The opinion of parents and teachers of students with learning disorders regarding executive function skills

ABSTRACT Purpose: to compare the opinion of parents and teachers of students with learning disorders, regarding executive function skills. Methods: a cross-sectional cohort study, involving 39 students, boys and girls, with a multi-disciplinary diagnosis of learning disorders. Participants in the age range 8 to 11 years and 11 months were enrolled in Grades 3 to 5 of Primary Education I. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire, comprising one questionnaire for the parents and another for the teachers, was applied. The aim was to characterize the behavioral aspects of executive function in the school and home environments. Results: data were statistically analyzed using non-parametric tests and significant differences in the answers provided by parents and teachers in the organization scale were found. By comparing the answers given by parents and teachers, significant differences were seen in the emotional control, planning/organization, material organization and monitoring scales. Conclusion: based on the results of this study, one concludes that there are different perceptions of impaired executive function among parents and teachers of students presented with learning disorders. Parental answers pointed to more difficulties than those provided by the teachers.