic status. We administered the ECPI composed of 26 items, of which 15 static and 11 dynamic. Results: In the three cultural contexts the results revealed the existence of 7 items, one measuring the incremental and 6 the static theory, with low factor loadings – inferior to .30. These results convinced us to test a new model eliminating these 7 items. Therefore, even if the fit of the model improved, this could not be considered a satisfactory result. Conclusions: Future research could include more in depth analyses of linguistic properties of items which compose the static sub-scale, in order to find better operationalizations of the static personal conceptions of intelligence.

Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a severe intellectual disability, severe expressive language deficits, ataxia and a specific behavior with easy excitability excitable personality and an inappropriately happy predisposition. Phenotypical variations have been described on the basis of the underlying genetic mechanism. Several reports have suggested that individuals with AS resulting from UPD, UBE3A mutations and imprinting mutations show a milder or atypical phenotype than that observed in patients with a deletion of 15q11-q13 region. The purpose of this study is to describe cognitive and adaptive functioning in a child with AS resulting from UBE3A gene mutation, and especially the linguistic development, verbal and mimic-gestual, whose inventory and use are greater than those reported in literature.

Abstract
In the present paper we propose a standardization of the dynamic version of the LOC test (Logical Operations and Conservation) elaborated by Vianello and Marin (1997). The dynamic assessment, compared with the traditional assessment, provides us with more information about the development of logical thinking, because it also measures potential abilities that can be perfected and will consolidate if the person is placed in optimal learning conditions. The LOC-DV test, standardized on a sample of 550 Italian children with typical development ages between 4 and 8 years (110 per age; 280 males and 270 females), results a highly reliable instrument (r = .91; split-half). The high regression coefficient (.85) between participants' scores and age guarantees a satisfactory progression of the developmental score parallel to the growth of age. The comparison between males and females performance reveals the absence of any significant differences. We present also the conversion tables of scores in mental age, deviation IQ and ratio IQ, giving reasons for the opportunity to prefer, in the age of development, at least at a clinical level, the utilization of the mental age and of IQ ratio rather than the deviation IQ. We advise the use of the LOC-DV test above all when the performances at the traditional tests result inferior than the potentiality, particularly in cases of socio-cultural disadvantages, intellective disabilities, and borderline cognitive functioning with negative interferences at environmental and motivational levels.

Abstract
Recent research in inclusion-oriented schools in the United States has begun to document how a variety of demographic and service delivery variables (e.g., percent of students identified as disabled, percent of time in regular class, personnel utilization) can hinder or support innovations in curriculum, instruction, and social/behavioral interventions. After providing some contextual information about Italian and American special education and describing key findings from the US research exploring service delivery variables in inclusion-oriented schools, the current study presents school demographic and service delivery data collected in 16 schools in five regions of Italy. The findings indicate substantial variation across schools on a variety of variables. We pose a series of questions prompted by the data and invite Italian researchers and practitioners to offer their analysis, interpretation, and insights about the meaning and potential implications of these data for improving inclusive educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

Abstract