Iranian Rehabilitation Journal
Volume:12 Issue: 22, Dec 2014

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of people requiring rehabilitation services. The genesis of rehabilitation services has been, in part, a response to the recognition that increasing the quality of life and independence of individuals following trauma, disease or enduring chronic pathology benefits society as a whole, as well as the individual. Human beings also have psychological, social and spiritual belief and value systems alongside personal experience that blend to form each unique individual. The rehabilitation is to improve competence and confidence in the assessment and delivery of appropriate psychological care for clients and their families (1-2). Some society for the Blind and Visually Impaired provides education and training for individuals who are blind and visually impaired in order to enhance their physical, psychological and social rehabilitation, and independence.

Stroke is a neurological syndrome with sudden onset or gradual destruction of brain vessels, which may take 24 hours or more. Complications of stroke effect in the variation aspects of the individual. According to De Spulveda and Chang’s Studies, disability reduced the effective adjustment. This study aimed to overview the adjustment of stroke patients based on the main concepts of rehabilitation nursing Mauk model. In a quasi-experimental one group pre-posttest design study, data was collected in the neurology clinic of Imam Khomeini hospital and stroke patient rehabilitation centers in Tehran (Tabassom). Data collection included demographic and adjustment questionnaires of stroke patients. The intervention included seven sessions as Mauk model, each session with one hour training, for seven patients. Data analysis performed with SPSS software with paired t-test and was compared with previous results. There were significant differences between the mean scores of patients with stroke adjustment questionnaire in the pre-test - post-test. But in the adjustment sub-scales, except for relationship with wife and Personal adjustment, in other areas, there is no statistically significant difference between the pre and posttest. The results indicated that training has been affected on some aspects of adjustment of stroke patients in order to, as improving functions, complications and its limitations. Nurses can help then with implementing of plans such as patients education in this regard.

Auditory perception or hearing ability is critical for children in acquisition of language and speech; hence hearing loss has different effects on individuals’ linguistic perception, and also on their functions. It seems that deaf people suffer from language and speech impairments such as in perception of complex linguistic constructions. This research was aimed to study the perception of complex syntactic constructions in children with hearing-impairment. The study design was case-control. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, twenty children with severe to profound hearing impairment, aged 8-12 years and twenty normal-hearing children, aged 6-7 years were selected in a simple random sampling from exceptional schools for deaf people and from normal kindergartens and schools for normal cases. The perception of sentences was tested by using a researcher-made task called sentence-picture matching task. At first the content validity was determined and then the reliability was confirmed with Cronbach Alpha Test. Data were analyzed by statistical tests such as Independent Samples T-Test and Mann-Whitney U Test using SPSS. Perception of the group with hearing-impairment was significantly lower than the normal control group. The hearing-impaired children failed to perceive complex syntactic structures. Linguistic function of the group with hearing-impairment on perception of sentences with simple word order was better than on complex sentences. If rich linguistic inputs are not available for children during the critical period of the first language acquisition, the syntactic skill, especially in complex syntactic constructions, will not normally develop. In order to establish a foundation for a healthy perfect development of syntax, at the early years of life, children should be exposed to a natural language.

Emotion regulations refer to the ability of experiencing emotions as a basic human capacity and the experience of the basic emotions happiness, anger, sadness and fear are considered as reular characteristics among nations. In school-age children, problems in socioemotional development typically shows themselves as challenging, socially disruptive paterns of behavior. The purpose of the present study was to understand Emotion Regulation characteristics in Iranian primary school pupils and whether Iranian children enable to identify common emotions. Participants included 900 children, 9 to 10 years, from elementary schools from 21 provinces in Iran. In pilot work we presented 200 children with four hypothetical vignettes of the kind typically used in display rule research. In the main study children’s knowledge regarding hiding their emotions was assessed through a structured interview. The participants were presented with the interview questions after the vignettes. The answers were coded by two people and the interrater reliability was high. The children were assessed on the basis of four common emotions:Happiness, Anger,Fear,and, Sadness. The analysis of the data indicated that:1)all children were enabled to identify and differentiate all four emotions from each other, most of students hide their happiness, anger, fear and sadness, they hide their emotions in specific situation such as school and home, hide happiness and anger against peers and hide fear and sadness in front of adults. The study indicates that Iranian children not only differ from other culture peers in the amount of display rule use in daily life, but also in the situations they report using it and their motives for doing so; they suppress their overall emotions more frequently, especially in presence of family and for pro-social and self-protective reasons. These findings provides the basic knowledge about Iranian children emotional expression development which can be used in cultural, educational and therapeutic contexts.

Inclusive education is a process of enabling all children to learn and participate effectively within mainstream school systems. It does not segregate children who have different abilities or needs. This article explores the attitudes of regular and itinerant teachers about inclusion of hearing impairment children in their schools in general education. In a descriptive Survey research design, the sample included 100 teachers (50 regular and 50 itinerant) who were selected randomly, according to a multistage sampling method. Data was collected by using questionnaire with 32 questions regarding their attitudes. One-way Analysis of Variance and t-test were performed to obtain between- group comparisons. The results indicated that the teacher''s positive attitudes towards inclusive educational system of students with hearing impairment. Significant difference in attitudes was observed, based on the teaching experience, gender, level of teaching. The results also indicate that most teachers are agreeable to the inclusion of students with hearing impairment in their classrooms. successful inclusion for hearing impairment children in regular classrooms entails the positive attitudes of Regular and itinerant teachers through a systematic programming within the classroom.

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of life skills training on quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome. This research was done as a semi-experimental with pre-post test and with control group. Statistical population included all children with down syndrome, age from 2 months to 8 years, and their mothers who referred to Iran''s down syndrome society. Thirty six children were randomly chosen and equally assigned to two groups: experimental and control group. The data were collected by using the demographic questionnaire and the short form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life. Experimental group was trained for life skills in 12 sessions, each session 60 minutes. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software and multivariate analysis of covariance test. The results indicate that the mean score of quality of life in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group after intervention. According to the results, life skills training increased the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome. Therefore the life skill training can be applied in mental health services for improving the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome.

The aim of present study was determining the level of satisfaction and its relative factors among parents of mentally retarded children using the services of private rehabilitation centers. This was a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted on parents of 150 mentally retarded children, who were selected by quota sampling from eight private rehabilitation centers in Tehran. Questionnaires were used to collect data, and correlation tests, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were utilized to analyze data. Upon the results, overall 88% of participants expressed their satisfaction. The major related factors were the behavior of managers and employees, receiving training for follow-up rehabilitation and education programs for the child at home, and the child''s progress. The factors related to dissatisfaction included nutrition services, physical condition of the center and lack of parental participation in decision- making on matters related to the child. A significant relationship was found between parental satisfaction and family size, father''s job, and the number of other disabled people in the family. According to the findings, it seems that patient satisfaction is also affected by the behavioral aspects of care, in addition to the technical aspects. Considering the humans’ need for respect and compassion and the sense of being valuable, this finding could be anticipated. The managers of private rehabilitation centers, for attracting and retain clients, need to pay attention to the factors which have impact on service users’ satisfaction.

The high number of cerebral palsy, the severe disability of this disorder, depression in disabilities, and long lasting effects of the child`s disability on the family especially mothers are the common issues. The purpose of this study was investigating the level of depression in mothers with cerebral palsy children and its related factors. This caused comparative study was carried out in Tehran, in 2011. Two groups of mothers with 4 to 12 years old healthy and cerebral palsy children were randomly selected to participate in this study. Beck questionnaire was used to evaluate mothers’ depression level. The relationship between variables was investigated by independent T- test and Pearson’s correlation. Sixty mothers with cerebral palsy children and sixty mothers with normal children as control group were participated in the study. Mean and standard deviation of age were 33.79± 6.02 in mothers and 7.11± 2.71 in children. Depression of mothers with cerebral palsy child was significantly higher than control group and there was a significant correlation between depression of mothers with cerebral palsy children, and increasing caring time, dependency in activity of daily living and children`s gross and fine movements ability. Although depression was higher in mothers with cerebral palsy children, the depression level of these mothers was affected by some factors related to the child issue. In order to decrease undesirable effects of having a cerebral palsy child, it is necessary to emphasize on children`s abilities to achieve maximum evolution potential and provide physical and mental protections for their mothers.

Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most important and prevalent central nervous system diseases, causing disorders such as depression among affected patients. Positive psychotherapy is also a new approach that can be effective in reducing the depression of these people. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of group positive psychotherapy for decreasing the depression among females affected by Multiple Sclerosis. A samples of 30 females affected by Multiple Sclerosis with mild to moderate depression were participated, and were divided into two groups, intervention and control. Both groups completed Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) at the beginning, he intervention group received six sessions of positive psychotherapy. After the intervention both group completed the questionnaire again. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The result demonstrated that, the decline of depression was more in the intervention group than the control group. Moreover in the intervention group than control group, there was obtained significant reduction in both sub-scales of Beck Depression Inventory II. Results of this study indicated that group positive psychotherapy is effective in reducing the depression of females affected by Multiple Sclerosis. This treatment can be widely used in the caring centers for treatment of people affected by Multiple Sclerosis and this can be justified because of its low cost and good efficiency.

Loneliness is a common experience of people, regardless of gender, age, socio economic and cultural experience in the course of its life. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Gestalt group therapy on the loneliness of Alzheimer’s caregivers. In an experimental study with a pre- post test design and control group, women participants were selected from Alzheimer Association of Iran. Total number of 50 women members was evaluated according to inclusion/ exclusion criteria. 28 participants selected and were divided into two equal groups randomly. Loneliness Scale was administered to both groups at the beginning. Gestalt therapy sessions were applied to the intervention group, each session 90 minutes weekly and continued for 12 successive weeks. The post-test data collected after the last session by administering Loneliness Scale. Data was analyzed by using t-test for independent group. The results showed that the mean differences between the two groups were significant and gestalt therapy decreased the loneliness of member of intervention group significantly. Loneliness scores of intervention group in two sub-scales were also significantly lower in post-test compared to control group. Gestalt therapy can be helpful in enhancing positive emotions and decreasing loneliness in Alzheimer caregivers which is one of the hardest emotions that these women threatens reduced and the introduction of enhanced quality of life of the caregivers and hence increase the quality of care for patients increased.

Cerebral Palsy is the most common chronic motor disorder of childhood, that affecting approximately 3 infants per 1000 live-births. The risk of brain injuries that potentially cause Cerebral Palsy has amplified with increasing in survival rates for preterm infants. In addition Cerebral Palsy has a huge economic impact, to immeasurable health, social, and psychological problems that affected children and their families suffer. Cerebral Palsy, among 18 common congenital disorders, has the highest lifetime costs per new case. Thus, efforts to prevent its occurrence, minimize the morbidity, and improve the patient outcomes are important at both the individual and societal levels. In each trimester, different patterns of brain damage or abnormal insults can represent times and etiology of injuries. Knowledge of the etiology and pathogenesis of abnormal brain growth during antenatal, perinatal and neonatal damages can be helping us for prevention. Also Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies of subjects with multiple forms of cerebral palsy reported significantly more overall abnormalities, malformations, and white matter damage but in this review study we discuss in what extent MRI is useful in detecting cerebral palsy pathogenesis.

Self-assessment, as one type of alternative assessment, with the increased attention to learner-centered curricula, needs analysis, and learner autonomy has gained popularity in recent years. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of self-assessment on Javanroodian Foreign Language (Kordestan) Learners’ Oral Performance ability. The assessment program involved training, practice, videotaping, feedback, assessment and discussion. Twenty English as a foreign language students of foreign language institutes in Javanrood participated in the study. They were divided into experimental and control group, based on the results of English oral performance pre- tests. The research instrument consisted of a self- assessment checklist containing subcategories related to the organization of the presentation, content, linguistic factors (vocabulary use, grammatical rules and pronunciation) and interaction with the audience. It was developed as a result of interviewing participants and their teachers and then adapting results based on the results of reviewing available checklists in the literature. The data was collected by the experimental group members'' self- assessments of their 6 oral performances and the teacher''s assessment of their performances. The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential methods. Results indicated that participating in self- assessment process had positive effect on learners'' oral performance ability. Results will have implications for policy makers, material designers and developers, teachers and learners. It will also open up the doors of introducing new trends in assessment to teachers and learners.