Comparison the Effectiveness of Computerized and Non-Computerized Cognitive Games on Problem Solving and Cognitive Flexibility in Educable Intellectual Disability Children

Intellectual disability children have many problems with cognitive functions, and a comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive games can have useful results. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of computerized and non-computerized cognitive games on problem-solving and cognitive flexibility in intellectually disabled children.

This study in terms of purpose and in terms of implementation method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up design with a control group. The research population was the educable intellectual disability female students of the first elementary period of Ahvaz city in the academic years of 2022-23. The research sample was calculated for each group of 12 people, which these people were selected by the purposive sampling method and replaced into three equal groups. The first experimental group was trained in 20 sessions of 45-minute cognitive games with Captain's Log computerized software, the second experimental group was trained in 20 sessions of 45-minute cognitive games without the software, and the control group remained on the waiting list for training. The research tools included a demographic information form, Tower of Hanoi computerized test, and Wisconsin Cards Sorting computerized test, and data were analyzed by methods of chi-square, analysis of variance with repeated measures, and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS-19 software.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of age and educational level (P>0.05). Also, computerized and non-computerized cognitive games compared to the control group led to improved problem-solving and cognitive flexibility in educable intellectual disability children, and the results were maintained in the follow-up stage (P<0.001). In addition, the effectiveness of computerized cognitive games in compared to non-computerized cognitive games was higher in improving the problem-solving and cognitive flexibility (P<0.001).

According to the results of this study, health professionals and therapists can use computerized cognitive games along with other effective methods to improve cognitive functions.