نشریه توانمندسازی کودکان استثنایی
سال یازدهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1399)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of motor games on autism disorder intensity in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study was Quasi-experimental with pretest, and posttest. The statistical population of this study included all of the 7-10 years-old children with ASD in Zahedan City from among whom 30 children (21 boys and 9 girls) were selected and then purposefully divided into three groups of motor games intervention with lower, moderate and high IQ groups. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-2 was used to assess the autism disorder intensity. Motor games intervention were performed for 24 sessions, three sessions per week and 45 to 60 minutes for each session. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance and also SPSS20 software. The findings showed, in terms of stereotyped behaviors, communication skills and social interactions, there was a significant difference between motor games intervention with lower, moderate and high IQ groups (P<0.001). The motor games improved and facilitate in social interactions, communication skills and reduced stereotyped behaviors. The motor games interventions was mostly effective on high, moderate and lower IQ groups respectively.

The main objective of this research was to compare alexithymia in children with and without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Method of study was expo-facto. The statistical population of this study consisted of all primary school male students with ADHD and normal students in Esfahan City who were selected by cluster random sampling method. At first, the Conner's Parents Rating Scale (CPRS, 1960) and Conner's Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS, 1997) for each of the children were completed. In the second phase, 120 children who were on the high end (those who had the highest score in the Conner's questionnaire) were invited to clinical interviews. Finally, two groups of 100 people; 50 with ADHD (11 girls and 39 boys) and 50 normal (15 girls and 35 boys) were compared using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) (Bagby, Parker & Taylor, 1994). The results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that the scores of children with ADHD in the components of alexithymia, inability to identify emotions, inability to describe emotions and external thinking style were significantly more than normal children. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that children with ADHD have some morphological characteristics and are inadequate in emotional responses. Therefore, attention to the emotional issues of people with ADHD is considered more important than past.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation based on emotional recognition on behavioral problems and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research was an experimental study with pre-test-post design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of students with ASD (298 subjects=65 girls+232 Boys) of Shiraz City in 2019-2020 academic year. The sample consisted of 44 students who were selected by purposeful sampling from among normal and exceptional schools with simple random method and were placed in 2 groups of 22 (16 boys+6 girls). Intervention in 12 sessions was performed on the experiment group and control group members continued their daily programs. The research tools included Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (Ehlers, Gillberg, Wing, 1993), Theory of Mind Test or ToM (Stimann, 1994) and study of cognitive rehabilitation background based on emotion recognition (AREF). Data were analyzed using single-variable and multivariate analysis of covariance using statistical software SPSS24. Results showed that cognitive rehabilitation method based on emotional recognition had a positive effect on improving behavioral problems (F=33.68, df=1, P≥0.001), level one (P=0.001 & F=21.23) level two (P=0.002 & F=11.58) and the overall score of theory of mind (P=0.001 & F=16.93), but did not have a significant effect on level three theory of mind. Based on the results, it can be concluded that teaching the proper recognition and diagnosis of various emotions through cognitive rehabilitation (substitution) can improve behavioral problems and upgrade the levels of theory of mind.

The present study aimed to compare parenting stress, externalizing and internalizing problems of preschool children in working and non-working Mothers. This descriptive study is causal-comparative. In this study, all mothers of preschool children aged 4 to 6 years old in nurseries of Tehran City were considered as the statistical population. The sample size consisted of 230 subjects (115 working and 115 non-working), who were selected via multistage cluster sampling method. In order to collect the data, all participants were asked to complete Abidin's Parenting Stress Index (PSI, 1990) and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL, 1991). Iindependent t-test, multivariate analysis of variance and SPSS22 software were used to analyze the data. The results showed that both groups of working and non-working mothers showed a high level of parenting stress; however, there was no significant difference between parenting stress in the two groups (P <0.05). Regarding the externalizing problems, there was a significant difference between the two groups. In terms of internalizing problems, although there was no significant difference between the total scores of two groups, the scores of two components i.e. emotional reactivity and sleep problems were significantly different (P <0.05).Based on the results, both working and non-working mothers face parenting stress and children's problems. Accordingly, it is recommended to design and provide therapeutic and preventive interventions to improve maternal stress and children's problems.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Quick Tips Program on sensory processing and social participation of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research was Quasi-experimental of pretest-posttest design with a control group and one-month follow-up. The population included all ASD children at the age of 3-5 in Tehran City. The sample size was 29 (12 girls, 17 boys) who were chosen using convenient sampling method and were randomly selected and assigned to experiment and control groups. The assessment tool consisted of Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool (SPM-P) and the intervention program was The Quick Tips Protocol (Henry, 2014). Interventions were performed in 32 one-hour sessions on the experiment group by parents with coaching researcher, in accordance with the protocol in the child's natural environment. Data were analyzed by t-test and MANCOVA using SPSS21 software. Results showed that implementation of the Quick Tips, significantly improved sensory processing and social participation except hearing, taste-smell and these effects specially in proprioception lasted for one-month follow-up significantly (p < 0.05). The findings conclude that the Quick Tips is an effective program to solve sensory processing and social participation of autism children problems. It is suggested that the program, which is applicable at home and operated by parents, is being taught to parents and is being implemented at home with other common programs, to resolve sensory problems and children’s participation.

The present study was conducted aiming to investigate the effectiveness of positivist psychotherapy on inefficient attitudes in female students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of the current study consisted of the female 12 to 15 years old students with GAD in Ahvaz City in academic 2018-2019 year. 30 female students with GAD who were selected through randomized cluster sampling method and they were randomly accommodated into experiment and control group (15 students in the experiment and 15 in the control group). The experiment group received positivist psychotherapy intervention (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) during two-and-a-half months in ten 75-minutes sessions. The applied questionnaires in this study included Wiseman and Beck's Inefficient Attitudes Questionnaire (IAS) and Spitzer et.al's Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GADQ). The data from the study were analyzed through MANCOVA method by SPSS23 statistical software. The results showed that positive psychotherapy has significant effect on ineffective attitudes in female students with GAD (p<0.001). Thus, this treatment has been able to reduce dysfunctional attitudes and its dimensions in female students with GAD. Findings of the present study revealed that the positive psychotherapy can be used as an efficient therapy to decrease inefficient attitudes in the students with GAD through employing techniques such as knowing personal abilities and concentrating on positive emotions.