The Effect Of Basic Taekwondo Exercises On Executive Functions Of Children With Learning Disorder

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of basic taekwondo exercises on the executive functions of children with a learning disorder. For this purpose, 20 boys aged 10 to 12 years with learning disorder in Mashhad were selected and randomly assigned to exercise and control groups. The exercise group practiced Taekwondo for 12 sessions, each session lasting 50 minutes, repeating three days a week. The control group also engaged in their normal daily activities during this period. Changes in subjects' executive functions were measured before and after the exercise period by the N-back and the Tower of London tests. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used for statistical analysis. The results showed that basic taekwondo exercises improve executive functions in the exercise group; All these changes were significant compared to the control group (p<0/05). Therefore, based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that basic taekwondo exercises help to improve the executive functions of children with learning disorder by affecting brain areas related to executive functions.