نشریه توانمندسازی کودکان استثنایی
سال چهاردهم شماره 2 (تابستان 1402)

The current research aims to develop and validate an educational package based on positive emotional stimuli for dyslexic students. For the validation of the package, 38 relevant experts were selected from university professors, child psychologists, learning disorders experts, and teachers, of whom 8 were In the field of educational psychology, 5 people in the field of psychology of exceptional children, 14 experts in other fields of psychology and children, and 11 people from teachers of educational and rehabilitation centers for unique learning problems were selected as samples, and members of the accreditation group, whose sampling method was available in the academic year 2022 –2023 were selected in the cities of Mashhad and Tehran. They were present in the evaluation process without a drop of subjects. 20 images and 24 words were selected from the appropriate sources and contents by a qualitative method and by reviewing related articles and contents. After removing inappropriate items in terms of ratio and validity index, the package of emotional stimuli was reduced to 11 images and 20 words. Finally, the ratio of CVR content validity and CVI content validity index, which were 0.29 and 0.7, respectively, indicated the acceptable validity of this package. As a result, according to the validity of the current educational package, its implications and practical capabilities can be well used to prepare content, educational tools, and media.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the theory of mind on emotion regulation, and social skills in children with autism. The study was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test with a control group. The study population includes all children with autism spectrum disorder in Zanjan city, 30 people (25 boys and 5 girls) in the age group of 10-12 years old were selected from schools, and the autism associations of Zanjan province by non-random purposeful sampling. They were placed in the experimental, and control group of 15 people. The experimental group was taught the theory of mind individually and in groups during 60 sessions. Multivariate covariance analysis was used to examine the data, which were gathered using Billini's social skills profile and Schilder and Chikti's emotion regulation checklist (1995). The results showed that mind theory training significantly (p<0.05) improved adaptive emotion regulation skills (p<0.001), negativity, (p<0.001) reciprocal social behaviors (p<0.001), mature social behavior and worthiness (p<0.001), and social engagement (p<0.001) in the students with autism spectrum disorder. Therefore, mind theory training can be considered an appropriate educational and therapeutic method to improve the social and cognitive functioning of students with the autism spectrum disorder. Based on obtained results, mind theory training can be used as an effective intervention to improve emotion regulation, and social skills in the children with spectrum disorder. It is advisable that education specialists contribute to the enhancement of socio-emotional functioning among autistic students through the integration of mind theory training into academic curricula

This research was conducted with the aim of studying the effectiveness of the creativity-based educational program with a family-oriented and therapist-based approach on the gifted students. A semi-experimental research design was carried out with pre-test-post-test-follow-up in the experimental and control groups. The research community consisted of all the gifted female students of Tehran in the age range of 6 to 8 years. According to the research community, by using the latest version of the Tehran-Stanford-Bineh intelligence test and through the available targeted sampling method, a sample of 45 high-achieving female students who had an IQ above 120 was chosen. They were selected as samples and then randomly were assigned in three groups: experiment 1 (15 people), experiment 2 (15 people) and control (15 people). Critical thinking questionnaire (Ricketts, 2003) was the tool used in this research. The training program based on creativity was conducted for 12 sessions on experimental groups. The statistical data were analyzed using SPSS-18 software and the statistical model of repeated measurement. The obtained results showed that the educational program based on creativity with two family-oriented and therapist-based approaches on critical thinking and its components which included creativity, growth and commitment has been effective and according to the effect size, it was determined that the family-oriented approach shows more effectiveness. Therefore, this educational program, specially family-oriented approach can be used to improve the critical thinking of children, especially gifted children.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of emotion regulation training on the alexithymia of students with hearing loss. The research method was quasi-experimental, with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all primary school students with hearing loss in Isfahan City in the 2022-2023 academic year. The research sample included 30 fourth- to sixth-grade students with hearing loss who were randomly selected and placed in the experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). The tool used in this study was the Toronto Alexithymia Questionnaire (TAS), and its subscales are difficulty in describing feelings, difficulty in identifying feelings, and objective thinking. Univariate and multivariate covariance analyses in SPSS-26 software analyzed the research data. The experimental group attended eight emotion regulation training sessions (2 sessions a week), while the control group did not attend these meetings. The results showed that emotion regulation training significantly affected alexithymia (p = 0/001) and subscales of difficulty in describing emotions (p = 0/001) and difficulty in identifying feelings (p = 0/017) in students with hearing loss. This research provides valuable information regarding emotion regulation training for these students. Therefore, psychologists and teachers can use emotion regulation training to improve alexithymia in children and adolescents with hearing loss.