Effect of Combined Exercises (Strength and Balance) on Balance and Aggression in 7-14 Year-Old Educabe Intelectual Disability Boys

Mentally retarded people are those whose mental development ceased or are incomplete, and may include disorders in developmental skills related to intellectual levels. This problem usually has its crucial effects on their verbal, cognitive, and physical mobilities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of combined training (strength and balance) on balance, muscle strength, and aggression in mentally retarded educable children.
In a semi-experimental study, a total of 30 male students, 7 to 14 years old, studying at special school of Varzaneh District, with the mean age and standard deviation of 9.3±2.03 and IQ 50 to 70, were purposefully and according to availability selected as the sample and then assigned to experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups based on their IQ scores. Bruininks-Oserestsky Test of Motor Proficiency was used to evaluate participants’ balance. Also, to measure aggression, the researcher made use of Zahedifar scale. Participants of the experimental group performed the combined training (strength and balance) for eight weeks, three sessions a week, with each session lasting for 40 minutes, while the control group did not participate in any special training. At the end of this period, both groups took the posttest. For statistical analysis, repeated measures of ANOVA was use. The level of significance was set at p=0.05.
Research findings showed that combined training (strength and balance) had significant effects on static and dynamic balance. However, the effects of selected training on participants’ aggression were not statistically significant.
It can be concluded that based on the effectiveness of this training protocol on rehabilitation of mentally retarded children, it is recommended that such rehabilitation programs be included for participants with mental disabilities.