مجله مطالعات ناتوانی
سال چهارم شماره 2 (تابستان 1393)

This research was performed to assess the educational needs of regular and itinerant teachers of students with hearing impairment in inclusive schools in Tehran.Methods & Materials: A descriptive survey was conducted on all regular and itinerant teachers –of inclusive schools- in Tehran. Through random multistage cluster sampling 100 teachers (50 regular and 50 itinerant) were selected from Tehran City. We used a needs assessment questionnaire that included 84 questions regarding their attitude, knowledge and functional needs and four open-ended questions for complementary data. Independent t-test, one-sample t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyze data. Based on our results, the regular and itinerant teachers of children with hearing impairment in Tehran’s inclusive schools had positive attitudes, insufficient knowledge, and performed weakly (P<0.05). Regular and itinerant teachers of children with hearing impairment in inclusive schools need to enhance their knowledge and performance.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of exercise on aggression in students with intellectual disability. Methods & Matreials: An experimental study of pretest-posttest design was conducted with a control group. The statistical population included all students with intellectual disability in the ‘Sedeh’ City of Fars province during the academic year 2012-2013. Through convenience sampling 26 students with intellectual disability were selected. They were then randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups, such that each group consisted of 13 students. Both groups were assessed at pre-test. The experimental group received 24 sessions of exercise while the control group did not. Upon completion of the sessions the post-test was administered to both groups. The ‘Ghezelsofloo Aggression Questionnaire’ (2009) was used to assess aggression. The data were analyzed by ANCOVA. The mean scores of aggression and its subscales (verbal aggression to self, nonverbal aggression to self, verbal aggression to another) significantly decreased in the experimental group (p<0.001). Exercise had a significant effect on aggression in intellectually disabled students. Therefore, to improve aggression in these students, we recommend designing and implementing exercise programs for them.

In order to determine the severity of stuttering and to evaluate the results of treatment, we need a standard and reliable instrument. One of the most reliable tools for measuring stuttering is the Stuttering Severity Instrument – Fourth Edition (SSI-4). The purpose of this study was to evaluate intra and inter-rater reliability of the Persian version of the instrument in preschool children with stuttering.Methods & Materials: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted. To determine inter-rater reliability, 21 preschool children who stuttered were examined by 3 experienced raters. Then, after 7-10 days the test was again performed on 50% of the samples to determine the intra-rater reliability. In order to test reliability, ICC and Cronbach's alpha were used. The inter-rater reliability of the test in each section of the test was 0.94 to 0.98. The intra-rater reliability (retest) for each section was 0.92 to 0.98. Cronbach’s alpha for the overall test was: (p=0.001, α=87%). We observed high reliability in the Persian version of the SSI-4. Hence it may be used for studying stuttering in Persian-speaking preschool children.

The present study was carried out to describe the level and type of irrational beliefs among athletes in the National Disabled Athletics Team. Methods & Materials: This was a Descriptive Survey study in which 71 athletes (male & female) with a mean age of 30.2 years participated. Jones Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) was used to collect data. The latter consists of 100 items and 10 subscales: Demand for Approval, High Self-Expectations, Blame Proneness, Frustration Reactivity, Emotional Irresponsibility, Anxious Overconcern, Problem Avoidance, Dependency, Helplessness, and Perfectionism. Among different types of irrational beliefs, the highest mean was observed in the ‘High Self-Expectations’ subscale (mean=31.38; SD=5.3). The lowest mean was observed in the ‘Problem Avoidance’ subscale (mean=24.37; SD=4.5). The mean for the overall core of Irrational Beliefs was 280.11 (SD=19.5). The lowest overall score was 231 and the highest overall score was 322. The existence of irrational beliefs among disabled athletes warrants the need for the identification and correction of such beliefs through proper interventions.

Broca’s aphasia is one type of non-fluent aphasia, of which imprecise speech sound production is a main feature. Acoustic patterns of speech in patients with Broca’s aphasia exhibit certain defects in the field of motor control such as difficulties in timing, articulatory coordination, and laryngeal control. In this study, the speech timing parameter in patients with mild to moderate Broca’s aphasia was investigated by the acoustic variable of murmur duration /m/ to determine the nature of motor control as well as the nature of errors.Methods & Materials: This was a cross-sectional case-control study. The subjects included 13 patients with mild to moderate Broca's aphasia as well as 13 normal individuals. After exposure to the appropriate test environment, acoustic signals related to target words were collected and recorded. After recording data with the PRAAT software, the spectrogram of each word was carefully examined to determine the murmur duration. Moreover, Paired T-test was used to compare the murmur duration between the two groups. People with mild to moderate Broca’s aphasia possess longer murmur duration in comparison to normal individuals. There was a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001). The increasing duration of the nasal murmur in individuals with mild to moderate Broca’s aphasia indicated that speech errors in these patients are due to defects in coordination, timing of movements and articulatory implementation in producing the target segment. Therefore, understanding the nature of errors and effective mechanisms in creating them in this group of patients allows the planning of more appropriate therapeutic strategies on the basis of more accurate assessments.

This study aimed at comparing different levels of Theory of Mind (ToM) in children with autism, intellectual disability, attention deficit- hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and normal children.Methods & Materials: A causal-comparative study was conducted. Seventy-nine (36 females, 43 males) 7-11 year-old students were selected through simple and cluster random sampling. The numbers of students suffering from various disorders were as follows: autism (8 females, 12 males), intellectual disability (10 females, 10 males), ADHD (9 females, 13 males), and normal ones (10 females, 10 males). For data collection Morris et al’s (1999) Theory of Mind (ToM) test was used. Data were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance. Results showed that children with autism scored the lowest in the overall test and in the subscales of ToM; children with intellectual disability scored lower than children with ADHD, and normal children scored the highest. There were statistically significant differences between the four groups (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the levels of ToM between the two genders. Children with autism, intellectual disability and ADHD have numerous problems in ToM abilities which probably negatively affect their social performance.

2014/09/3 - Published: 2014/09/7 Article abstract: Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of physical & coordination exercises on behavior disorders among mentally retarded children. Methods & Materials: Thirty-eight mentally retarded students (29 girls, 9 boys) with a mean age of 14±1.7 years were selected through convenience sampling. Pretest posttest was applied to evaluate the effect of physical & coordination exercises on reducing behavioral disorders in these children. At pretest we used Rutter Children Behavior Questionnaire (RCBQ) (2000). The subjects were then given physical & coordination exercises for six weeks, five days a week. Finally, a day after the last exercise session, the questionnaire was again administered to all the subjects. The mean RCBQ score at pretest was 37.68±16.37 and the mean RCBQ score at posttest was 21.13±11.86 which was statistically significant at p>0.001. Based on the results, the physical & coordination exercises had reduced behavior disorders among the mentally retarded children. Generally speaking, physical & coordination exercises improve mental health and are effective in reducing behavior disorders among mentally retarded children. These results can be applied by the officials in welfare and health organizations to improve behavior disorders among mentally retarded individuals.

The aim of this study was to compare quality of life between spouses of veterans covered by the ‘Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs’ and spouses of the disabled covered by the Welfare Organization in the city of Borujerd. Methods & Materials: This study was a descriptive-analytic one. Through random sampling, 80 spouses of disabled veterans and 80 spouses of disabled patients were selected as samples. The SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to collect data. T-test was used to analyze data and compare the groups with each other. The results suggest that the overall quality of life in spouses of disabled veterans was significantly higher than that observed in the spouses of disabled patients (p=0.004). Statistically significant differences were observed in material and environmental welfare, marital relations, familial relationships, altruistic behavior, political behavior, occupational satisfaction, and physical activity between the two groups (p=0.002). Quality of life demonstrates the feeling of well-being. High quality of life is realized when a person feels that his/her basic needs are met and opportunities for pursuing his/her goals and challenges are available.

The purpose of this study was to compare quality of life in mothers of children with mental disability and mothers of normal children.Methods & Materials: The study was of causal- comparative design. The samples were randomly selected from Babol City and consisted of 50 mothers of children with mental disability and 50 mothers of normal children. Data were collected using the Iranian version of the Quality of Life Scale and Raven Intelligence Test (Adult form). Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. There are significant differences between the mean quality of life in mothers of children with mental disability and that in mothers of normal children (p=0.005). Significant differences exist in terms of physical health (p=0.016), psychological health (p=0.001), social relationships (p=0.084) and environment (p=0.031). Health experts and officials must focus more on the quality of life of mothers of children with mental disability especially on their psychological health.