Investigating The Effectiveness of Sandplay Therapy on the Selective Attention of 8-11 Years Old Boy Students with Special Learning Disabilities

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of sand -play therapy on the selective attention of told 8-11 years’ students with special learning disabilities.

The research method was a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up semi-experiment with a control group. The statistical population included all students with learning disabilities living in Pardis City. Twenty of them were selected using convenient sampling method and randomly divided into two groups (control and experimental). The Continuous Performance Test was performed in both groups (pre-test). Then the experimental group received the treatment program in eight sessions of 45 minutes for two months, while the control group did not receive any training. The post-test was performed on both experimental and control groups. The follow-up was carried out, two months later. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 22 by mixed variance analysis.

The findings showed that sand -play therapy had a positive impact on the selective attention of children with special learning disabilities, compared to the control group, and its effectiveness sustained during the follow-up period.

Sand -play therapy can be used to increase selective attention in students with special learning disabilities in exceptional schools and child counseling centers.