نشریه سلامت و آموزش در اوان کودکی
سال دوم شماره 3 (پیاپی 5، پاییز 1400)

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience sensory processing and sensory motor impairments. Various treatments have been offered to children with ASD. Active music therapy is one of the most effective interventions conducted during the treatment. The aim of this study was to study the impact of active music therapy on sensory processing patterns and motor skills in children with ASD level one. The present study is an applied and single-subject research.

This study is an ABA single-subject study. The sample consisted of two ASD boys in the age range of 6-11 years old. The sample selection was based on non-random sampling convenient method. The sample society had been all children with ASD level 1 in the range age of 6-11 years old who had visited Nour Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic in Karaj city over the past year. Among the sample society, two boys had been chosen according to their GARS test scores which were between 48-65 and had not received any musical treatment intervention in the last six months and also their both families wanted to participate in the study voluntarily. The entering criterion to be selected as a sample was to gain level one score in GARS scale. The sessions had been performed for three months and each session had been held three times a week and each session lasted 90 minutes. The data were collected by Sensory Profile 2 and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Proficiency. Tests were evaluated with respect to different baselines. During the study, visual review of the charts (falling and rising pattern of the dependent variable), improvement percentage index, variability and efficiency rate had been utilized. In order to analyze the data, first, the collected raw data had been presented in the form charts. After that, the stability and process index had been plotted for the charts of each subject in baseline, intervention and evaluating situation. Then, by using stability and process index, the stability rate and the processing direction of data had been identified. Finally, the data were analyzed by plotting process and explaining the effectiveness rate along with analyzing intra-situation and inter-situation subjects.

Findings showed that the active music therapy had significant impact on the sensory processing patterns as well as large and small motor skills and coordination of upper limb joints in both subjects.

The mean of the large motor skills and more improvement in upper limb coordination had shown the least enhancement percentage. Furthermore, in sensory processing patterns an average improvement rate had been displayed specifically in components of sensory and sensitivity sensory. Findings of the current study indicated that active music therapy has significant impact on the enhancement of sensory processing pattern and motor skills in children with level one Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of organizational training skills program on homework management efficiency of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and a control group. The sample consisted of 40 boys with ADHD, in age range of 7 to 13 years old and their parents, in academic year of 2020-2021 in Tehran province. The sample size was calculated using the estimation formula (Richard, 1988), the probability of the first type error was 0.05, the probability of the second type error was 0.20, the test power was 0.80 and the effect size (d = 0.49) was 40 persons. The sample was randomly selected from one of those clinics which were admitting and treating ADHD children. Children were chosen by the entering and exiting criteria and randomly put in two groups: experiment and control (each group consisted of 20 boys). Based on behavioral and individual perspective of each boy the instruction and training had been applied in 20 sessions (including organizational skills, organizational behaviors in home, family conflict, the problems of not doing homework and etc.) (Abikoff, Gallagher,2008). Three instruments were used in this study: Coolidge (2002), Brief executive function (2000), and Barkley executive function (2012) questionnaires The data were analyzed by Multivariate Covariance Analysis (MANCOVA) and the statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software version 23.

The results showed that the level of organizational problems of ADHD students of experimental group had been lessoned significantly by training homework management skills in compared with control group. Scores of the three tests indicated a significant difference between pre-tests and post- tests; (F(1,32)=20.97, P< 0/001) , (F(1,32)=14.78, P= 0/001), (F(1,32)=20.16 ، P< 0/001) .

The findings of this study indicated that the organizational training skills program could reduce the efficiency problems of homework organization and management of students with ADHD.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of sand play therapy on improving self- control, emotional intelligence and alleviating behavioral problems in 6-year-old children.

The present study is a purposeful applied study and implemented in a quasi-experimental method with pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all 6-year-old primary school students in District 3 of Tehran province who were studying in the academic year of 2020-2021. The sampling method was multi-stage random sampling in which 14 people were randomly selected as a sample and randomly assigned to two equal groups: experimental group (7 people) and control group (7 people). Humphrey Children (2000), Perceived Self-Control Questionnaire, Child Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-CF) and the revised form of Kwai and Patterson Child and Adolescent Behavioral Problems (RBPC) were completed by the sample group. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were computed by SPSS software version 21.

The results showed that F-test analysis of covariance was obtained for self-control, and emotional intelligence and behavioral problems. These findings showed that there was a significant difference in the dependent variables including self-control, emotional intelligence and behavioral problems. Therefore, almost surely, it can be claimed that sand play therapy has an improving effect on self-control of children in range of 6 to 8 years of old.

Results showed that sand play therapy has more improving effects on self-control over emotional intelligence and behavioral problems in 6-year-old children.

The purpose of present study is to investigate the effect of educational game on educational performance of ADHD children in mathematic. This research is an applied study in terms of purpose and according to data collection method it's a quasi-experimental study with two groups of experimental and control.

This semi-experimental study was conducted in two experimental and control groups. The data was collected by pre-test and post-test. The statistical population consisted of 30 ADHD students in age range of 6 to 8 years old who were picked up from Ostooreh institute in 2nd district of Tehran. The statistical samples were chosen by simple random sampling method and each group consisted of 15 children. In this study, first of all, the educational performance test was taken from children and then the experimental group has been taught upon the designed educational games that were available on websites, but the children in control group went through their normal educational procedure. At the end of the course, both groups were tested again and the results were analyzed by SPSS software.

The results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normal distribution test for pre-tests and post-tests of educational performance were more than 0.05, which showed that the data had a normal distribution and parametric tests could be used. The data was analyzed by covariance analysis. The results showed that the mean difference of the experimental group was 9.67 and the mean difference of the control group was 0.93. Moreover, the mean difference between 2 groups was 8.73 which was a considerable amount.

According to the obtained results and main hypothesis (the use of educational games in mathematic had a positive effect on the educational performance of ADHD children in age range of 6 to 8 years old) the results of the performance test for both experimental and control groups were significant and the level of them was 95%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the null hypothesis is rejected and the educational game has a positive effect on the educational performance of these children. Finally, it is suggested that these kinds of research be commercialized and available to all ADHD children and their families.

Social skill deficiency is an obvious characteristic in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to design social stories program and determine its efficacy on social skills in children with ASD.

In this single subject study with baseline and intervention (ABAB) design, four 7 to 12-year-old-male children with ASD were selected in convenient method in Mashhad City. Their target behavior was determined based on their characteristics, then the social stories were designed accordingly. The social skills of all children were assessed by the Autism Social Skills Profile Questionnaire (ASSP) and systematic observation. Children participated in 20 training sessions (five times a week; 30 minutes per session) and received social stories. The social skills were assessed at the end of intervention. The data were analyzed by baseline diagrams, effect size, and improvement percentage.

Regarding to effect sizes and improvement percentage, 10.45%, 9.24%, 7.93%, and 16.34% of improvement in social skills, social reciprocity, social participation, and social detrimental behavior were due to participation in the intervention program. In addition, systematic observation showed that social stories have been led to improvement of social reciprocity of four children, social participation of two children, and social detrimental behavior of three children respectively.

Based on the efficacy of social stories on social skills (social reciprocity, social participation, and social detrimental behavior) of children with ASD, it can be concluded that considering social stories in training curriculum for ASD children will prevent the problems of their social relations.

As it's vivid by the name of cognitive-behavioral play therapy that cognitive-behavioral interventions are put in a play program in order to solve children's behavioral problems. As you know play-like activities and also verbal and nonverbal communications have been used widely to solve behavioral problems of children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on behavioral problems, responsibility and self-esteem of male students in 5th and 6th elementary grades in Javanrood city with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders .

The statistical population of this study consisted of all male students in fifth and sixth elementary grades in Javanrood city in the academic year of 2019-2020. The method of this research was semi-experimental. This research was a purposeful applied study. The sampling method was an available sampling method, in which two groups were randomly selected: control and intervention. The data were collected by pre-tests post-tests of two control and intervention groups from which 15 students were randomly assigned to each group (total number was 30 students). The intervention group received 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral play therapy. In this research, three questionnaires had been filled by both groups. The questionnaires included the five-scale self-esteem test of Pep et. al (1989) for children, the Rutter behavioral problems questionnaire (1967), and the Munir Kordloo responsibility questionnaire (2014). The data were analyzed by Multivariate Covariance Analysis (MANCOVA) and the statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software version 22.

According to obtained results from this study it could be acclaimed that the cognitive-behavioral play therapy has significantly affected on behavioral problems, and changed the level of self-esteem and responsibility of students.

According to the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on behavioral problems, responsibility and self-esteem of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and making significant changes on them, this treatment method can be used as an intervention model to recover the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children along with medical treatment and other rehabilitative procedures.