Michele Zappella
Encyclopedia
Michele Zappella is an Italian psychiatrist and scholar of Child Neuropsychiatry
. He is a native of Viareggio, Italy.
, where he worked with the Fountain Hospital of London from 1961 to 1963. He then moved back to Rome, where he worked in the medical field and specialized in Pediatrics. As winner of a Fulbright grant for the United States, he became a Fellow of Neurology in the Department of Child Neurology at Children's Hospital in Washington D.C., serving there from 1964 to 1965. In 1966, he moved to Pisa, Italy, where he specialized first in Child Neuropsychiatry and then, in 1968, in Nervous and Mental Diseases. In 1970 he became Lecturer in Mental Health.
He was head of the Department of Child Neuropsychiatry of Siena Hospital from 1973 to 2006. , he is teaching Child Neuropsychiatry in the Schools of Specialization of the University of Siena
and serves as a consultant in the Rett Center of Versilia
Hospital in Italy.
Zappella is an honorary member of the Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes in London and of the Italian Society of Pedagogy. He was the President of the Italian Society of Tourette's Syndrome from 1999 to 2003, and Vice President of the Italian Society of Child Neuropsychiatry from 1976 to 1978.
He has been involved in social integration and education of disabled children. From 1969 through 1970, he was focused on publishing the first papers on this subject.
In the 1960s, Zappella studied the Placing Reflex and its connections with the early diagnosis of severe mental retardation. His studies on Rett Syndrome
have shown that there is a milder variant of this syndrome in which children acquire late some manual skills and spoken language. This variant is known as the Zappella Variant of Rett Syndrome (OMIM) in the scientific community.
Zappella has extensively studied Autistic Disorders, discovering the Dysmaturational Syndrome, which manifests as a transitional autistic behavior, associated with motor and vocal tics, which has a genetic cause Tourette
-like, quite different from stable Autistic Disorders. He introduced a form of rehabilitative therapy, known as Emotional Activation through Body Reciprocity (AERC).
In 1981, in recognition of his studies on Autism
, Zappella received the Gold Medal and the Honorary Citizenship of the town of Sesto San Giovanni
, Italy.
- U.S. National Library of Medicine of National Institutes of Health
. In 1980, he won the Glaxo Award for Science diffusion (Verona
- Italy). He is currently Scientific Director of the magazine Autismo e Disturbi dello Sviluppo.
Italian
English
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. It preceded the current disciplines of psychiatry and neurology, in as much as psychiatrists and neurologists had a common training....
. He is a native of Viareggio, Italy.
Professional background
Zappella graduated in 1960 in Medicine and Surgery in Rome, Italy. He initially relocated to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he worked with the Fountain Hospital of London from 1961 to 1963. He then moved back to Rome, where he worked in the medical field and specialized in Pediatrics. As winner of a Fulbright grant for the United States, he became a Fellow of Neurology in the Department of Child Neurology at Children's Hospital in Washington D.C., serving there from 1964 to 1965. In 1966, he moved to Pisa, Italy, where he specialized first in Child Neuropsychiatry and then, in 1968, in Nervous and Mental Diseases. In 1970 he became Lecturer in Mental Health.
He was head of the Department of Child Neuropsychiatry of Siena Hospital from 1973 to 2006. , he is teaching Child Neuropsychiatry in the Schools of Specialization of the University of Siena
University of Siena
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University has around 20,000 students, nearly half of Siena's total population of around 54,000...
and serves as a consultant in the Rett Center of Versilia
Versilia
The Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca, and is named after the Versilia river.Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebrities....
Hospital in Italy.
Zappella is an honorary member of the Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes in London and of the Italian Society of Pedagogy. He was the President of the Italian Society of Tourette's Syndrome from 1999 to 2003, and Vice President of the Italian Society of Child Neuropsychiatry from 1976 to 1978.
He has been involved in social integration and education of disabled children. From 1969 through 1970, he was focused on publishing the first papers on this subject.
In the 1960s, Zappella studied the Placing Reflex and its connections with the early diagnosis of severe mental retardation. His studies on Rett Syndrome
Rett syndrome
Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the grey matter of the brain that almost exclusively affects females. The clinical features include small hands and feet and a deceleration of the rate of head growth . Repetitive hand movements, such as wringing and/or repeatedly putting hands into...
have shown that there is a milder variant of this syndrome in which children acquire late some manual skills and spoken language. This variant is known as the Zappella Variant of Rett Syndrome (OMIM) in the scientific community.
Zappella has extensively studied Autistic Disorders, discovering the Dysmaturational Syndrome, which manifests as a transitional autistic behavior, associated with motor and vocal tics, which has a genetic cause Tourette
Tourette
Tourette can refer to:*Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition**Georges Gilles de la Tourette, a French physician who described the syndrome*"tourette's", a song by Nirvana on their 1993 album In Utero...
-like, quite different from stable Autistic Disorders. He introduced a form of rehabilitative therapy, known as Emotional Activation through Body Reciprocity (AERC).
In 1981, in recognition of his studies on Autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, Zappella received the Gold Medal and the Honorary Citizenship of the town of Sesto San Giovanni
Sesto San Giovanni
Sesto San Giovanni is a comune in the Milan metropolitan area, located in the province of Milan and region of Lombardy in Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost stop on the Milan Metro M1 line. The city is informally referred to as "Sesto"...
, Italy.
Published works
Zappella is the author of over 300 scientific publications, 101 indexed on PubMedPubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
- U.S. National Library of Medicine of National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. In 1980, he won the Glaxo Award for Science diffusion (Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
- Italy). He is currently Scientific Director of the magazine Autismo e Disturbi dello Sviluppo.
Italian
- Zappella, Michele. Le encefalopatie congenite del neonato e del lattante, Infanzia Anormale, 11, 1967.
- Zappella, Michele. Il Pesce Bambino, Milano: FeltrinelliFeltrinelliFeltrinelli may refer to:* Feltrinelli - Italian publishing house* Giangiacomo Feltrinelli - founder of the publishing house* Antonio Feltrinelli Prizes - awarded by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei since 1950 in various fields of arts, sciences and "exceptional endeavours of outstanding moral...
, 1976. ISBN 978-88-077-9101-7; translated in French, l'Enfant Poisson, Paris: Payot, 1979. ISBN 2-228-33510-X. - Zappella, Michele. Il Bambino nella Luna, Milano: FeltrinelliFeltrinelliFeltrinelli may refer to:* Feltrinelli - Italian publishing house* Giangiacomo Feltrinelli - founder of the publishing house* Antonio Feltrinelli Prizes - awarded by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei since 1950 in various fields of arts, sciences and "exceptional endeavours of outstanding moral...
, 1979. ISBN 978-88-078-1108-1. - Zappella, Michele. Non vedo, non sento, non parlo, Milano: Mondadori, 1984; translated in Spanish, No veo, no oigo, no ablo, Paidos Terapia Familial, 1992. ISBN 84-7509-829-0.
- Zappella, Michele. I bambini autistici, l’holding e la famiglia, Roma: Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1987. ISBN 978-88-430-0996-1.
- A.A.V.V. Metodo Portage, ed. italiana a cura di Michele Zappella, Torino: Omega, 1989. ISBN 978-88-724-1087-5.
- Zappella, Michele. Autismo Infantile, Roma: Carocci, 1996. ISBN 978-88-430-3518-5; translated in Spanish, Autismo Infantìl, Instituto de Cultura Economica: Mexico, 1998. ISBN 84-750-9829-0.
- Zappella, Michele; with Dario Ianes. Facciamo il punto su l'autismo, Trento: Erickson, 2009. ISBN 978-88-613-7399-0.
English
- Zappella, Michele; with Alberto OliverioAlberto OliverioAlberto Oliverio is a biologist and psycho-biologist. He is currently professor of Psychobiology at the Sapienza University of Rome.-Publications:...
. The behavior of human infants, New York: Plenum Press, 1983. ISBN 03-064-1470-8. - Zappella, Michele; cooperated to Mary Coleman's The Neurology of Autism, New York: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2005. ISBN 978-0-19-518222-4.
Biographical notes sources
- Anagrafe - Università di Roma La Sapienza - Roma, Italy
- Albo Ufficiale di Ateneo - Università di Pisa - Pisa, Italy
- Anagrafe della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Siena - Siena, Italy
- Sede A.I.S.T. - Associazione Italiana Sindrome di Tourette – Milano, Italy
- Direttivo SINPIA - Società Italiana di Neuropsichiatria Infantile - Milano, Italy
- Comune di Sesto San GiovanniSesto San GiovanniSesto San Giovanni is a comune in the Milan metropolitan area, located in the province of Milan and region of Lombardy in Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost stop on the Milan Metro M1 line. The city is informally referred to as "Sesto"...
- Sesto San Giovanni, (MI) Italy