Comparing the Effectiveness of Task-Oriented Cognitive Rehabilitation and Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation Programs on Cognitive Flexibility in Children with Epilepsy

Epilepsy can impact cognitive ability in children. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs on cognitive flexibility in children suffering from epilepsy.

This study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all children with epilepsy who were referred to the neurology clinic of Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran in 2021. Using the purposeful sampling method, 45 eligible children were included in the study and were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (15 people in each group). In order to collect data, the Wisconsin cards test from Grant and Berg (1948) was used.

The results showed that both task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs significantly increased cognitive flexibility in children with epilepsy compared with the control group. There was no significant difference in the computer-based cognitive section on the increase of cognitive flexibility in children with epilepsy.

Task-based cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs can be a useful approach to increase the cognitive flexibility of children with epilepsy.