Investigating the effectiveness of motor based cognitive rehabilitation on orientation and neuropsychological symptoms in children with non-verbal learning disorder

Non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) is a disorder in which children are deficient in motor skills in addition to cognitive impairments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of motor based cognitive rehabilitation on orientation and neuropsychological symptoms in children with NLD. The present study followed a quasi – experimental (pretest- posttest with control group) design. The research population included all children with NLD in Bafgh city from which 30 children were selected through available sampling and then randomly were assigned to an experimental group (15 students) and a control group (15 students). The research instruments consisted of a neuropsychological Conner, Oseretsky and Goldestain questionnaire. Motor based cognitive rehabilitation program was done in 10 sessions. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in SPSS. The results of the study showed that attention, memory, cognition and executive function of the experimental group improved after intervention (p < 0/001). Also improvement in Orientation after intervention was observed (P<0/01). The results of the statistical analysis showed that motor based cognitive rehabilitation can improve neuropsychological and orientation in NLD children.